Peak 2444, Terri Peak, Peak 2413

Hiked: 2/24/2019
Distance: 12 miles round trip on trail and cross country
Summit Elevation: 2444' (P2444), 2569' (Terri), 2413' (P2413)
Prominence: 749' (Terri), 724' (P2444)
Elevation Gain: 1906' (combined)
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.52
Round trip time: 5 hours
Recommended water: 88 oz.
Parking/Fees: $10 CA State Parks
Difficulty: Moderate (combined)

The day before I was prepping for a completely different hike, then changed my mind in the morning to finish up the peaks around Lake Perris. What tipped the scales was Peak 2444, which had zero ascents in peakbagger. I know it's not a first ascent because I saw footprints on the way up the ridge, but a first reported ascent in peakbagger is still pretty rare. I recently replaced a broken camera and this was my first time out with the new one. I forgot to change the format to 16:9, so this batch is unfortunately 4:3. Fixed for next time.

When I arrived at the park, I discovered there was a middle school and high school mountain bike race in progress at the park. Attendees were from all over SoCal and there were hundreds of racers. I wanted to climb Peak 2444 first, but had to park far away from it near a boat dock. I could have parked closer if the race was not running. A shorter approach can be done from outside the park on Davis Road, but I also planned to hike Terri Peak which was well inside the park. I also don't mind supporting a quality park like Lake Perris. I started hiking along the lake shore toward Peak 2444, and had to cross the race line twice when there was a break in the traffic. It was awkward marching through the spectators and riders until I got past the lake, but there was no other way. When I passed the lake, I started cross country directly toward 2444. It was mostly knee high grass, probably snaky in the summer. I headed toward the south ridge on the right. The ridge was steep with some class 2 and more green than usual from heavy rainfall. There was some bushwahcking but it was never harsh. The summit boulder was easy and views were superb back toward the lake and to all the snowy high mountain ranges. There was no benchmark and no register. There was also no graffiti, a testament to how infrequently it is climbed. After pictures, I didn't bother to rest, but explored the north ridge to see if it was suitable for descent. The first drop was steep, but it looked very reasonable and I could see a horse trail below to get me back to the lake. Because it was longer and had less boulders, ascending the north ridge would be easier than the south ridge. With no beta, I didn't know that when I started.

Riders racing along Morena Beach, Peak 2444 in the distance

Leaving the trail, no hunters around

Approaching the summit

Peak 2444 summit

San Jacinto far away

Summit 360

Pole near the bottom of the north ridge

Looking up the north ridge

On the way back from Peak 2444, I decided to head for Terri Peak trail without stopping by the truck and driving to it. This added some distance to the hike. I had a general idea of where the trail started, but not exactly. I zig zagged my way through the parking lots and camp sites, but overshot the trail and had to back track. I took my first break on a park bench before the course correction. The trail starts at the end of Horse Camp Road near an old water tower. Eventually, I got over to the trail and started up. The trail was in great shape and not completely rutted by mountain bikes. There were several groups out enjoying the nice weather. The summit boulder was class 1, no marks or register. Views down to the lake were great but the higher ranges were starting to look hazy as the day wore on. I sat on the summit for some food and enjoyed the lake. Several parties reached the summit before I left. I returned the same way and took a short use trail to Peak 2413, an unofficial peak. It was a 5 minute diversion and I only did it for completeness in the area. The hike back was uneventful but required a glance at the GPS to get to the right parking lot. I have completed 7 peaks around Lake Perris. This area is pretty fun and has easy access from anywhere local to SoCal.

Heading up the trail

Terri Peak summit graffiti

Terri Peak summit boulder

The use trail to Peak 2413

Peak 2413 summit

Bighorn Canyon Peak and Blue Spring Guzzler

Hiked: 2/1/2019
Distance: 7.8 miles round trip cross country
Summit Elevation: 3567'
Prominence: 707'
Elevation Gain: 2390'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.9
Round trip time: 5 hours 15 minutes
Recommended water: 88 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free in Nolina Wash
Difficulty: Moderate

Bighorn Canyon Peak is an unofficial peak (P3567) between Bighorn Canyon and Nolina Wash in Anza-Borrego. With prominence of 707', it deserves an official name. There were only 4 claimed ascents in Peakbagger (and 4 in listsofjohn). I planned a trip over Bighorn Canyon Peak, down the other side to visit the guzzler at Blue Spring, then back via Nolina Wash. To get to the starting point, I drove south in Pinyon Wash from highway 78, then into Nolina Wash that branched right (west) from Pinyon Wash. There was a wooden sign at the junction, but it was behind a bush and not visible.

I pulled off the dirt road near the start of the ridge and began dodging cactus. At the top of the first bump is a plateau where I was surprised to find a guzzler with several tanks. I think these were set up by the state park to capture water for wild life. There was a toolbox near one of the tanks. After checking it out, I scrambled up a class 2 slope filled with boulders. Above the boulder slope, I found a radiosonde device. These are NOAA weather balloons. It said "harmless weather device" and a return envelope was attached. I'd heard about these before but this was the first one I found. The rest of the ridge was gentle, though agave was thick. I passed over a couple of false summits, then tried to discern the high point between three groups of rocks that all looked about the same. After visiting all of them, I judged one to be the highest and marked a waypoint. Apparently, a local San Diego hiking group called the Monday Maniacs had left a register somewhere, but I didn't find it. There was no benchmark. I took a break and soaked in the nice views. The main guzzler was further south at Blue Spring, so I started to think about how to get down.

Unexpected guzzler tanks above first bump on the ridge

Boulder slope

Weather balloon

The rock pile I thought was highest on the flat summit

Looking west, Granite Mountain in the distance

I didn't want to backtrack too much so I started down the south ridge. I was prepared to climb back out if I cliffed out. It was very steep but was not technical. My blood starting pumping when I reached a cliff about 400' below the summit. However, I was able to drop down a steep gully into Nolina Wash. I think there was also a safe descent path on the other side to Bighorn Canyon. I climbed up Nolina until it met Bighorn Canyon, then dropped in and looked for passage to Blue Spring. Because of a storm the day before, the ground was slightly muddy. As I headed toward the guzzler, I passed through a boneyard. First, just bone fragments, then a full spine and rib cage with a bighorn skull. A little further, I found more bone piles. Two jawbones with teeth, another spine with scattered ribs, leg and thigh bones. There was also a partially decayed deer carcass that was stinky. The guzzler at Blue Spring was overflowing with a strong stream coming out the top of one of the tanks. A trailcam was strapped to a wooden pole and labelled "State Parks". I waved at the camera while walking around. After finding a few more bones, I started back. It took about 15 minutes to get back to Nolina Wash where I began a slow, easy walk out. Nolina Wash was very sandy didn't have many obstacles. I stopped once to check out a small cave. It went back further than my flashlight, but was only big enough to crawl through. I thought briefly about exploring it before caution prevailed.

Starting down the south side

Looking back while descending into Bighorn Canyon

Hypnotizing horns of ram

Bighorn Canyon Peak from the guzzler