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.
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.
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