Daley Ranch Loop

Really did not feel like making the long drive out to Anza-Borrego, plus Ted could only hike in the morning and Susie had out-of-town guests. So, instead, we decided to do a nice loop that combined 3 WBC hikes into one. We pulled into a moderately full parking lot at Daley Ranch about 7:30, grabbed our gear, and set off. After the short climb under the sign, we continued north until we reached the turnoff to the Boulder Loop Trail. After another little climb, Ted shed a layer before we continued on. At our next junction, we debated taking the slightly shorter route but opted for the longer one. I finally found a spot to snap my required photo. Some mountain bikers were resting at the gazebo near the junction with Cougar Ridge trail.

We descended down to almost where we turned off to start the Boulder Loop Trail, then made a left turn to head to the Ranch House, my second spot for my photo. After a quick snack and helping a mountain biker with some directions we headed toward the Sage Trail and eventually to Stanley Peak.

We had another short climb before the trail leveled off for a while. One of the ponds lay off to our right. As the peak drew nearer, we had to decide to take the longer route or the shorter and steep route past the water tank. The longer route won again. We began our climb to the summit. Partway up a mountain biker passed us, but just a few minutes later he stopped to catch his breath. This happened twice more until we reached the summit nearly at the same time.

The summit was crowded, so we found a quiet spot to snap a few photos. We commented that we are not used to crowds given our usual hiking adventures. Most of the crowd left en masse, so we popped over to the eastern view for a quick look, then the west view before beginning back down.

We opted to take the water tank route, just to avoid some people. Our route had a small amount of backtracking but we soon made it to the junction with the Diamondback trail that would take us to the Coyote Run Trail, then onto the East Ridge Trail, and finally onto the Creek Crossing Trail. We could see Dixon Lake to our left as we neared the now very full parking lot. We tossed in our gear and changed our shirts before heading over to Burger Bench for a well-earned lunch and brew.

I am an avid peak bagger, sometimes backpacker, and former sea kayaker living in San Diego. I am the co-author of Urban Trails:San Diego, coming in Spring 2026!

In 2019, I became the third person to complete the San Diego 100 Peak Challenge. Not stopping with that accomplishment, I set my sights on the harder San Diego Sierra Club 100 Peak list, which I completed in 2021. In addition, I have conquered several Six-Pack of Peaks challenges (SoCal, San Diego, Central Coast, and both the Arizona-Winter and Arizona-Summer). I am looking forward to exploring new summits and new adventures across the southwest.

Keys Peak

While backpacking the Boy Scout Trail in Joshua Tree with my good friend Ted Hoelter, I hoped to summit Keys Peak which is on the Lower Peaks Committee list. After hiking about 4 miles along the trail, we found a nice spot to set up camp for the night. Keys Peak was just a short walk to our east. Once camp was set up, we headed over to the base of the peak.

I found the benchmark and register. We snapped our photos and took advantage of cell service to check in with our spouses. The sun was setting and there was a light breeze, so I was eager to climb back down and start thinking about dinner. Coming down, I quickly found the string of cairns that guided us back to the desert floor. This little excursion was .5 miles with just over 325 feet of gain. Back at camp, we enjoyed our dinner under the evening skies before turning in.

I am an avid peak bagger, sometimes backpacker, and former sea kayaker living in San Diego. I am the co-author of Urban Trails:San Diego, coming in Spring 2026!

Nopal Benchmark

After climbing Blue Angels Peak and Whip Benchmark, our next destination was Nopal Benchmark, which sits to the southwest of some communication towers. We drove up past them to a small turnout. A small fire ring had been built and next to it was a small frying pan. We wondered who would have left it behind. I spotted a use trail that led up the slope of the peak and began following it toward the summit. Not more than a minute later, a car pulled up and out hops a kid to retrieve the frying pan! He had slept there last night and missed it when he packed up. We asked how it was overnight, and he replied it was nice except for being a bit windy. He hopped in this car and drove off. We continued upward following the use trail. We had to climb over a couple of rocks, but other than that it was a straightforward ascent.

The summit did not have a benchmark nor a register, but it had great views of the 8 freeway just below us.

Once back at the car, we saw that it was getting close to lunch, so we decided to skip Quirk Benchmark and Smuggler’s Den. There are a couple more benchmarks back here (Gold and Tehe) and I am sure I can convince Dave to go driving back here again. We hit The Outpost in Alpine for some great pizza and a beer before heading home. A great day to cross two more of my Borrego Benchmark Club list and have some fun in the Rubicon!

I am an avid peak bagger, sometimes backpacker, and former sea kayaker living in San Diego. I am the co-author of Urban Trails:San Diego, coming in Spring 2026!

Whip Benchmark

Today’s adventure was a combination of climbing some peaks listed on the Borrego Benchmark Club list and some fun off-road adventures in the Valley of the Moon area. We stowed our gear in the back of the Jeep after hiking Blue Angel Peak and set off toward some of the other minor benchmarks scattered around the area. Just to our west was Whip Benchmark. I wanted to get it last time I was here but had some time constraints that prevented me from hiking to it. We carefully made our way back down from Prospect Mine. At one point we had a 25-degree tilt, which was a fun bit, as we came down the road. The road up toward Whip also had some fun off-road bits, but nothing like that section we just drove down.

Whip Benchmark was a quick walk up. In fact, there was a benchmark and register that was guarded by a cactus on the summit. The last person to sign it was back in March 2021! We snapped some photos and cruised back to the jeep. We missed a turn when leaving Prospect Mine for the road I thought we should take, but could now see it to our east. That road actually rejoined the road just above that “fun” section, but this time Dave found a better line and it was a cakewalk.

I am an avid peak bagger, sometimes backpacker, and former sea kayaker living in San Diego. I am the co-author of Urban Trails:San Diego, coming in Spring 2026!

Blue Angels Peak

Today’s adventure was a combination of climbing some peaks listed on the Borrego Benchmark Club list and some fun off-road adventures in the Valley of the Moon area. Dave picked Ted and me up and headed down the freeway toward the Valley of the Moon. Ted has been wanting to climb Blue Angels peak to cross another SoCal county high point off the list. We pulled off the freeway and lowered the tire pressure on the Rubicon before setting off. We drove up the road that takes you into the Valley of the Moon. Past where I had parked my Subaru on a previous excursion, the road had its first real section that would take some care getting through, but the Rubicon had no issues. Our first designation was the trailhead for Blue Angels Peak. It was nice just driving there and not having to walk on the road like I did the first time. Just before we reached the trailhead, we had to drive up one tricky section. We parked and grabbed our gear for the much shorter hike to the summit than last time.

First, we inspected the quartz mine, as well as the abandoned Chevy, before heading southward along the use trail. To our east, we had some nice views of the actual Valley of the Moon. Huge wind turbines stood off to our south. We cruised along toward the summit, and scrambled up what I thought was the peak, only to discover it was the bump to our north. Since Boundary Marker 321 was just a few hundred yards away, we headed over to it first. After snapping a few photos of it, we retraced our route and ascended the correct bump.

Dave is dealing with some tendon issues, so he found a nice rock to lay on and enjoy the sun, while Ted and I made the short scramble to the summit. I could not find a register, but at least it now has a wooden sign. After snapping our photos and me scrambling to photograph the reference marks as well, we dropped back down off the summit and began working our way back to the jeep. We stowed our gear in the back and set off toward some of the other minor benchmarks scattered around the area.

I am an avid peak bagger, sometimes backpacker, and former sea kayaker living in San Diego. I am the co-author of Urban Trails:San Diego, coming in Spring 2026!

Boy Scout Trail

With my usual hiking partners busy, I decided to take a backpacking trip in Joshua Tree National Park. My friend Ted from Santa Barbara, who had joined me when I hiked Santa Cruz Island, was able to join me. We opted to hike the Boy Scout Trail, which would be a nice 8-mile hike, allowing us to explore both the upper Mojave desert with its Joshua Trees and then the lower Mojave desert, with cacti and yuccas. In addition, I hoped to summit two peaks on the Lower Peaks Committee list that are near the trail–Keys Peak and Mount Mel. We were doing this trip as a point-to-point hike, starting at the Keys West Trailhead and working our way down to the Indian Cove Trailhead. I arrived first at the Indian Cove Backcountry parking area and waited for Ted to arrive. Another hiker was getting ready to head off and planned on following the same route, but as a day hike. Since there is cell coverage at this trailhead, he had called for a cab to drive him to the other trailhead. This also could be an option for those who can’t or don’t want to set up a car shuttle. Ted eventually arrived, after getting a late start, and having to get a pass from the ranger station ($30). I took a short nap in the car while I waited. Once Ted arrived, I transferred my hiking gear into his car and he tossed his backpack into mine. With that, we headed back into town to grab lunch before setting off.

After enjoying a nice burger and soda at JT’s Country Kitchen, we drove back into the park via the West Entrance. This is the main entrance to the park from the north, so be prepared to wait a bit to pass by the ranger station. Since I have a National Parks Annual Pass, I was able to bypass some of the waiting. We drove south toward the Keys West parking lot. This is a large lot but can fill up. Sure enough, upon arriving, there was not a spot to be found. The Boy Scout Trail is also a popular day hiking site, so we decided to wait for some returning hikers and then take their spot. After about 10 or 15 minutes, a couple did return and I was able to take their spot. Two other cars were waiting behind me. I had grabbed two backcountry permits (free) while waiting at the other trailhead and had them filled out.

NOTE: Permits are no longer free for backpacking in Joshua Tree. You need to obtain them from Recreation.gov or from the Park Headquarters in Twentynine Palms.

We had left one at our destination and had the other ready to deposit at the backcountry board in this location. We took advantage of the primitive pit toilet before setting off. Another thing to note, there is no water at this trailhead.

The trail sets off to the north. Soon you will see a mileage sign to the three main destinations from this trailhead; Willow Hole Trail (1.2 miles), the Big Pine Trail (3.7 miles), and Indian Cove (7.7 miles). What is interesting is the mileage sign next to the parking lot lists the Indian Cove at 7.5 miles. Since I had created markers for the turn-offs to each of the side peaks, I wanted to make sure my tracking app was working. For some reason, it was not recording the distance. After relaunching the app a few times, then finally rebooting my phone, it started working. I could have enabled tracking on my Garmin InReach Mini, but I like to only use that for communication with my wife or in a real emergency.

Off to the west, we could see the snow-capped summit of San Gorgonio, Southern California’s highest peak. The trail is nice and flat for almost the first 3.5 miles, so we were able to cruise along. This area is also a popular climbing area, and we would pass signs indicating various climbing access trails to spots like “Brownie Girl Dome” and “Hidden Dome”. The first real junction that you need to look for is the Willow Hole Trail. Stay to the left to keep on the Boy Scout Trail. As you cruise along the trail, enjoy the Joshua Trees that will dot the landscape.

I knew at a certain point the trail would begin to pass into rockier terrain and we would no longer find a suitable campsite. In addition, there are some rules that we needed to observe. Besides the “stand 1 mile from a road and 500 feet from the trail”, we were also not allowed to camp on the east side of the trail. (NPS rules). We could see the terrain becoming less sandy, and the plant life began to change as well.

NOTE: There are now designated dispersed campsites that you have to camp at to reduce the impact on the area. See https://www.nps.gov/jotr/planyourvisit/the-boy-scout-trail-zone.htm

Off to my right, I could see Key Peak in the afternoon sun. We had been seeing several possible camping sites but decided to keep heading north just a bit. Not really finding anything else suitable, we retraced our route about .1 mile to a nice area near Keys Peak. We picked spots about 20 yards apart, so our snoring did not bother each other. Once camp was set up, we headed over to the base of the peak.

I looked at the western face and felt that we could tackle it straight on until near the summit where the rocks looked larger and we would stay to the right for the last bit. While I spotted one cairn near the start, I did not see the next one. No matter, the terrain did not provide any issues. About halfway up, something shiny caught my eye, and I found a mylar balloon caught in a bush, so I headed over to collect it. Once the trash was packed away, I headed back toward my original route. As I expected, toward the top, there were a few Class 2 sections to scramble through, but soon we were on the summit. I found the benchmark and register. We snapped our photos and took advantage of cell service to check in with our spouses. The sun was setting and there was a light breeze, so I was eager to climb back down and start thinking about dinner. Coming down, I quickly found the string of cairns that guided us back to the desert floor. This little excursion was .5 miles with just over 325 feet of gain.

As the sun’s light began to fade, I sat back and enjoyed the changing light upon the rocks around us. We each had our dinners and some beers we had packed in as well. It was getting colder, so we each retreated to our tents for the night. Ted had brought a tripod and DSLR in hopes of getting some nice star shots later once the sliver of moon had set. I did not have the best night’s sleep, as I needed just a bit more warmth. I woke before the sun crested the hills to the east, and Ted was up soon thereafter. Ted took a bit longer to get ready, so I scrambled up the mound of boulders to our west for a look around. Once we were done with breakfast, we finished packing and headed back onto the trail.

We came to the intersection with the Big Pine Trail that could take us to the west and eventually to the main road, but we continued working our way northward. The trail was getting rockier and rockier. There were a few boulders to work our way down, but nothing serious. It was more about having a backpack on versus a standard daypack. Along the way, we passed an old water basin from a nearby mine.

The trail markers kept us on the trail, although the route was very easy to follow. We had begun the descent toward the canyon that we would eventually follow out. Ted commented that we certainly picked the right direction, as climbing this with a full pack would take some effort. The next point of interest was the Boy Scout Viewpoint. This spot gave us an epic view toward the east. After capturing the panoramic view, we would descend through a series of switchbacks until we reached another wash. Here the trail made a hard right turn and began heading eastward.

While trail markers would still guide us through the wash, there really is only one route to take. Various cacti would dot the sides of the wash and canyon walls, including some very beautiful and colorful barrel cacti. We still had some shade, so the temperatures were pleasant as we worked through the wash and the narrow slots. I kept an eye on our track for the turn-off to climb Mount Mel. I wasn’t certain if I was going to do it as the poor sleep had not left me overly eager to scramble up the rocky slopes to this summit. Once at the turn-off, I looked at it and decided to skip it. It is close enough to the other trailhead that returning another time was not going to be an issue.

Finally, the trail left the wash, then hugged the side of the hill before exiting into the wide flat desert. From here we had a long gradual downhill hike back to the car. This trailhead only holds about 6-7 cars, and there were a few open spots. There are no facilities, but both the ranger station and Indian Cove campground do. We changed our shirts and shoes and headed back to go get my car. Along the way, we grabbed lunch at the Crossroad Cafe. They had a one-hour wait, but that gave us time to go into the park, get my car and be back in time. After lunch, Ted and I said our goodbyes until our next adventure.

Day 1: 3.93 miles, 1:35 with maybe 200 or so feet of gain.

Day 2: 4.45 miles, 2:09 with 1,280 of loss.

I am an avid peak bagger, sometimes backpacker, and former sea kayaker living in San Diego. I am the co-author of Urban Trails:San Diego, coming in Spring 2026!

Gaviota Peak

After watching the SpaceX launch of the NROL-87 mission up in Lompoc, I decided to add in Gaviota Peak before heading back home to San Diego. I pulled into the parking lot at Gaviota State Park around 1:30 pm and changed into my hiking gear. There were about 4 other cars parked in the small lot. The park does charge a $2 self-pay fee to use the lot. There are no bathrooms here or any other amenities. While there is parking outside the official lot, I felt like supporting the park.

The route to the summit has two options–the slightly more direct fire road or the Trespass Trail. I was a little tight on time due to a slight delay in the launch, so I was going to take the fire road both up and back. Many hikers take the fire road up and return down the Trespass Trail.

The route immediately begins its climb right at the start. After a short while, the noise from the 101 faded away, and I was left with just the sounds of my boots on the dirt. At the 1/4 mile mark, the trail splits between the Trespass Trail and the fire road. I kept to the left to stay on the fire road.

As I worked my way up to the summit, a few wildflowers would dot the side of the road. I saw the side trail to the hot springs but didn’t have time to go visit them. The route is a steady, constant climb. I later reviewed my route in CalTOPO and the grade was an average of 20%. So you will get a nice workout as you make your way up, but you are rewarded with some really nice views of the surrounding area while you keep climbing.

The road came to a T junction just before the summit. This gave me the first real view of the coast. Simply stunning! The last 2/10 mile to the summit is a bit steeper. Once at the summit, the large metal can that serves as the register was clearly visible, signaling the summit of Gaviota Peak. I did locate the reference mark, but the true benchmark is either lost or under that can. The can holds a large collection of registers, so I opted not to sign in. After snapping my photos, I retraced my route back down to the car. If I was going to take the Trespass Trail, I would have continued over the summit. That trail follows the ocean side of the ridge, so you will have more ocean views to take in, but it is about another mile longer.

This hike is #70 on the Sierra Club Lower Peaks Committee list, and my 12th summit. I logged 5.8 miles in 2:34 with 2,106 feet of elevation gain.

I am an avid peak bagger, sometimes backpacker, and former sea kayaker living in San Diego. I am the co-author of Urban Trails:San Diego, coming in Spring 2026!

Jacumba Mountain

Decided to tackle Jacumba Mountain today. This was a peak Susie, Ted, and Matt Hanan all needed. I initially was going to take the Subaru out to the trailhead. It made it to a different trailhead back in 2019, so I had some confidence that it was up to the task, but Matt offered up his actual 4×4 again, so I was happy to turn the driving over to him. We pulled off the 8 at In-Ko-Pah and backtracked to the dirt road that would take us back into the Jacumba Wilderness. The road was rough and took some care as we navigated around the rocks and ruts. We made it to the trailhead and parked. Off to the north stood the summit Jacumba. The route appeared fairly straightforward and without any major concerns other than it looked steep.

After climbing over some initial boulders, we dropped into a nice wash that took us toward the base of the mountain. Spying some cairns, or homemade markers, we began climbing the western side of Jacumba. We took a couple of short breaks to catch our breath, but also to take in the views.

Once we crested, the windmills of Ocotillo were spread out to our east. This is where this route connected with my previous route. Now it was a simple stroll over to the summit. We climbed up the summit block and took in the sweeping views. It was a fairly clear day, so we could see the Salton Sea off to the east.

After a nice break and signing the register, we retraced our route. The descent went fairly smooth, until almost the end. We left the wash too soon and spent a bit of time scrambling over the rocks. Oh well. Once back in the car, another off-roader was nearby and inquired a bit about our adventure. We made our way back down the dirt road, which seemed a bit easier in this direction. Back on the 8, we made a bee-line to Alpine Brewery’s Outpost for some food and drink. The hike was just over 3.1 miles in 2:56 total time and an elevation gain of 1,280 feet. Nice to cross this one off the list!

I am an avid peak bagger, sometimes backpacker, and former sea kayaker living in San Diego. I am the co-author of Urban Trails:San Diego, coming in Spring 2026!

Puff & Moan Benchmarks

Since Ted was on call, Susie and I looked over our remaining peaks for ones that Ted had previously done, and Puff and Moan Benchmarks looked like a good candidate. I knew Matt Hanan needed Puff Benchmark, so I asked if he wanted to tag along. He also offered to drive! While planning an upcoming backpacking trip in Joshua tree with the “other” Ted, I mentioned my weekend plans and he was very interested given all the planned points of interest along the way. Since we were hiking on Sunday, he drove down from Santa Barbara on Saturday evening. We caught up a bit—he was one of my groomsmen after all, before turning in. We picked up Susie en route to Matt’s house for our 6:00 am departure. As we drove east on the 8, we caught a wonderful sunrise.

We opted to take the road via the windmills as opposed to via Mortero Canyon. While a bit longer, overall the road is without any issues. As we made our way to the parking spot, I spotted a lenticular cloud to our north. I don’t think I have ever seen one before in real life. Once at the parking spot, we grabbed our gear and set off along the desert floor to our first goal, the Blue Sun Cave. I visited it last year when I was hiking out to Windy Benchmark. My memory was spot on and we found the cave without issue. We all spent some time looking over these reminders of people long since gone. But we had a lot of miles to cover, so we looped around Indian Hill to take the old road toward the tracks. Just before the tracks, there are some remains of one of the railroad camps.

Our route paralleled the abandoned train tracks. Full disclosure, the tracks are considered private property, and walking on them is considered trespassing. Our route gave us some great views of the Carrizo Gorge, various small trestles and even two derailed train cars. Soon we found ourselves at the base of the ridge that would take us up to Puff Benchmark. Avoiding the cactus was the biggest challenge we had as we made our way up the ridge. Off to our right, the famous Goat Canyon Trestle stood majestically.

Once at the summit, we took a well-earned break. We snapped our photos and grabbed a snack, as the easy part of the hike was almost over. We saw some folks down near the trestle, and later we learned it was Tara, Kali, and their friend David. They spotted Susie’s bright pink jacket and my blue shirt up on the summit. Small world! Once off the ridge, we retraced our route to pick up an old road that would take us part way toward Moan Benchmark. While we debated going over to the Trestle, Susie and I were here for the peaks.

The road could barely be seen. The years and weather have not been kind to it. Along the way, we passed another set of ruins from the track’s construction. Unlike last time, we had a pretty good route up to Moan. We soaked in the views to our east. The sun was even reflecting off of Matt’s car in the distance. After signing the register and another snack, we set off for the hardest part of the hike—the descent back to the desert floor. Neither Susie nor I were looking forward to it. It was going to be a steep and tough down climb. We debated just heading almost straight down just a bit south of the benchmark or following the route from last time. Ted opted to try the direct route, while we headed out along the previous track. Our route started off quite nicely. Off to the northwest, I could see Windy Benchmark. I wondered if that route might be an option, but we did not want to go exploring. Unfortunately we continued north a bit too far, but since the terrain was still easy, we continued until it was time to really begin our downclimb. The mess of boulders seemed much like the last time. We did eventually reach a spot from where we could not descend. We surveyed our options and worked our way south toward another possible route. We really did not want to up-climb and connect with our original track. We carefully pushed on downward.

Along the way, we did find a nice shard of pottery. Leaving it where we found it, we continued working our way down. Finally, we reached the desert floor. I took a photo of some of the stuff we climbed down. I dubbed this section “Bruno”, because “we don’t talk about Bruno”. Back on the same road we took out to the tracks, we cruised back to our starting point. We would scan the desert to our south to see if we could spot Ted. As we approached the car, he was sitting happily on the bridge waiting for us to arrive. He beat us by about 25 minutes. This was a milestone hike for me, as I now have just 25 more peaks to climb to complete the San Diego Sierra Club list a second time. The hike covered 10.9 miles in 7:27, with 1,814 feet of gain.

I am an avid peak bagger, sometimes backpacker, and former sea kayaker living in San Diego. I am the co-author of Urban Trails:San Diego, coming in Spring 2026!

Piedras Pintadas Trail

Since I was working from home, I decided to knock off another trail on the WBC challenge, Piedras Pintadas. I pulled into the parking lot, pulled on my fleece and set off down the trail. A light fog hung over Lake Hodges as I made my way along the trail.

I made the small climb to the summit, then took the required selfie. As I made my way back, I took my daily stand-up call. This short hike was a nice way to start the day.

I am an avid peak bagger, sometimes backpacker, and former sea kayaker living in San Diego. I am the co-author of Urban Trails:San Diego, coming in Spring 2026!