Thorn Point

HPS Star Emblem Peak
Hiked: 11/19/2021
Distance: 7.3 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 6920'
Prominence: 560'
Elevation Gain: 2002'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.6
Round trip time: 4 hours
Recommended water: 64 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Thorn Meadows Campground
Difficulty: Moderate

I got up at 3 AM to prep for a long day of driving to Los Padres, pretty standard. I always curse the drive, but never end up regretting it. The target was Thorn Point (HPS #25), home to an abandoned look out tower in the heart of the forest. The start was at Thorn Meadows campground, an 8 mile drive on a bumpy dirt road (7N03B) with one stream crossing. High clearance recommended. The top of the stream was frozen when I crossed and the temp at the trailhead was a shocking 27F. I got started with 3 layers and gloves and was cold for about 30 minutes before body heat and patches of sunlight warmed me up. The hike was beautiful from the start with a mix of large deciduous and evergreen trees. The first mile was fairly flat along a drainage, then gained a ridge. The slope was steady passing cliffs and randomly scattered boulders.

I was pretty close to the top before I spotted the tower. The trail took a somewhat indrect path with plenty of switchbacks to keep the gain in check. Scenery opened up behind as climb unfolded. Below the tower was the Sierra Club register in red cans, and a USFS register book that was in pieces. Next to the tower was a shack littered with debris. From what I gathered online, the tower has not been in use since the 1980s. The structure was made of steel girders while the tower was made up of decaying wood. It wasn't locked so I climbed up an poked around, carefully testing the floor as I went. The tower had a book with a story written by son of a ranger who used to man the tower in the 1950s. A few tools were lying around and a few people wrote about their interest in restoring the tower. The whole vibe was cool. I don't always agree with the Sierra Club, but Thorn Point deserves the emblem badge. After loitering for a while, I started down the trail, taking my time to soak in as much as possible. I had the entire mountain to myself. Nothing better to reboot the soul.

San Guillermo Mountain

Hiked: 11/19/2021
Distance: 2.5 miles round trip on use trail
Summit Elevation: 6606'
Prominence: 1086'
Elevation Gain: 884'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.6
Round trip time: 1 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 32 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass
Difficulty: Easy

After hiking Thorn Point, I had some time and energy and wanted to increase my cardio and gain for the day. San Guillermo (HPS #146) was on the way back, a short hike starting at Pine Springs Campground. I parked near the restroom in the campground and wandered toward the start of the main ridge line. I didn't find the use trail until I was half way up the first rise. It was in decent shape and followed the main ridge south of the mountain, turning north to finish. The register cans were placed a little below the high point. Inside the cans was a 2-page print out of a hike from 2020 with signatures on the back of the pages. I put the pages in a plastic baggie, but a new register book is needed. I enjoyed the view north to Mount Pinos and Sawmill. Views were much nicer than I expected. Like Thorn Point, I had the entire mountain to myself.

Bobbie Benchmark and Peak 1704

Hiked: 11/5/2021
Distance: 5.5 miles round trip on trail and cross country
Summit Elevation: 2518' (Bobbie), 1704'
Prominence: 838' (Bobbie)
Elevation Gain: 1400'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.1
Round trip time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 40 oz.
Parking/Fees: $10 State Park Day Use Fee
Difficulty: Easy

With only a half day available to hike, I looked for something local and easy. I drove to Lake Perris State Park and paid the $10 day use fee, although I parked just outside the park and could have skipped payment. There are 8 peaks in the hills surrounding Lake Perris. I had climbed 7 of them on previous trips and aimed to get the last one, Bobbie Benchmark. There were only 3 ascents listed for Bobbie and no tracks. I parked on a small maintenance road just off Ramona Expressway directly south of the peak. There was no official trail so I decided to go directly up the south face, expecting light brush and knee high grass. I was pleasantly surprised to find a use trail going up from the end of the road. The use trail was in good shape on the lower half of the slope, then I lost it, then I found it again on the upper slope. It was scrambley and steep in a couple of spots, but not difficult. On top were great views of the lake and the nearby Bernasconi Hills high point.

Bobbie Benchmark

From the top, I looked at the gully between Bobbie and Bernasconi as a possible descent path. There is rock climbing wall at the bottom of the gully called Big Duck Rock and I estimated the odds of descending the gully without hitting a cliff. It was hard to tell. I started down, finding one class 3 move to reach the saddle. There was a trail heading into the gully so I followed it. It faded out not far from the top, but there were several animal trails continuing down. The animal trails were helpful, but twice I hit what I thought was a cliff, only to find a continuation by going up a little or to one side. I wasn't sure it was going to go until I had only a few hundred feet left. As I exited the gully, I saw two climbers just starting up a long wall on Big Duck Rock. The wall looked like it might be too long for a single rope and I didn't see any place they might belay, but that was not my concern.

Climbers on Big Duck Rock
I followed the base of Bobbie to the west side looking for a bonus. There were a three bumps southwest of the lake about a mile away. I headed toward the highest one, Peak 1704, not listed in Peakbagger. The legal status of this strip of land is unknown. It looks like it is outside the state park and between the park and the fairgrounds. I figured I would go unless someone stopped me. As I approached Peak 1704, I decided to go up the center gully, mostly class 2 with good rock. On top was a metal cylinder and a couple of small, unlabelled marks. There was also a swarm of bugs encouraging me to drop down the north side. I returned the way I came and continued to walk along the base of Bobbie back to the truck. All my trips around Lake Perris have been fun little adventures. Hunting is allowed in the park during the fall so wear bright colors.

Dept of water resources mark near the base of the gully, stamped PR103, unusual location

Looking back at Bobbie BM (right)

Indio Mountain and Coyote Benchmark

Hiked: 10/26/2021
Distance: 8.3 miles round trip on use trail and cross country
Summit Elevation: 2250'(Indio), 2500' (Coyote)
Prominence: 746' (Indio), 1133' (Coyote)
Elevation Gain: 3401'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.7
Round trip time: 7 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 112 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Cove Oasis Trailhead
Difficulty: Strenuous

Indio Mountain and Coyote Benchmark are peaks rising above Coachella Valley, technically foothills of the Santa Rosa Mountains. They sit on a ridge between the desert communities of LaQuinta and Palm Desert. Coyote is the highpoint on the ridge. I parked at the Cove Oasis Trailhead and started along the Bear Creek trail. I took stairs down/up to cross a levee and reach the wide gully between the two peaks. There was a decent use trail leading two miles up the gully and ending at the saddle. The use trail fades in the middle, and I lost it briefly both on the way up and the way down. From the saddle, I turned right (north) to gain the ridge to Indio. There were some ups and downs along the ridge and a fun class 2 scramble to the Indio summit. Bob Burd had placed a register in 2019, but the most recent report indicated it was no longer there. I could not find it either, but I did bring another one in a plastic sandwich container and left it at the high point with a pen. Indio was a nice 360 perch to look down on LaQuinta and several golf courses. San Jacinto and Martinez Mountain filled the north and south horizons. When I left the peak, I veered south to eyeball a gully system as a possible alternative to returning along the ridge. The terrain was rough and I was concerned I might cliff out, but the penalty would only be 400' extra gain to get back on the ridge. I picked my way down the gully and didn't encounter anything more than class 2. I had to side hill around the waist of the first slope to avoid losing elevation. The gully route might be a little easier than the ridge. It was certainly more direct with slightly harder navigation.

Coyote BM (left) and Indio Mountain (right) from the parking lot

Levee

Indio Mountain

Looking back from the saddle

Starting ridge route to Indio

Coyote BM far right, Martinez in the distance, and Rabbit further behind

New register

Descent route following gullies

I rested a few minutes at the saddle, then started up the left (south) side toward Coyote BM. The south slope was even steeper than the north. After reaching the top of the slope, there was a somewhat flat, rocky, half mile traverse to reach the base of the final hill. I hiked up hitting more class 2 at the top. The summit is on the edge of a deep canyon to the south. A broken wooden pole and some wire served as a marker at some time in the past. Views were impressive in all directions. I found a register jar that contained a small book and some loose scraps. One of the loose scraps had the signature from Eric Su when he did the entire ridge traverse in 2017, in the dark no less. I stayed on top for 10 minutes before starting the slow, careful descent. It was less than a mile from the saddle to the Coyote BM summit, but my round trip time from the saddle was 3 hours, longer than I would have guessed. The use trail back to the truck was uneventful. These are stout little peaks, which probably explains why they are seldom visited. While I know there have been many more ascents than shown in Peakbagger, my ascents of Indio and Coyote BM were both the 7th recorded.

Final hill to Coyote BM

Coachella Valley

Looking over at Indio Mountain

Badlands toward Martinez

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