Tierra Blanca High Point, Peak 1882, Caliente BM

Hiked: 9/27/2019
Distance: 5.5 miles round trip on trail and cross country
Summit Elevation: 3089' (Tierra Blanca), 1882' (Peak 1882), 1610' (Caliente)
Elevation Gain: 2313'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.8
Round trip time: 5 hours 40 minutes
Recommended water: 88 oz.
Parking/Fees: $3 San Diego County Parks
Difficulty: Moderate

I drove to Agua Caliente County Park off highway S2 in the desert. There is a $3 day use fee (self pay). The park has flush bathrooms, camping spots, some cabins, and indoor and outdoor pools. The $3 fee includes use of the pools. I parked near the start of the Moonlight Trail, though over 90% of this hike was off trail. I noticed a lot of bighorn sheep scat around the parking area and also on the trail, but was not lucky enough to see one. After half a mile, I left the trail for an unnamed canyon to the north. The beginning had a faint use trail, but soon it was filled with large boulders. The first mile of the canyon was pretty intense with several dry falls. With route finding, I kept it at strong class 2. I started to wonder if the entire gully was going to work me this hard but some flat sandy sections appeared in the upper reaches. The higher I got, the less sheep scat I saw. I also found coyote and cougar scat. Because it had rained the day before, the animal prints in the sand were blurred. When I got to the saddle at the top of the gully, I scrambled up toward the Tierra Blanca High Point below a large rock structure.

Starting up an unnamed canyon

Went up just left of the big rock

The summit had a register in a jar inside a red can. Entries went back to 1989 and included signatures from Wes Shelberg and Paul Freiman. Views were gorgeous into the Inner Pasture and Sawtooth Mountains. The previous entry before mine was from January, 2018, twenty months earlier. After hanging out on the summit, I decided to take the ridge back. However, half way back, I dropped into another unnamed canyon to the south to finish the descent. Both the ridge and southern canyon required careful route finding and boulder hopping. On the way down, I hit two class 3 dry falls that I down climbed. As I neared the exit from the canyon, I spotted my second goal of the day, Peak 1882.

Inner Pasture and Sawtooth Mountains

Ridge in the direction of Agua Caliente

The sun was now in full force making the mid-80s temps feel a bit warmer. I switched into a short sleeved white shirt. After hours of scrambling, I was relieved to make it out of the canyon. Directly ahead was the short, steep slope to Peak 1882. At the top of 1882, I found a bare summit covered in red flying ants. I've been swarmed by both red and black flying ants. The red ones tend to bite, so I took one quick photo looking down on Agua Caliente then proceeded over the top and down the other side. Caliente Benchmark was my final goal for the day. Getting down to the trail was slow since the slope on this side was also steep and loose. Back on the loop trail, I passed through some thick green vegetation. There was a bit of flowing water on the trail. That explains the sheep hanging around this area. With a quick GPS check, I spotted where I could catch the ridge up to Caliente. On the summit was a benchmark on a pipe and a register. The 1957 benchmark was stamped by Cal B&P, which the Internet tells me is "Business & Professions", some kind of state code. The history around this mark is a mystery to me. After signing the register, I completed the loop trail back to Agua Caliente. As I got to the truck, I smelled something unusual. My guess was butane but I couldn't place it. I changed into swimming clothes and headed to one of the outdoor pools. I was there for one minute before a fireman came over and told me they were evacuating the park due to a chlorine problem. I guess too much of the chemical was put into the indoor pool. He escorted me to my truck and determined I didn't need decontamination before leaving. I missed out on a relaxing soak, but really enjoyed this fun but tough hike. One mylar balloon collected.

Peak 1882 ahead

Peak 1882 summit

Agua Caliente below

Water

Caliente Benchmark

Tierra Blanca High Point on the left