Coolidge Benchmark Loop

Hiked: 1/24/2021
Distance: 7.3 miles round trip cross country
Summit Elevation: 2242'
Prominence: 1042'
Elevation Gain: 2513'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.0
Round trip time: 5 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 90 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Coolidge Springs Road
Difficulty: Moderate

Rain was forecast for most of the coming week, including my regular Friday hike day. I hastily came up with a P1K desert mountain, Coolidge Benchmark, to squeeze in on Sunday. Coolidge was another obscure peak off highway 86 near the Salton Sea. Bob Burds trip report showed him going up a large gully close to Coolidge Springs Road. I reviewed the topo maps and planned a route up one of the eastern ridges. There are multiple ridge possibilites, but they are not all equal, some with big drops or potential cliffs. I also plotted to come down a different ridge further south to form a loop.

I parked on a service road near Coolidge Springs Road, well below sea level, and followed the road toward the ascent ridge. The ridge looked quite steep when I got to the base. Going up involved a lot of hand and foot climbing, but it never exceeded class 2. The ridge was broken into multiple sections with short flatter segements in between. After a steady climb, I reached the summit area then investigated three possible high points before finding the benchmark. A wooden pole was the first place I looked, but the benchmark and register were south of there. A small register and some loose pages were inside a glass jar inside a red can. The entry prior to mine was from 2016, a five year gap. The front row view of the Salton Sea was unique. Wind was gusting keeping it generally cold on the summit. After signing the register, I continued south off the summit toward a long southeastern ridge. Once I was sheltered from the wind, I stopped to eat my sandwich.

Toehold on the ridge

Salton Sea from the summit

Looking south toward Fish Creek Mountains

Summit is about 100' south of this pole
The descent ridge had some steep class 2 sections, but fewer than the way up. I passed a lot of bighorn sheep scat, but no sheep. After dropping the first thousand feet, I could see several abandoned mining roads below. I headed for the lowest road, crossing a major gully to continue down the ridge. I tried to drop down a wash near the bottom, but both the wash and the ridge ended in 60' cliffs. I could have returned to the gully crossing but instead climbed an embankment to reach a higher road. The road went over a hill, then came to an end, but the ridge down was low angle at this point. Finally at the bottom, I walked along Wonderstone Wash, tracking the base of Coolidge back to the truck. I was pleased my planned route worked out. Coolidge was a hearty bit of work.

Descending

Cruising back along Wonderstone Wash

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Nickel Canyon

Hiked: 1/16/2021
Distance: 14.6 miles round trip on trail and cross country
Summit Elevation: 1538' (at trailhead)
Elevation Gain: 3160'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.5
Round trip time: 7 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 142 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass at Fisherman's Camp Trailhead
Difficulty: Strenuous (cross country)

Nickel Canyon feeds into San Mateo Canyon not far from the end of public access where San Mateo flows into Camp Pendleton. It is very remote and very seldom visited. I am not aware of anyone else who has been in the canyon. I started at Fisherman's Camp Trailhead and dropped into San Mateo Canyon, following the trail past Bluewater Canyon, my destination more times than I can count. In 2016, I got within half a mile of the entrance to Nickel Canyon. On this trip, I planned to get as far up the canyon as time and water would allow. From the trailhead, it was 6 miles on trail to get to Nickel Canyon. Parts of the San Mateo trail fade in and out around two of the crossings, but cairns are helpful in places. The water levels in San Mateo Creek were noticeably low.

Oak glade in San Mateo Canyon

Marker at stream crossing

Entrance to Nickel Canyon
The start of Nickel Canyon was rocky but easy to access. Oaks and scrub lined both sides, but the center was filled with rocks and boulders of all sizes. There was quite a bit of water in Nickel with many shallow pools. It was beautiful. I waded in knee deep water where it was easier than trying to avoid it. Compared with other wild canyons in the Santa Ana Mountains, it was fairly easy to navigate. The first major obstacle I hit was a small waterfall with a 5' deep pool. The best bypass was to scramble up next to a fallen tree on the left side. I continued upstream finding a wide leaf covered pool. Beyond that, the canyon dried up for about a quarter mile but remained rocky.

First waterfall

Looking back, I scrambled up next to the tree on the right (on the left when going upstream)

Small pools appeared again higher up and I ran into the second major obstacle at the two-tiered second waterfall. The pool below the fall was only 4' deep, but there was no easy bypass. A giant boulder on the left rose 10' above the water and required a 3' step to the stone face of the fall. Several small perches were in reach. I picked one and stepped across with my left foot and immediately slipped. Out of reflex, I grabbed onto the wall with my hands and found a tiny hold with my right foot. This prevented my pack from pulling me backward into an uncontrolled fall. Any kind of injury in this ultra remote canyon would have been trouble. I climbed the wall to get past the falls and sat down for lunch. I was about half way through the daylight and one mile up canyon, and decided it was a good place to turn around. Upstream, the canyon looked a little more rugged but still inviting and passable. I was more careful getting back onto the boulder. I took off my pack and threw it onto the boulder, tossed my trekking pole on the other side of the boulder, then made a clean step across. It was warm on the way back and I took another break at the mouth of Bluewater Canyon. Anyone that enjoys exploring local wild canyons like Harding or Black Star would enjoy Nickel. Because it's so remote, expect a full day.

Top tier of the second waterfall

The step across to get above the falls

Looking upstream where I turned back, much more to explore

Fish Benchmark and Eagle Benchmark

Hiked: 1/2/2021
Distance: 8.1 miles round trip cross country
Summit Elevation: 2334' (Fish), 2371' (Eagle)
Elevation Gain: 3362'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.7
Round trip time: 7 hours 45 minutes
Recommended water: 132 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on EC085 dirt road by railroad tracks
Difficulty: Strenuous

I kicked off 2021 with a two summit loop in the Fish Creek Mountains just east of the Salton Sea. Eagle BM is also the high point in the Fish Creek Mountains (by only tens of feet). I drove to the end of Split Mountain Road, then east for 5 miles on a dirt road that parallels the Plaster City Narrow Gauge Railroad. Along the road were multiple camped RVs with ATVs and dune buggies. The area is very popular with the OHV crowd. I planned to do a clockwise loop with Fish BM first and parked near my exit point. The second mile of the road had some deeper sand. I flipped on 4x4 but I'm not sure it was needed. I planned to mostly follow Adam Walker's GPS track.

I walked the railroad tracks less than a mile before veering toward the steep ascent gully. I expected a solid 1500' scramble and was not disappointed. The gully was full of large boulders and dry falls. The ascent was a mix of class 2/3, but with careful route finding, most was class 2. I was in shadow until I exited the first gully and started up the second gully which was 500' of steep class 1. I exited the second onto a high plateau with a final 300' ridge to Fish. On top, I found a benchmark, reference mark, and register placed in 1979 by Wes Shelberg. Fish is a seldom visited summit. The prior entry in the register was from a year ago and was the only entry in 2020. The register was only half full since 1979. Eagle looked quite rugged only two air miles away. Views in all directions were great. I only rested long enough to complete my summit rituals. I thought most of the scrambling was done once I reached Fish, but was mistaken. Tough hours were ahead.

Ascent gully

Near the top of the gully

Approaching Fish BM

Worked up a lather already

Looking over at Eagle BM

I dropped back onto the plateau and started down a long class 2 gully toward Eagle. I was dumped out about 700' below Eagle in a confluence of canyons. I aimed for the slope left of Eagle and slowly picked my way up. At the bottom of the slope, I heard voices and saw a couple of hikers on the ridge on their way to Eagle. I didn't expect to see anyone and wondered if they would still be at the summit when I arrived. After fighting up to the saddle below Eagle, I was startled by an explosion above the summit. Some kind of loud fireworks had gone off and the sound echoed through the canyons. A second explosion quickly followed. In 15 minutes, I was on the summit with a party of six hikers and a dog. They were the vanguard of a larger group and set off the fireworks to let the others know they had reached the summit. They thought the other part of the their group was about an hour behind them and left more fireworks for them. I chatted with a guy named Alexis and discovered they were all local. I found no marks on Eagle, but the register also went back to 1979. Based on the register, it was much more popular than Fish. They settled north of the summit to wait for the rest of their group. I was only on Eagle long enough to sign the register since the afternoon sun reminded me the day was short. I wanted no part of getting down in the dark. My only major deviation from Adam's track was the descent off Eagle. He stayed on the ridge line and I decided to drop down a gully on the north side, something I came to regret. The gully was steep and very loose. A lot of it was talus, but even large, stable looking boulders were loose and could not be trusted. I ended up butt scooting down most of it, causing minor rock slides every other step. It was the only unpleasant part of the hike. Once on the lower plateau, I eventually found the remnants of an old miner's trail and was able to follow it on and off for the rest of the descent. I got back about an hour before sunset.

Ascent path on the slope

Looking back at Fish BM

Craig Barlow and Adam Walker signatures

Some of the party of six below the summit

Crappy, loose gully I used to descend from Eagle