Iron Hiker: Guard, Agua, and Store Benchmarks

Hiked: 12/1/2019
Distance: 4.5 miles round trip cross country
Summit Elevation: 1592' (Guard), 1429' (Agua), 2040' (Store)
Elevation Gain: 1100'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.9
Round trip time: 3 hours 10 minutes
Recommended water: 32 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at turnout on Highway S2
Difficulty: Easy

This was a benchmark hunt just north of Agua Caliente County Park. From a central parking spot, I determined that I could hike to Guard, Agua, and Store Benchmarks. The first two were trivial, and even adding Store to the mix didn't raise the difficulty much. It was a welcome reprieve from the nail biter on Elder North.

First up was Guard. It was hard to spot the high point from the parking area. I just started up the ridge and half a mile later arrived at the benchmark, which was stamped "VALLE". This one got renamed at some point. No register. I returned to the car, then headed the other direction for Agua. It barely rose 100' above the plains. The small mark was placed by the Department of Beaches and Parks. This one did have a register and a handful of signatures going all the way back to 1996. After signing in, I glanced over at Store which looked more substantial.

Looking toward Guard

Guard BM stamped VALLE

Snow covered Laguna Mountains

Looking toward Agua

Agua BM

Looking across toward Store

Back at the 4Runner, I looked over the GPS route I created for Store BM. While it could have been ascended directly, I wanted to head up the nearest gully and circle around behind it. Canyons sometimes have secrets and I wanted to blend in some exploration. The gully did not reveal any secrets and was mostly clear of debris. Class 1 all the way. When I got to the top of the gully, I turned left and went up the ridge to the summit. When I got home, I realized the benchmark was not at the high point. There were great views down to Agua Caliente Park and the park was full of campers. Directly below was the marsh at the end of one of the trails from the park. I haven't been on that trail yet. I returned back down the gully. It had taken so little time, I looked for a bonus on the way back and decided on Shake Benchmark.