Iron Hiker: Peak 3339 and Al Holden Peak

Saturday, September 16, 2017

Peak 3339 and Al Holden Peak

Hiked: 9/15/2017
Distance: 8 miles round trip on trail and cross country
Summit Elevation: 3339' (Peak 3339), 3240' (Al Holden)
Elevation Gain: 1753'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.4
Round trip time: 4 hours 10 minutes
Recommended water: 64 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on McCain Valley Road spur
Difficulty: Moderate

I continued simple, honest work on the San Diego Peak List with Peak 3339 (#68), a vague rock pile in the northern In-Ko-Pah Mountains. It seemed like an odd choice for the list since higher rock piles are right next to it. The trailhead is on an eastern spur from McCain Valley Road, less than a mile north of Lost Valley Road. I planned to climb the nearby Al Holden Peak as well. This hike is canyon style, with a descent at the beginning and a climb at the end.

The drive out was slowed by a convoy of work trucks on McCain Valley Road strictly following the 15mph speed limit. Whatever power system they are installing is a massive operation with towers and pipelines everywhere. I was the only car at the Carrizo Overlook parking area. The initial descent was fairly gentle on a sandy single track. I had studied my intended path on Caltopo but was overconfident and took a left fork in the trail the wrong way. When I figured out my mistake, I tried to fix it by following a wash going in the general direction I needed. This led to some nasty bushwhacking and unnecessary scrambling, and probably cost me 20 minutes. Back in the open desert, I was hiking east directly into the morning sun. It was hard to figure out where 3339 was, but no angle of the sun would have made it easier. As I approached the wall of rocks leading to Peak 3339, I veered right (south), following a faint use trail and some cairns. This required some scrambling and eventually, I worked back north to find 3339 after checking out several false summits. This was the most difficult San Diego summit to locate (so far) because it is not prominent and blends in too well with the surroundings. Peak 3339 was a large boulder with a class 3 crack running up the north side. There was a small cairn on top. I didn't find a register and forgot to bring one. On the way down, my Canon Powershot camera fell out of my pocket and bounced about 20' down into the pile of boulders. I really thought I had lost it, but found it resting below the summit in a place I could reach. The camera has really taken a beating this year. I hydrated, then gathered my stuff and headed toward Al Holden Peak.

Mt. Tule under the cloud

Heading across the open desert toward 3339

Scrambling up

Peak 3339, the crack to climb is on the other side

Summit view

It was a short trip over to Al Holden. I didn't have any beta on it, so as I approached it, I guessed the east side would be easier to climb. That was wrong. I got about half way up before running into class 5 problems. I returned to the main gully on the south side and found it was straightforward class 3 all the way to the top. It was all golden granite. There was a metal "Al Holden" sign on the summit, but I didn't find a register. The 360 views were great. Al Holden Peak was a lot more fun than 3339 and a much better summit in general. It was definitely worth the side trip to bag it. On the way down, I took my first break to refuel, then wondered whether to return over 3339 or circle the other way around the big rock pile. I decided to circle around. I stayed just above the drainage filled with truck-sized boulders, but ran into plenty of brush and class 3 on the descent. It would have been easier to return over 3339. When I got around the rock pile, I continued back to the trail and followed it, the right way, up to the overlook. Driving out on McCain Valley Road, I ran into more work trucks of various sizes. I passed one that took offense and gave me a low honk, while others pulled over to let me speed past. Next up, I drove toward Rancho Cuyamaca State Park for Little Stonewall Peak.