Hiked: 12/26/2022
Distance: 8 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 5558'
Elevation Gain: 1900'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.5
Round trip time: 3 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 48 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Clear Creek Ranger Station
Difficulty: Moderate
Leisa and I ended the hiking year on Josephine Peak (HPS #229). We got a leisurely start around 9:00 AM and had to park in the overflow lot at Clear Creek Ranger Station. A half dozen other parties were also getting ready or getting started up the Josephine Fire Road. The road is smooth and in great shape. The gain is steady but never steep as it switchbacks up the mountain. Near the top, it goes around the north side, then spirals around to the summit. There are some antennas on top, a full register, and a benchmark stamped "Mount Lowe". The official Mount Lowe is now near Echo Mountain, so Josephine must have been renamed after the mark was placed. Nice 360 views, especially of Strawberry Peak. We shared the summit with several other hikers, then made great time down. A pleasant hike in unusually warm weather.
Hiked: 12/23/2022
Distance: 12.2 miles round trip on trail and cross country
Summit Elevation: 3675' (El Cajon), 3367' (El Capitan), 3177' (Silverdome II)
Elevation Gain: 4121'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 3.3
Round trip time: 6 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 100 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Wildcat Canyon Road
Difficulty: Strenuous
This was a training hike to log some elevation gain before year end. It was my third summit of El Cajon, and I picked up two new sub-peaks, El Capitan and Silverdome II. I parked at the normal trailhead on Wildcat Canyon Road and was one of a dozen cars in the lot. I followed the road up to the start of the trail. I had forgotten there were restrooms where the trail started, a nice convenience. I started at a brisk pace, going up and down the hills on the main trail. It's about 5.5 miles to the top of El Cajon and I made it in a single push. There was a new metal sign on the summit, but no register. The benchmark was still in tact on one of the boulders.
I descended back to the main trail, then took the signed trail to El Capitan. There was a metal shed near the top filled with trash. A metal pole marked the summit on a small boulder. I checked out the highest boulder on top and found no marks or register. It had a great view of Silverdome II, and I was tempted to head directly to it. However, with no trace of a use trail, I thought I'd probably regret it.
Final approach to El Cajon
El Cajon from El Capitan
Silverdome II from El Capitan
I returned to the main trail and dropped down and back up a few hundred feet to the saddle between El Cajon and Silverdome II. There was a short trail that led part way up Silverdome II, ending at three mine adits decorated with wreaths. Each went back only 20-30'. The next half mile or so was a moderate bushwhack. First, I started up toward the ridge, using boulders when possible. I tried to head around the first cliff on the right, but got bogged down in brush well over my head. Then, I headed left of the cliff and found lighter brush, mostly knee to waist high. I climbed up a false summit, then saw the true summit further away. The summit boulder was about 15', class 3 with good holds and minimal exposure. Below it, I found a register placed by Larry Edmunds in 2019. It only had 10 signatures, counting my own. Bob Burd signed it May 27, 2026. Now, I know his secret to prolific peakbagging, he is coming back from the future! Eric Newcomb bagged Silverdome II in 2014, so there have been others. I understand the dearth of visits, the brush can be disconcerting. I found a much better path on the way back. The descent had more gain than I remembered, but that was the point.
Bushwhack from here, lightest brush is left of the boulder line in the center
Hiked: 12/16/2022
Distance: 2.6 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 6880'
Elevation Gain: 975'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.0
Round trip time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Recommended water: 20 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Lone Pine Canyon Road turnout
Difficulty: Easy
A storm the previous weekend dumped some snow in the local mountains. I thought I'd reacqauint myself with winter gear on an easy mountain just outside Wrightwood. I wasn't sure from the NOAA snow map if Circle (HPS #122) got 2" or 8" of snow, so I brought spikes and crampons for a game time decision. The snow appeared to be 2"-3", so I left with spikes and no axe. I found a good use trail all the way up Circle and footprints from recent days. The south face of the mountain was completely melted, but the trail went up the NW slope where snow still lingered. At the top, I found a metal triangle marker, but no register or marks. Marks might have been under the snow. There were two benches installed for viewing. One to the north, and one farther away to the east. I visited the east bench, then came back for photos on the summit. The round trip from the truck was less than 2 hours. I was alone on the mounatin the entire trip.
Hiked: 12/2/2022
Distance: 8.4 miles round trip on trail and cross country
Summit Elevation: 1600'
Elevation Gain: 1250'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.0
Round trip time: 4 hours
Recommended water: 48 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Airport Blvd
Difficulty: Moderate (dangerous)
Mecca Hills are famous for their amazing geology and slot canyons, including the popular Ladder Canyon. Mecca Hill Benchmark is not the high point of the hills, but is difficult to reach from any direction. It is protected by badlands and broken terrain where topo maps and satellite views don't offer much insight. My friend Adam Walker found a route to the top of Mecca Hill on his second attempt, but it required climbing a loose, class 4 mud wall. It looked beyond my acceptable level of risk, so I tried to reach the same ridge line he used, but back at it's origin. I carefully studied the topo, and created my own route that deviated from his at the end.
I parked off Airport Blvd at a locked gate near the West Coast Sand and Gravel operation. Here is a Google Map from Palm Springs. I hiked past the gate toward Mecca Hill for about 2 miles before getting onto a snaking dirt road. Another mile or so got me to the base of the target ridge. I could tell as I approached it there was no easy way up. The start of the ridge was sandstone pillars uplifted vertically, wrapped in dried mud, and all of it severely eroded. I followed one of the canyons past the ridge and discovered one of the walls had collapsed, spilling giant monoliths into the path. I imagined this kind of collapse could happen at any time and anywhere on this mountain. I searched up a gully that I hoped would wind upward, but it ended abruptly at a 15' dirt wall. I returned to the ridge and spotted what I thought was an intentional cairn placed at one of the slot openings. I started up this slot, hitting class 3 early, and stopped at a large chockstone. It was an easy class 3 move to get over the chockstone, but I saw a crevasse on the other side of it, though there was a 3' ledge on the left. Everything felt too unstable and crumbled when I touched it. The ledge probably would have held my weight, but I was not feeling it. Had all of this been granite, I certainly would have continued. Instead, I flew the drone to get a better look at what was ahead. This slot might have gotten me to the ridge, but there were no guarantees. Maybe it was an easier way up, but I'm not sure. I doubt I'll make another attempt on this mountain, but I greatly appreciated the unusual geology.
Hiked: 11/26/2022
Distance: 11.7 miles round trip on trail and cross country
Summit Elevation: 3392'
Elevation Gain: 3311'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.6
Round trip time: 9 hours
Recommended water: 108 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Elephant Trees Trailhead
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elephant BM is the elephant in the room when you visit the Split Mountains by Ocotillo Wells. It dominates the local area and was named after the rare elephant trees that grow nearby. Elephant trees are mostly found in Baja, Mexico. The trailhead was the Elephant Trees Discovery trail, a one mile loop that has a couple living trees along the trail. And a couple of dead ones. "Hardcore" Henry Chen joined me on this excursion. I had mapped a route up the major gully north of Elephant to Starfish Cove, a confluence of five drainages. Then, up a long gully to a ridge behind the summit. Facts on the ground made us abandon part of the plan.
We hiked to the end of the Discovery trail, then continued cross country toward the major gully. The flood plain was filled with rocks and braided washes. We followed a path of least resistance until we entered the gully. Before reaching the gully, we passed a healthy elephant tree and found another on the way back. Once we got to the gully, the going was easier, with a sandy floor and easy dry falls. We made steady progress as we snaked our way up. When we reached Starfish Cove, I was expecting a wide, sandy flat. Instead, it was turbulent and chaotic, with criss-crossing washes full of boulders and mud walls. We made the turn into the ascent gully and took our first break. The gully was passable, but full of obstacles and low visibility. We decided the ridge looked more appealing and headed up. Rocks on the ridge were solid, cactus and agave were abundant, and nothing exceeded class 2. We had some concern the ridge would not connect, but after two false summits, we saw the path to Elephant.
Elephant tree we found near the gully
Henry climbing the ridge out of Starfish Cove
False summit, but top is not much further
A small boulder marked the summit and we found a register dating from 1980. Elephant gets an average of 2 visits per year. The last one was in March, 2022. We signed in and read the entires of the adventurers from last 42 years. Views were great in all directions. It had taken us longer to reach the summit than we expected and we decided to take one of the ridge lines down. We picked a ridge south of the ascent gully, but were confident it was unbroken. We scrambled down the class 2+ ridge slowly, dodging cactus. When we reached the top of the final ridge section, we decided to drop into the major eastern gully. That section was sketchy and loose. Henry waited for me to get most of the way down before following, since both of use were creating rock slides as we went. We joined up in the gully and made our way back to the ascent line. In hindsight, it might have been faster to stay on top the ridge to the end. By our lights, most of the eastern ridge lines will go, and more efficiently than going up from Starfish Cove. When we got back to the trail, we took the other part of the loop, finding the largest and healthiest elephant tree of the day. A fine day in the desert.
Split Mountains (near) and Fish Creek Mountains (far)
Summit
Descent ridge, we bailed into the gully on the last segment
Largest elephant tree was along the discovery trail
