Palms BM, Elder BM, and Wash BM

Hiked: 5/25/2018
Distance: 6.2 miles round trip cross country
Summit Elevation: 3433' (Elder), 3121' (Palms), 1402' (Wash)
Elevation Gain: 2438'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.95
Round trip time: 6 hours 15 minutes
Recommended water: 80 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Collins Valley Jeep Trail
Difficulty: Strenuous

The gate to Anza-Borrego's Coyote Canyon closes seasonally every year from June 1 to October 1. This prodded me to make an attempt on Elder BM and Palms BM before the gate closed. Matt Hanan and Steve Andrews joined me for this adventure. I plotted a starting point on a jeep trail near Wash BM, several miles north of the third crossing. We met at Christmas Circle in Borrego Scprings and took Di Giorgio Road north until it turned into Coyote Canyon Road. The second crossing was dry, removing any concerns we had about making it to the trailhead. The third crossing had about six inches of water. There was a half mile of rough road after the third crossing, 4x4 recommended but high clearance may be good enough.

Wash BM was under a dead tree near our parking spot. We walked over to snap it before gearing up. It was a participation trophy. The plan was to ascend the gully between Palms and Elder to a plateau, climb both peaks, then return down the gully. About 3/4 of a mile of open desert sat between the truck and the ascent gully. Coyotes howled in the distance and the ground was fertilized with sheep scat, though we never saw one. We started up the left side of the gully, eventually wandering back and forth based on the path of least resistance. We tried to keep the 1200' ascent at class 2 and mostly did. After reaching the plateau, we stopped for fuel and water.

Wash BM

Matt and Steve starting up the gully

Mid-section

Steve on a semi-truck sized boulder near the top

Matt and Steve wanted to tackle the toughest peak first and that was Elder. We headed for another gully right of Elder and continued our class 2 boulder hopping. At the top of the gully, we made a left turn on the shoulder of Elder. The terrain got easier as we neared the top. Elder had a class 1 boulder and beneath it was both the register and benchmark. From Elder, we could see the tiny black smudge of the truck in Collins Valley. Every named bump and formation in the area was visible. Collins Benchmark and Square Top were dominant while the jagged spire of Elder North drew reverence. The team was not up for Elder North on this trip, but I would like to make a separate excursion with rope to stand on the class 5 summit. As far as I know, no one has reached the true summit of Elder North.

Elder from the plateau

Lots of juniper trees along the way

Elder BM, the shadow cast from a large permanent slab

Elder register

Elder North looking sharp and serrated

Powerful Collins Benchmark

Palms from Elder

Collins Valley

Formidable Square Top

We returned to the plateau and agreed on a similar strategy for Palms. We started toward the saddle, avoiding the freakish boulders on the north ridge. Steve had some leg cramping and opted to wait for us back at the gully. Matt and I found a good place to start our climb and we left the plateau but still angled toward the saddle. When the way was clear, we turned toward the summit which was long and flat. The summit was on the south side with a large class 3 boulder as the clear high point. We each climbed the high point, then spent time looking around for the register and benchmark. The register was under some rocks on top of the large oval boulder that also had guide wires. There were remnants of a register in a small glass jar inside the red cans. We left a new register book on Palms in a snack sized ziplock baggie, not quite large enough to contain it. It could use a full sized ziplock baggie. Matt spotted the reference mark on a low rock near the oval boulder. It pointed back to the oval rock but we found no signs of the triangulation benchmark on or around the oval boulder. The views on Palms were exemplary with different angles on the landscape compared to Elder. We were pleased with our route up Palms and backtracked the same route down. When we got back to the gully, Steve was nowhere to be found. We guessed he started down. I yelled down the gully for him but got no reply. If some mishap occurred, we might never find him in the patchwork of boulders. Matt and I started down taking gravity assisted class 3 segments that we avoided on the way up. About half way down, we spotted Steve picking his way down the center of the gully. We caught up with him near the bottom. While waiting for us at the gully, Steve said his legs were getting stiff and he wanted to get moving again before they got cold. It all worked out. I was undecided about rating this hike moderate or strenuous but the difficult terrain tipped it to the lower end of strenuous. As a group, we collected three mylar balloons. It was a picturesque hike, full of wonderment. With summer approaching, it may be too hot to do anything more on the San Diego list until October.

Palms from the plateau

Matt on the summit boulder

Palms reference mark, could not find the benchmark

Boulder with the register

On the Palms summit boulder

From the summit of Elder

Zanja Peak

Hiked: 5/20/2018
Distance: 9.5 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 3543'
Prominence: 723'
Elevation Gain: 1739'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.39
Round trip time: 3 hours 25 minutes
Recommended water: 48 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on 13th street
Difficulty: Moderate

Leisa and I drove out to San Bernardino County for a training hike to Zanja Peak, the high point of the Crafton Hills. We chose the western route that came with extra distance but a milder grade. We parked at the corner of 13th Street and Chapman Heights. There is ball park nearby with public restrooms. The Thunderbird Trail starts across Chapman Heights a little west of 13th street. The trail is a smooth single track that winds slowly up into the hills. It was overcast and cool when we started, pretty ideal conditions. The area is covered in grass, low brush, and infrequent trees. It reminded me of Chino Hills State Park. We set a brisk pace and in a couple of miles, made a right turn on a use trail to pass over a ridge before intersecting the Crafton Hills Ridge Trail.

Start of Thunderbird Trail

Crafton Hills Ridge Trail junction

The Crafton Hills trail was a wide dirt road in most places and continued at a mild grade. The trail had equal parts hikers and mountain bikers, though it wasn't crowded. Benches were placed every mile or so for rest stops. Before reaching the steep use trail to the Zanja summit, we got nice views up Mill Creek toward the San Bernardino Mountains. As we made our summit bid, the low clouds started burning off, but not fast enough for clear views. There was a San Bernardino County benchmark on top, but no register. There were also two more benches. Other hikers were already there and more arrived while we rested. One of the other hikers on top told us the eastern summit trail was easier and Leisa preferred to descend that way. Going over the peak added a little more distance and gain, but it was a good trade off. At the Crafton Hills trail junction on the eastern side was a Zanja Peak sign. We turned back west and kept up the pace, though I think Leisa drove that more than me. Picked up one mylar balloon on the way out. After the hike, we treated ourselves to lunch at In-N-Out.

Approaching Zanja

County benchmark

Summit area

Zanja sign on the east side

Descending

Diablo Benchmark

Hiked: 5/11/2018
Distance: 9.5 miles round trip cross country
Summit Elevation: 2440'
Elevation Gain: 1362'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.08
Round trip time: 4 hours
Recommended water: 88 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at S2 turnout
Difficulty: Moderate

Diablo BM is #83 on the Sierra Club San Diego Peaks List. It is usually hiked from scenic Sandstone Canyon, but I chose to take a longer route from west, leaving from the side of the road on the Great Southern Overland Stage Route (highway S2). I parked close to the starting point for Stage BM just after sunrise. The general plan was to follow June Wash until I got near, then take a more direct line.

I went north into June Wash where the open desert terrain was easy. It started out wide and sandy, then went through a cholla garden. After several miles, it started to narrow and went through a second cholla section, more dense than the first. Navigation was still easy but there were plenty of hazards on the ground. Mud walls began to rise up on both sides. As Diablo got closer, I saw the ground was very broken around it and a direct line did not look possible. Both east and west ridges looked like good approaches. Since June Wash was heading to the west side, I looked for a way to reach the west ridge. I picked a narrow side wash, 10' across in some places, and followed it up. I made it to a ridge south of the main west ridge and it wasn't clear that it connected. I continued on until I saw that a knife edge did connect. There was one place I had to use my hands to scramble up a low crumbly wall. The final part was a breeze. On top of Diablo was a cairn and three register books. I signed the newest one, only a month old, and admired the washes and broken ground from above. The benchmark was placed by the California Dept of Beaches and Parks. I decided to take a slightly different way back, heading due west toward Peak 2195. I dropped into the gully below Peak 2195 and went south from there until it connected to June Wash. I ended up on the other side of a mud wall from where I made my approach but eventually merged back on my original track. I tried to take enough video to make a hyperlapse of the major sections. While I missed out on Sandstone Canyon, I was glad I took the long route to Diablo. It was drizzling on the coast, but perfect blue skies in the desert.

First cholla garden

Mud walls

Second cholla garden

Side wash to the ridge

Knife edge to the main ridge

Summit

Diablo Hyperlapse Ride Along from Keith Winston on Vimeo.

Wild Things v5

Hiked: 5/11/2018
Distance: 1.2 miles round trip on trail
Difficulty: Easy

This is fruit from my second trailcam. I stayed with the same model of Bushnell as the first one, mainly because I have some limited ability to operate it. This camera was set to take video only and I placed it at a watering hole in the Santa Ana Mountains where I had good luck last time. After collecting the SD card, I moved the camera to a log right of this spot where the animals tend to go. The next batch will at least have a different perspective. In addition to the friendly, neighborhood bobcat, there is a coyote and fox.

Santiago Scar and Wart

Hiked: 4/29/2018
Distance: 2.8 miles round trip on dirt road and cross country
Summit Elevation: 4446' (Wart)
Elevation Gain: 1388'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.11
Round trip time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 40 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on North Main Divide Road
Difficulty: Moderate

The Santa Ana Mountains are the not the prettiest mountains. The range is covered in thick chaparral, the canyons dense with poison oak, and a dirt road bisects most of it. Willie and I embraced the ugly and set off to explore the "Scar", a massive drainage that disfigures the south face of Santiago Peak, and the "Wart", a rough, rocky outcrop half way down the Scar. These are names I fabricated for the geological features, but they seem to fit. The Scar is visible 20 miles away if you know to look for it.

Let me show you a new place
If you follow directions
You'll be wearing a new face
Add it to your collection
-- Paul Revere and the Raiders, Mr. Sun Mr. Moon
There's no easy way to reach the bottom of the Scar, so we planned to descend from Main Divide Road just below the Santiago summit. From the Telephone Ridge hike, I knew the upper slopes of Santiago were clogged with buckthorn. I mapped a direct descent to the top of the Scar and an alternate route down scree. We parked at the saddle between Santiago and Modjeska allowing room for other vehicles to pass. It was a short hike to the drop in point. The Wart was visible from the road. The Scar wasn't. We started on a direct angle toward the top of the Scar. Progress ended quickly in a solid wall of buckthorn. It would have taken hours to chop our way through, so we backtracked and headed down the scree. That was much more manageable. Light bushwhacking, talus, and yucca, got us half way to the Wart. Past more brush was an open field where we got our first close look into the Scar. It was about 20-30' across and about 15' deep. The sides were crumbly dirt and there were a surprising number of large rocks and boulders in the channel. There was no safe way in, so we continued toward the Wart. A final, short section of heavy bushwhacking was required to reach the Wart. Somewhere in that section, I lost my sunglasses and didn't find them. [$100 reward for return of the sunglasses lost in the brush above the Wart] Once we got out of the brush, access to the Wart was easy, and provided outstanding views up and down the Scar. The top of the Wart stood at 4446', 880' and 0.4 miles below the road. We felt it was worthy of a register so we placed one.

Santiago Scar and Wart from Rancho Santa Margarita

Willie ready to go

Crawling obstacle

First look into the Scar

Nasty section just above the Wart

Willie on the Wart

Looking down to the lower Scar

Placed the register

Next, we descended into the Scar and continued lower. We stopped at a 15' fall. There was a good scramble route down, but we didn't trust the flaky dirt to hold the boulders in place. We could have gone down the Wart to reach the lower Scar, but instead we decided to climb. It might be worth a second trip to explore the lower Scar. Going up was mostly class 2 on unstable ground. We climbed about 350' up the Scar before looking for an exit. We didn't want to go all the way to the top and be trapped in buckthorn prison, so we bailed out and made an arc around the brush to the scree slope. It was far less fun going up the scree than sliding down. And a lot slower. We stayed on track and made it back to the road for the easy march down to the truck. I removed a couple of buckthorn splinters on the way back. The one in my finger came out cleanly, the one in my butt broke off and was too deep to extract. I am hoping it works itself out in the next week or so. It was pure fun exploring Santiago's blemishes.

Into the Scar

Ascending the Scar

Looking back at the Wart

Exit

Clouds rolled in as we finished

Willie made this kick ass video