Elder North

Hiked: 11/17/2019
Distance: 3.6 miles round trip cross country
Summit Elevation: 3482'
Prominence: 600'
Elevation Gain: 1942'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.5
Round trip time: 6 hours 10 minutes
Recommended water: 92 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Salvador Canyon (off road)
Difficulty: Strenuous (class 5 summit, route finding)

Elder North is a spiky peak with good prominence near Elder Benchmark in Collins Valley. I've wanted to bag it since climbing Elder in 2018. It required a long off road drive on jeep trails to the mouth of Salvador Canyon. About an hour once you leave pavement from DiGiorgio Road in Borrego Springs. Then, a hard, steep boulder scramble with no trail to the summit with all 1900'+ of gain compressed into one mile. Capped off with a class 5.9 15' decomposing sandstone summit block. Before my trip, there were 3 ascents listed in Peakbagger and Lists of John. Two of those reported they did not attempt the summit block. The third left no report. I packed minimal rope gear and estimated my odds of getting the summit block at 50%.

Salvador Canyon was further into Collins Valley than I had ever been. I took the dirt road into Coyote Canyon, passed two water crossings, boulder alley, and continued on the main road over deep sand to the terminus at Salvador Canyon. The turn off for Middle Willows would take you further. 4x4 may not be necessary, but high clearance is. After parking, I headed up Salvador Canyon, easy going at first. About half a mile up canyon, I started up the ridge. Scrambling and route finding were difficult and occasional bushwhacking necessary. Slight differences in route can magnify the effort. I was loosely following Richard Carey's track from peakbagger. After picking my way up the lower ridge, I sidehilled around a false summit and drifted down toward the major gully. I should have stayed higher on the shoulder. Instead I got myself into some serious bouldering problems before reaching the saddle below the summit.

Collins Benchmark dead ahead, Square Top far left

Elder North not visible from the start, hidden behind the bump

Starting up the ridge

False summit was passed on the right

Looking down into Salvador Canyon

From the saddle, I followed a ledge system running SE to NW. Near the top of the ledge, there was one exposed move that I bypassed by going through a small tree. The final section is a short gully leading to the summit area. Views of the surrounding area were amazing. There are several house sized boulders littering the summit. The highest point was a 15' chossy block on top of an multi-story apartment sized boulder. It was well beyond my climbing ability. Before dealing with the block, I attended to other summit business. I located the register in a glass jar inside a small red can. It was signed by the party that placed it, Richard Carey and Shelley Rogers, and no one else. I signed it and placed the jar and can inside an upgraded ammo box I brought with me. I left a second register book I had prepared in case I could not find the original. I ate half the sandwich I had since I hadn't really taken a break on the way up other than to remove foxtails or rocks from my boots. Two faces of the highest summit block were accessible. The other sides dropped over a precipice. I unpacked my rope and realized I brought the wrong one.

First view of the summit

A ledge runs diagonally left to right

Looking down from the ledge

The summit block

Collins Benchmark

Toro Peak

Elder Benchmark

The lone register entry

Upgraded register container

I have two orange ropes, one static (40m), one dynamic (30m). This block required the static rope for aid, but I brought the dynamic one. Oops. I forged ahead and tossed one end over the block. It didn't come close to reaching the ground on the other side. My second throw used most of the rope but it was in reach about 60-70' below the summit. I went down the gully below the summit to grab the rope and look for anchors. None of the rocks in the area were usable. The best thing I found was a 4" diameter juniper tree. It was alive, but growing in the sandy soil. I attached the rope to it using 1" webbing. I returned to the summit and weighted it. It held but the rope stretched a good 3' with weight on it. Counterproductive. I had planned to use a prusik to ascend, but ultimately, decided I could not trust the anchor. Maybe I would have continued with the static rope or had better anchor options since it was longer. It was disappointing after hauling the extra 15 pounds of rope and gear up the mountain. We all do risk calculus in our heads in these situations and sometimes the math says no. I was still pleased to be on Elder North and upgrade the register container. Looking over at the false summit, I spotted a better return path at least for that section. I packed up and headed down with much effort but no incident. If I ever return, I'll bring the right rope.

The best anchor I could find with my short rope.
Would you bet your life on it?

Palm grove further up Savador Canyon

One mylar souvenir

See Also:
Elder North Redux
Elder North (Richard Carey)

Tahquitz Peak

HPS Star Emblem Peak
Hiked: 11/11/2019
Distance: 8.6 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 8846'
Prominence: 766'
Elevation Gain: 2500'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.0
Round trip time: 4 hours 12 minutes
Recommended water: 64 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass at Humber Park
Difficulty: Moderate

Tahquitz Peak is a SoCal classic and one I had been saving until my wife could join me. She finally got a break from her EdD studies to head out with me. We drove to Humber Park stopping at the ranger station to issue ourselves a permit for the Devils Slide trail. In the summer, the number of permits on Devils Slide is limited, but not this time of year. I wasn't sure how busy it would be on Veterans Day, (thank you vets), but we didn't start until around 8:30 AM and the morning crowd was not bad. The trail gained steady ground at a reasonable slope. There was a delightful mix of pines, cedars, and deciduous trees. In short order, we had climbed 1700' to a flat section of trail heading toward Chinquapin Flats. The trail was easy here and stayed away from the cliffs. Another mile or so brought us to the junction that went to Tahquitz. We got great views on this stretch looking down on Lily Rock and Suicide Rock.

Looking up at Lily Rock and higher crags

Leisa heading toward Tahquitz

Looking down on Lily Rock and Suicide Rock

The final climb was a couple of hundred feet. The summit area had large boulders scattered around and the famous two story fire lookout. There was someone manning it who let us in to sign the official register and look around. We were the second party to summit. The fire ranger pointed out a lightning rod that had been struck in 2014 and was burned into pieces. A new one had taken its place. The benchmark was placed by the Army Corps of Engineers just outside the tower and stamped "Lois". That surprised me, but often the name of a peak will change over time. Views were sweet in all directions with San Jacinto looming large. Toward the coast, it was kind of hazy and smoggy. We sat down on a boulder to eat some snacks before packing up and heading down. On the way back, we met a lot of people heading up. It had warmed up considerably and we stopped a couple of times to adjust clothing. The trip was great fun and I was glad Leisa could make it with me.

Lookout tower

Smoggy toward the coast

Red Tahquitz down the ridge

San Jacinto

Toward Hemet

"Lois" benchmark

Cliffs on the way back

Mount Ellie

Hiked: 11/8/2019
Distance: 2.8 miles round trip on trail, use trail, and cross county
Summit Elevation: 2455'
Elevation Gain: 850'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.7
Round trip time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Recommended water: 32 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Ellie Lane Trailhead (highway 67)
Difficulty: Easy

Mount Ellie is a small peak in Poway next to North Iron Mountain. I missed it the last time I was in the area so this was a cleanup mission. I parked at the Ellie Lane trailhead and followed the trail up to the saddle between Ellie and North Iron. I expected a moderate bushwhack from the saddle and started off where I thought it would be shortest. Most of the brush was waist high and generally thinner than it looked. More than half way up, I ran into what looked like a cut use trail. I followed it a short distance but it looked like it was skirting below the summit so I quickly resumed my direct attack. The summit had a couple of short boulder piles and a register in a plastic jar covered with a rock. There were not many signatures in the collection of pages. Someone included a stat sheet of all the Poway mountains showing Ellie as the 8th highest. The cut use trail was at the summit so I decided to follow it down as far as possible. It dropped quickly, then bent right and came out on a trail just past the saddle area. It's much better taking the cut trail so you don't have to look out as much for snakes. After Ellie, I headed a couple miles up highway 67 to the west side of Woodson Mountain to scout out some of the popular boulders and trad routes.

Ellie directly ahead

Where I started the bushwhack

North Iron from Ellie

Iron Mountain (left) from Ellie

Register jar

Zoom to Woodson

Looking down at the parking area and highway 67

Start of the cut use trail, a better way up

Pocket Mouse Hill

Hiked: 11/7/2019
Distance: 0.9 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 400'
Elevation Gain: 213'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.2
Round trip time: 19 minutes
Recommended water: 0 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on San Luis Rey
Difficulty: Easy

This tiny hill was supposed to be a bonus on the way back from a bigger hike in San Diego County, but I had a little free time in the morning so decided to cross it off the list. I didn't take a pack. I followed the wide trail up and the use trail down. Both trails are sandy since it is so close to the beach. The morning marine layer hid the ocean views. I should have waited until late morning for it burn off. There was a tall pole of unknown purpose at the summit and nothing else. Didn't see any mice, but I did see a rabbit. I'm not the only one with low standards. There are dozens of peakbaggers that have documented their conquest of Pocket Mouse Hill.