I had planned to try to summit Sugg Peak with the expert guidance of Susie Kara, but alas she was under the weather. Since I was already up and ready to go, I had to quickly pivot to an alternate plan. The challenge I am starting to face with my remaining peaks is that many are long and difficult, and not suited for a solo attempt. Luckily, Peak 3339 was still on my list of peaks left to summit.

I drove out toward Boulevard as the sun rose over the mountains. Frost lined the side of the road from the recent rains. As I drove north along McCain Valley road, I passed the turnoff to the trailhead to Mt. Tule. Soon I came to the Lark Canyon OHV Staging Area, which has several pit toilets.

Continuing north along a well-graded dirt road I reached the Carrizo Scenic Overlook. I turned off here and parked at a nice turnout. The trailhead is to the east beyond a fence. I passed a few picnic tables and a metal grill before descending steeply down.

The route to Peak 3339 follows a motorcycle trail most of the time, so navigation is not difficult. Unfortunately, this is an inverted summit, meaning that you start higher than the actual summit.

I worked my way down the trail, reminiscing of my former dirt bike days, and secretly hoping I might catch a ride back up…

The peak was one of the bumps basically straight ahead of me in the distance, however, the trail turns northward for a while before returning to its eastward route. The advice I read recommended staying on the trail as long as possible before heading cross-country to the peak.

As the peak drew near, I eventually decided it was time to leave the trail and begin the actual climb to the summit. I unfortunately worked my way a tad too far south along the peak cluster. Navigating back to Peak 3339 from the south, I did not find any easy routes up. So, I worked my way back to the west side of the peak. There I found a nice route that took me basically to the top.

There I scrambled to the top of a nice block and enjoyed the view. I did not find a register. It might have been on the other block, but I was not comfortable scrambling solo to check it out.

After a snack, I headed down from the summit and began crossing the open desert to rejoin the trail. The windmills stood out along the ridge to the west, reminding me of the climb still to come to get back to the car.

Oddly, I never heard the sounds of any motorcycles, although I saw many being unloaded earlier. No complaints, as the quiet of the desert is always welcome. As I made my way back up the steep incline, I met a fellow hiker. With a copy of Afoot and Afield In San Diego in hand, he was out exploring as well. Turns out he is a fellow Gaucho. He graduated a few years before me with a degree in geology. We chatted for some time before we went our separate ways.

As I neared the end of the trail, I picked up two beer cans that were tossed to the side of the trail. Ugh. Although I had hoped to summit Al Holden as well, I did not want to venture out to it solo. But this was such a fun hike, I figured I would return with some friends to explore the area more another time.

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As my remaining peak list dwindles, solo hikes are in short supply. Coyote Mountain was one of the few peaks left. I drove out to Anza-Borrego in the early morning and was greeted with a gorgeous sunrise as I left Ranchita and began my descent into Borrego Springs.

The trailhead is off Rockhouse Canyon Road; I loved that Apple Maps told me I had to park and walk to it. Ha! Although it is a dirt road, a standard car would have no trouble.

The skies were partly overcast, as a storm was due in the afternoon. I parked, and Coyote Mountain loomed before me. The route follows the ridgeline to the summit, so the only minor challenge is crossing the desert floor to it.

As I began working my way up the start of the ridge, I spotted this geological wonder.

I navigated my way up, and at times a clear use trail guided me through the rocks and sharp pointy plants. At other times, the trail would fade away, or I was working my way up a steep and rocky section.

The route would alternate between sections that burned your quads and easier sections that would allow you to catch your breath. As the summit looms over you, the route bends westward, letting you know that the end is close at hand.

At the summit, you are almost immediately greeted with a pole denoting the register and the benchmark is nearby.

I took in the views of Clark Dry Lake bed to the east, near where I started. To the west and south bits of Borrego Springs. I had a snack, then wandered over to a nearby bump to the west. Another register was tucked in a pile of rocks as well.

Then it was time to work my way back down because I certainly did not want to do this in the rain. About halfway down, about 14 hikers were making their way up. This turned out to be a guided hike led by the Anza Borrego Foundation. A bit behind them were two other hikers, and we chatted some. I mentioned what I was doing, and it turns out I was chatting with Greg Gerlach and Kelly Laxamana, two peakbaggers I trust on peakbagger.com. How I wish I could have picked their brain more about my remaining summits.

With about a mile to go, my knees started to really hurt. The steepness of this summit was getting to me. As I slowed my pace, I began looking for the best option to depart from the ridgeline and get back to flatter ground. I made it back to the car and was glad to be done and heading back into Borrego Springs for a cold beverage and some Mexican food. As I drove back home and crested into Ranchita, the rain started to fall. 83 summits are done, and looking forward to finishing them!

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Today’s hike was going to summit two peaks out near Ranchita. Along with the two official peaks, two additional peaks were along our route. I had done some of this hike last week, but the main summit of White Benchmark did not happen. This time, with Ted tagging along, we headed north along the use trail near the fence defining the boundary of Anza-Borrego and the private property to the west. We passed through the shadow of Bonny as we drew closer to White. Up the ridgeline, we pushed upward.

Atop the peak, we found the benchmark with no trouble. We enjoy the views. The Thimble and San Ysidro loomed over us, but those summits were for another day. Looking back southward, Bonnie, Clyde, Chimney Rock, and Hut were spread out before us. Off to the northeast, was Goat Benchmark (somewhere…). Next along our route was Clyde. This peak was a simple scramble to the top. There is no register nor mark. But if you summit Bonny, you have to do Clyde ;).

From there we angled back toward the west to explore Chimney Rock. Neither of us are climbers, so we just marveled at this spire from its base. Ted did scramble to the top of the mound to the north of it. I stayed below for the photo op.

The use trail quickly led us to the foot of Bonny. Approaching it from the east, we rounded toward the south, there a small ledge provided the route to the summit proper.

A short hop was required to find the Benchmark proper.

Once we were ready we continued heading south. Our final target was Hut Benchmark. Unlike when I was out here the week before, the route to the Benchmark was a simple approach from the north side.

We then worked our way down through the slightly heavier brush back to the car. This was a fun day wandering from peak to peak. For anyone wanting to cut their teeth on a trail-less desert hike, this one is perfect.

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Today was going to be another two-fer, the primary peak is Wilson Benchmark and the secondary peak is Pinyon Ridge. I was able to convince both Ted and Dave to head out into the chilly high desert. We grabbed our wool caps and gloves and headed out. We drove out toward Ranchita, until we reached Wilson Road, from there we turned on to Old Culp Valley Road. Glad we were in the Subaru. We found the trailhead without any issues.

The trail is an old, partially overgrown jeep road, and it goes up and down through the sparse landscape of burnt trees, resprouting shrub skeletons, blackened yucca trunks, and granitic boulders. Most of the area had burned in the 2012 “Vallecito Lighting Complex” fire. Pinyon is just a short side jaunt from the main route out to Wilson. As we worked our way across the desert, we slowly started to warm up.

Pinyon was a fun little scramble to the top. We found the northeast corner easier to navigate to the top of the summit block. Found the register and signed in. The wind was a tad chilly, so we did not stay too long. As I was scrambling back down to fetch my poles, I found a patch of snow tucked between the rocks.

Rather than return directly to the trail, we continued across the open desert to the east until we intersected the trail again.

After about 4 miles, we reach the base of the summit. From there we worked our way up, past the boulders and burned trees.

Once there we easily found the benchmark and register.

Anza-Borrego was again spread out before us. We could see the Salton Sea in the distance. Although it had warmed up some, there was still a bit of wind blowing, so we did not linger.

The return to the trailhead and the car was brisk, as Dave needed to get home.

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After resting from summiting Piedras Grandes, Hahn and I headed north along the tracks toward Indian Hill.

We eventually headed west, unlike my first attempt, we went north around a small hill that resembled a pyramid. As we weaved our way past the chollas across the flat desert floor. We continued west for a bit as the peak rose up to the south of us until we found a nice route up.

Much like the ascent of Piedras Grandes, this was a steep rocky scramble up, but nothing too challenging.

Soon we reached the summit, I turn to Hahn and remarked that this was about 100x easier than what I had tried to navigate.

From the summit, I spotted the ravine that I had incorrectly taken.

Hahn said that if I had reached the top of that peak I would have summited Moan Benchmark. To which I said, if that was true you would have heard a middle-aged man moan…

We sat for a bit, enjoyed the views, signed the register, and then headed back down. I continued to pick her brain about various summits. We found ourselves back at the car and headed back into town.

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Earlier in the month, I had driven out to Anza Borrego to summit a pair of peaks, Indian Hill and Piedras Grandes.  Unfortunately, I misread my route to Indian Hill and about halfway up a rocky ravine, I decided it too much and headed back to the car. I was not in the mood to attempt Piedras Grandes and drove home.

This time, I reached out to Hahn Asoy, one of the two 2017 finishers of the 100 Peak Challenge, if she would assist with my route finding. She gladly said yes, so back out to Dos Cabezas!

We opted to summit Piedras Grandes first since it is shorter of the two. We headed southwest across the desert floor until we reached the base of the peak. From there we picked our way up, past the rocks and cacti.

Quickly we found ourselves at the summit, looking across the desert, and the windmills near Ocotillo.

After a short rest, we headed back down and returned to the car before heading off for the second peak of the day.

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After Grapevine Mountain, I drove south to Little Blair Valley, toward the south end of the valley stands Ghost Mountain. For most people, this trail leads to the Marshall South homestead.

The trail quickly begins to climb up the side of the mountain to the ridgeline. From there it follows it toward the homestead, providing a sweeping view to the north and south as the trail continues its gentle climb.

After about 2 miles, I reached the remains of the adobe cabin. Marshall lived here for nearly 17 years. I spent some time examining the ruins before continuing eastward toward the summit.

It is clear the 95% of visitors turn back at this point, as the trail faded away. I picked my way through the rocks and plants until I reached the actual summit.

Here I found the Lower Peaks Committee register which I gladly signed.

I was feeling the miles from earlier, so I headed back down the trail to the car and back home.

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The first peak of the day was slated to be Grapevine Mountain. The trailhead is just north of the scissors crossing in Anza Borrego. The morning was cool, but not too cold. The route to the summit follows the Pacific Crest Trail for some time, slowly snaking its way back up from the valley floor.

At some time point, it was time to bid fair well to the PCT and begin the off-trail ascent toward the summit.

Carefully weaving my way past the cactus and up the steep slopes, I found myself atop the first summit, but the actual summit was further east. I continued to work my way to the summit. I found the benchmark and the register with no trouble.

I spotted Sentenac Mountain to the south.

I did not stay too long as I knew I had to navigate the steep descent to the PCT and wanted to reach the summit of Ghost Mountain. I picked my way carefully down the slope as the San Felipe Valley spread out before me. Soon I reached the PCT and began retracing my steps back to the trailhead.

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I decided to drive out and summit Mt. Tule. This peak sits just north of the small hamlet of Boulevard as part of the In Ko Pah mountain range. Since I needed to be back in San Diego by 9:30, I arrived at the trailhead just before sunrise, which I was rewarded with a gorgeous one.

I followed a Jeep trail southward for a bit, debating if I should have kept driving to save some time. Soon, the road ended and a use trail began to work its way up to the summit.

Once at the summit, the early morning light spread over the desert.

I found the register, and make sure you take the time to read some of the entries.

I worked my way back down quickly and back into town.

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I was finally able to arrange to go hiking with Derek, the creator of the 100 Peak Challenge. He had recently opened Burger Bench, which had been keeping him quite busy. He wanted to scout for possible campsites on Whale Peak for a camping trip with his daughter and I needed to summit it. Win-win.

We met in the early morning near our houses and headed out. The ritual stop at the Jack-in-the-Box in Ramona got some food in our bellies as we headed out into Anza Borrego. Just off S2, we turned east and worked our way down the dirt road. Derek had a high clearance car so we were fine as bounced along. The trailhead for Whale Peak is also shared by Pinyon Mountain. We hoped to summit it afterward.

After working our way up the wash, we continued south across a grassy flat along a faint trail. Then we began working our way upward again, past the junipers and pinyon pines. Soon, we emerged into a nice valley.

Derek poked around for some possible campsites for a bit before we headed toward the east. Derek pointed to the wash to the west and cautioned the watch yourself combing back down and not to accidentally head down that way…

The trail continues to push upward, with steep sections followed by flatter sections. The summit is still not in sight, even with all this hiking, but after some more quad-burning climbing, the actual summit is achieved.

We drank in the views, while we enjoyed some well-earned snacks. I found the register and signed us in, then photographed the Benchmark.

We headed back down to the car, stopping to chat with another hiker working his way up. Derek filled me more on the navigation story, but I won’t recount it here…

We chatted about the challenge some, as we continued back down. Back at the car, we refueled before we tackled Pinyon Mountain.

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