Atop San Ysidro East Peak, again!

With Ted on call, and Rick and Andrea having climbed Sunset Mountain the day before, I set off alone to summit San Ysidro East Peak. Between the recent trek out to Goat Benchmark and my ascent of The Sirens, this area was quite familiar to me. I wanted to give myself as much time as possible to tackle this peak. I debated which route to take: come all the way up from the desert floor or come from Ranchita? I decided to gamble on the Ranchita route, in part because I knew it would be the route Rick & Andrea would probably take for their attempts at both The Sirens and San Ysidro East. Since I wanted to start as early as possible, I left the house around 4:30, planning to pick up breakfast in Ramona. Unfortunately, that McDonald’s does not open until 6, so Jack in the Box it was. I pulled off the side of Montezuma Valley Road just at the border of Anza-Borrego State Park as the pre-dawn glow was starting to fill the eastern sky. I slipped on my fleece, as it was in the upper 40s. I also put on my headlamp, finished my liter of water, and set off along the fence line. The basic plan was to follow the park boundary line until it was time to turn eastward.

This went well until around White Benchmark. Here, my route forced me to climb through a bouldery and brushy section that I did not want to spend the time or energy doing. I worked my way past it all, but I was now in a foul mood. In the sandy sections, I could see my former footprints in the soil, so I now had less effort to spend on navigation. The flowing water had since dried up in the gully. As I approached where we had veered off to ascend Goat Benchmark, I continued east. The gully turns a bit northward, and I remember from years ago that it becomes filled with dry falls and is no longer the easy route it had been. I stood atop a small hill and surveyed my route to the east. Checking my route against my collection of tracks, I saw I was slightly to the north of them, so I dropped down. This next section has gullies which merge and cross with minimal difficulty, but it does take some care. The first one, I remembered to stay to the north of their merger to avoid the dense brush and trees. I found the game trail across the brushy section and climbed back up the small ridge. Another small gully sits on the other side. The challenge here was the steeper sides, so you had to look for an entry and exit slope to traverse it. Then, one final short climb onto Hellhole Flats.

With that behind me, I began rethinking my exit. Did I want to have to climb all that again? I have done it three times now and I wasn’t sure. I figured once I was coming back down from San Ysidro East, I would make the call. If I went down to Borrego Springs along the Kay ridge, I would contact Anita and have her come get me (she hates it when I hitchhike), or I would let her know that I am returning the way I came, but I still had time to make that call.

Hellhole Flats cruised by. I dodged and weaved around the plants, aiming to the north of Lookout Knob, then toward the saddle near the northeast corner of the flats. Once there, I found some shade and rested. The day wasn’t too warm, but there was no need to sit under the sun while having some snacks and fluids. Now, for the climb up to San Ysidro East. In just over 3/4 miles, I would gain close to 1,200 feet. I plotted my way up the steep slope, ignoring past tracks and using my best judgment to find my route. For the most part, there weren’t any issues, other than the steepness. The terrain varied from rocky sections to sandy portions to clumps of cacti needing to be avoided. Once near the San Ysidro ridge, I began turning westward toward the summit. The grade eased, but still climbed to the peak. After one last push upward, I was on the summit of San Ysidro East again. 

The entire climb from my resting spot to the summit took just over an hour. I snapped some photos and began looking for a nice spot for a much-deserved rest. I actually found a pseudo-cave where I sat down. The coolness of the rock against my back felt great as I ate my lunch and other snacks. I did look around to see if there was a register tucked away, but did not find one. After about 30 minutes, and tending to an issue on my foot, it was time to set off. I soon had to decide on my exit route. Feeling better, both physically and mentally, I opted to retrace my route back to Ranchita. I will say staring across Hellhole Flats and seeing White Benchmark at almost the same elevation did make me question myself.

My route down led me to a small, open area, and I wandered over to the western edge to see if I might take it down, as it would be slightly more direct. In looking over, I had no real idea what lay below me, so I returned to my general path as before. One thing to note on this descent was returning through Hellhole Flats. I worked my way down toward the west, but if I had needed to climb The Sirens, I would have taken a more eastern line and stayed higher to avoid losing unnecessary elevation.

Back on Hellhole Flats, I put on my headphones and listened to an episode of Backpacker Radio about off-trail trips. Talk about timing! Once past the two gullies, I knew the next big effort was about to begin. I methodically plodded upward, often following my own footprints. I would take a few quick breaks to rest before pushing on. Once I could rejoin the gully, I knew the effort level would become easier, and I focused on that microgoal. Back in the gully, I then focused on the turn southward. This isn’t too hard to spot, as the gully does widen, and my footprints helped as well. Now to continue climbing and navigating past White Benchmark. I really did not want to repeat the effort I exerted on my outward route. Once I reached the boundary fence, I hugged it. When the fence ended due to terrain, I opted to take the easier route southward. Technically, I crossed onto private property, but I tried to stay as close as I could to the boundary and, when I could, take the eastern path. Once past the section to the west of White Benchmark, I crossed back on state land and continued southward. The sounds of cars zooming along Montezuma Valley Road started to fill the air as my podcast finished. Back at the car, I changed into a dry shirt, slipped off my gaiters, and let various people know I had made it. I stopped at Don’s Market in Santa Ysabel for some cold drinks. The entire hike was 13.2 miles and took me 9:30 to complete. I have included the elevation profile to help the reader better understand the challenges posed by these peaks. What is interesting is the elevation gain value(s).

App	Elevation Gain	Distance
GaiaGPS	3,616 feet	13.2 miles
Runkeeper	4,241 feet	13.42 miles
CalTopo	4,435 feet	13.44 miles
OnX Backcountry	4,738 feet	13.4 miles
Strava	4,518 feet	13.43 miles

Quite the mystery as to the differences in elevation gain. I might have to dig deeper into how each platform calculates its value.

Now for my opinion on the route options to climb San Ysidro East and The Sirens. I think I would rather make one solid climb from the desert floor. The section around White Benchmark is less than pleasant, and the section leaving Hellhole Flats on the return is also quite taxing. My times to about the same point (junction between the peaks) were both around 3:30 elapsed time, but I find the straightforward nature of just climbing the ridge “easier”. While it is a steep ascent and descent along the ridge, not having to deal with the terrain when leaving Hellhole Flats and returning to Ranchita is a plus.

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