Iron Hiker: Sunset Mountain

Saturday, April 14, 2018

Sunset Mountain

Hiked: 4/13/2018
Distance: 4 miles round trip cross country
Summit Elevation: 3657'
Prominence: 1057'
Elevation Gain: 1988'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.59
Round trip time: 3 hours 50 minutes
Recommended water: 72 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Pinyon Wash
Difficulty: Moderate

I drove back to Anza-Borrego to chip away at the Sierra Club San Diego Peak List. Today's test was Sunset Mountain (#57), a P1K in the northern Vallecito range. The trailhead is south of Highway 78 in Pinyon Wash. I enjoyed the off road drive that only had a little deep sand. It can probably be driven by any vehicle, but to be safe, I'd recommend 4x4. From my parking spot, I walked across the flat desert toward Sunset. I dodged cactus from the beginning. The cactus population consisted mostly of cholla, agave, ocotillo, and barrel cactus, in that order of frequency.

After ascending the main wash a short distance, I started up a slope on the left. The angles were steep and the non-boulder sections were decomposed granite. The chossy crust on the dirt often gave way. Class 2 boulder sections came up now and then and were a welcome oasis of stability. There were no signs of a use trail or animal trail over the very rough terrain. Once in a while, I'd see a random foot print/hoof print in the sand. Route finding was mentally taxing. In addition to avoiding the cactus and agave, almost every step required careful attention. On boulders, I checked for loose rocks and gaps. On the slopes, each step had to be tested before committing to it and risking a slide. There were only a few breaks from the grind, short 100' lines in a wash or flat area. Other than that, it was slow, steady progress kept manageable by the short distance.

Sunset from Pinyon Wash

Ocotillo bloom

Looking down from a slope

Climbing to the false summit

As I cleared a false summit, I hit the edge of the northwest ridge and was greeted with awesome views into Lower Borrego Valley. Suddenly, all the work was worth it. A short time later, I was on the summit. The benchmark and register were about 25' from the highest boulder. The benchmark was stamped "Yak", matching the USGS topo, although the topo also named the mountain as Sunset. On top, wind blew steadily with gusts in the 25mph range. The summit had good views, but they didn't match the edge of the ridge just below. There were several books in the register cans and I signed the latest one before packing up and heading down out of the wind. I stopped on some rocks for a break, taking in the almost unnatural silence. I had seen some bighorn scat and a couple of birds near the summit, but no other wildlife of any kind. When the wind was still, nothing moved and nothing made a sound. I'm used to being alone on remote desert peaks and the silence was notable. I continued the knee-busting descent, glad to get down without incident. I finished in pretty good time and pulled up peakbagger to look for a nearby bonus peak. I found one just on the other side of Highway 78 called Perpendicular Bluff.