Distance: 2.6 miles round trip cross country
Summit Elevation: 1741'
Elevation Gain: 685'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.54
Round trip time: 1 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 20 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Highway 78
Difficulty: Easy
After Sunset Mountain, I had a little spare time so I searched Peakbagger.com for a bonus peak nearby and found Perpendicular Bluff BM. I drove about half a mile west on Highway 78 and parked on the north side. I am not sure what this bluff is "perpendicular" to. The summit is not visible from the start. I wandered toward the base of the foothills trying to figure out which ridge would connect. I started into a wash, scaring a large jack rabbit up the opposite side, then gained one of the south ridges. From the top of the ridge, I could see a clear continuation over reddish volcanic rock. Compared to Sunset, the angles were mild and the ground stable. Also, there was far less cactus making it a pleasurable junket. I snagged a couple of mylar balloons on the way up. On the summit plateau, I had to check several mounds before finding the benchmark and register. The register bag was torn so I replaced it with a fresh baggie. I thought this peak was somewhat obscure, but it appeared to be popular with many repeat visitors over the years. The benchmark was placed by the Army Corps of Engineers, who engraved a spelling error on the mark. Perpendicular was stamped "PERPINDUCILER BLUFF", 1957. Hoo-ahh! There was a fine view of Borrego Springs and a view of Sunset from the east that made it look imposing. I tried to take a more direct path to the truck, following a different ridge and taking another wash, but it did not really save time..
Start, summit not visible
Plateau
Sunset from Perpendicular Bluff
No comments:
Post a Comment