Iron Hiker: Red Top

Hiked: 12/8/2018
Distance: 16.5 miles round trip cross country
Summit Elevation: 4467'
Prominence: 667'
Elevation Gain: 4238'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 3.39
Round trip time: 12 hours 15 minutes
Recommended water: 202 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on North Indian Canyon Road
Difficulty: Very Strenuous

Matt and I returned to North Indian Canyon Road, two weeks after our hike to Sawtooth, determined to get Red Top (SDC #42). It was the final peak I needed to complete the Sierra Club San Diego Peak List. A 4x4 is needed for the large rocks and sand on Indian Canyon Road. This time, Matt left his car parked off S2 and I drove in to an unmarked spot off the road we used as a trailhead. Ninety percent of this hike was the same as Sawtooth. Only the upper reaches of Red Top offered new terrain. We got started at 4:20 AM, but instead of the full moon we had for the first hike, there was no moon at all. Complete darkness except for the stars. Matt used a headlamp, and I used a handheld flashlight in addition to a headlamp. As we crossed the first mile toward the Tierra Blanca Pass, some plants glowed silver in our artificial light. The experience from our first hike paid off and we made a quick, cholla-free crossing over the pass down to Canebrake Wash.

To make the approach different, we turned right after the fence and followed the road that was signed for Inner Pasture, heading directly at Red Top. We thought it would intersect the road closer to the Sawtooth Mountains, but we didn't find it. Instead, before we got too far, we went over the open desert until we found the road. The sun came up as we marched toward the ascent gully. We both cached water beneath the large boulder at the entrance and took a break to refuel. We went up the gully then drifted north, staying inside a sort of alley between higher ridges on both sides. The terrain is confusing and sometimes a 50' ridge blocked the view where 80' contour lines on the GPS showed a flat area. It was a relatively smooth ascent to the reach our previous stopping point. Ahead was a gully full of over-sized boulders. We started up favoring the right side, then dropped back into the middle to get around one of the 40' boulders. We stayed in the gully until it ended about 200' below the summit. The wall of rocks choked with vegetation made a direct approach look improbable, or at very least, miserable. We climbed a short wall to the west to reach a final plateau clear of boulders. From this point forward, our GPS track is a mess as we picked our way up and across the maze toward the summit. There was a lot of bushwhacking and backtracking. Sometimes we would split up to explore different options, shouting to each other if it advanced our cause. The last 100' was mostly class 3, with the same kind of recon and route finding needed to find a way to the summit block. The difficulty of the summit area validated the call to turn back the first time when we were short on daylight.

Starting up

Massive boulders in the big gully just below Red Top

First good look at the summit

Squeezing through boulders

Matt about 50' below the summit

Register can below the summit block

Summit block

A single red can held the register underneath the summit block. The summit block was about 20', but another boulder was piled against it to provide a head start. While the block is rated class 3, the final 10-12' was a mostly smooth surface requiring a friction move onto a one inch ledge on the left. The ledge is flaking with time and might fail at some point. It was a little spicier than expected, though the exposure was not bad. A slip would probably result in a slide back into the starting boulder. I got down by sliding into it. The views from the summit were fantastic, more valuable because they were earned. While similar to Sawtooth, I felt the views from Red Top were better because they were more central. The view down the southeast ridge of Red Top was something special. The Inner Pasture and Canebrake surrounded everything like a moat. For Matt, it was his 69th peak on the Sierra Club San Diego Peak List. For me, it was 100/100 and a perfect list finish. After we both signed the register, we spread out on one of the monster slabs for lunch. We tried to return the way we came up, but there were minor variations. It took us about 2 hours to descend back to the bottom of the ascent gully and collect water cache #2. The walk back was long, interrupted occasionally by startled jack rabbits. We stopped at water cache #1 to retrieve what was left. Because the temps were ideal for a long desert hike (46F - 64F), I used a lot less water than expected and poured out the remaining water from the cache. We thought the sun would set when we reached the top of the pass, but we made it back to the truck just as twilight was fading. While the stats undersell it, I consider either Sawtooth or Red Top alone about equal in difficulty to Cactus to Clouds, and combined of greater difficulty. The challenges are very different, but the time required tells the tale. Red Top is a unique mountain that thoroughly captured my imagination. It is the Tyrannosaurus Rex of the SDC list. It's combination of remoteness, allure, and layered defenses make it one of my all time favorites. Had I climbed it first, my blog might be named "Red Top Hiker".