Pigeon BM and Sugarloaf UCR

Hiked: 3/27/2020
Distance: 2.2 miles round trip on use trail and cross country
Summit Elevation: 1423' (Pigeon), 1944' (Sugarloaf)
Prominence: 404' (Sugarloaf)
Elevation Gain: 1095'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.9
Round trip time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Recommended water: 20 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Marlborough Ave
Difficulty: Easy

For two weeks, I've been fighting some kind of bug. It started to go away and came back a couple of times. In light of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, it made me wonder. The symptoms I had were a tightness/coldness in my upper chest, dry cough, and sore throat. However, I don't think I ever had a fever. After a week, I was concerned enough to call my doctor, who said they were only doing tests on severely ill people or people that had traveled internationally. I was neither so I didn't get tested. The worst of it was last weekend when I didn't sleep well. It didn't get worse and definitely was mostly gone when hike day arrived. I felt about 93% recovered, but didn't want to push too hard, so I chose to finally get Pigeon Benchmark and Sugarloaf overlooking the University of California Riverside. I parked on Marlborough Ave before the no parking signs.

Other than a couple of delivery trucks, there was no traffic on the street and no other people. I headed across a dirt lot toward Pigeon, eyeing a grassy road up the closest ridge. It was an easy walk up and I was in no hurry. Pigeon has a USGS reference mark, but the benchmark had been taken. No register. After a quick photo, I continued to the more fun looking climb. I dropped to a shallow saddle, then started up an obvious use trail toward Sugarloaf. The first part was steep, but it got steeper higher up. About a third of the way up, the use trail got lost in the weeds. I continued straight up, using hands in a few places to get past boulders. Because of recent rain, the ground was soft and provided excellent traction. It would have been more difficult if it had been dry. I chugged upward but never pushed my pace. I just enjoyed being out on a steep slope. When I reached the top, I looked around and found neither a benchmark nor register. I did find a spot where the benchmark had been taken. On top, I noticed a 10' class 3 boulder just below the summit on the south side with a small pipe coming out the top. I kicked a local crow off the boulder and looked around for a marker. There was nothing but the pipe and some graffiti. I descended down the north side of Sugarloaf on a very good use trail and walked directly back to the truck. Short and sweet but nearly an Empire State Building in gain.

Heading toward Sugarloaf

Most of the way up

Summit area

boulder

Memorial, sadly a teen suicide

Descending north use trail

Last look back

OC Slot Canyon

Hiked: 3/21/2020
Distance: 1 mile round trip cross country
Summit Elevation: N/A
Elevation Gain: N/A
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): N/A
Round trip time: 1 hour
Recommended water: 0 oz.
Parking/Fees: N/A
Difficulty: Easy

With California under lock down due to the pandemic, I looked for something close to home that would not bring me in contact with people. Hat tip to Robert D. and Austin E. who clued me in on this amazing location in Orange County. It looks more like southern Utah. I was sworn to secrecy about the location so I can't post a map or GPS track. I skirted the top of the slot until I reached a good drop in point, then came back upstream. Because of recent rain, there was a decent flow in the canyon, knee deep in many places with a few small waterfalls. I wore the same canyon shoes last used when my wife and I hiked up to the Subway in Zion. They gave me stability in the flowing water. The slot was about 1/4 mile long and magical.

Drop in to the slot, going upstream

Rass Benchmark and Lookout Point

Hiked: 3/13/2020
Distance: 9.2 miles round trip on trail and cross country
Summit Elevation: 1877' (Rass), 3005' (Lookout Point)
Elevation Gain: 2650'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.1
Round trip time: 5 hours
Recommended water: 64 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Pena Spring Trailhead
Difficulty: Moderate

A few weeks ago, I placed a trailcam on a ridge above Pena Springs near Culp Valley Campground in Anza-Borrego. I set up a hike to Rass Benchmark and the unofficial Lookout Point (not to be confused with Lookout Knob), and also retrieve the camera. I didn't have high hopes for it and in fact, had the video resolution set too high so it filled up after a few days with only a skunk to show for it. Oh well. The route from Pena Springs to Rass is the long way, taking the the California Riding and Hiking Trail. It's only a steep one mile hike if you start at the Maidenhair Falls trailhead. A storm was in the area dropping light rain on the San Ysidro foothills. The mountain range often traps storms, preventing them from getting to the low desert in Borrego Springs. That was the case today where the low desert was dry. If you subtract my trailcam side trip, the round trip was closer to 8.6 miles.

After picking up the camera, I took the trail toward Rass. It was in great shape, slicing through boulder fields with fantastic views most of the way. I had a waterproof windbreaker on to keep dry but my legs and feet were wet before I made it two miles. After a small gain, the rest of the way was a downhill cruise. I skipped Lookout Point on the way down since it didn't look compelling. Every step down was a step I would have to gain on the way back. The rain eventually stopped as I got away from the storm and when I got to Rass, it was warm and dry. Rass is an indistinct set of low boulders overlooking the desert. I found the benchmark, a reference mark, and two registers. I signed both and ate some food, getting mentally prepared for the upward return.

California Riding and Hiking Trail

Sun shines on Sirens, three times fast

Another rainbow

Coyote Mountain, Rass is the drop off point below

Rass benchmark

The way back was not bad, with mild angles and good trail allowing me to keep a decent pace. Knowing I might not be back on this trail again, I made the side trip to Lookout Point. I checked out some boulders on the east end, then walked to the Lookout Point where a mule deer and I mutually surprised each other. She bounded away before I get a photo. I climbed the class 2 boulders on Lookout Point finding neither a benchmark nor register. Views in most directions were not much different than what you could see from the trail, except looking west up Hellhole Canyon. That was a commanding view. As I worked my way back to the trail, three fighter jets roared up Hellhole Canyon and disappeared. Quite a display. Half way back, the rain started again, though it was sporadic. I stopped to climb some interesting boulders just off the trail before finishing up. I don't mind hiking in light rain once in a while.

Lookout Point summit boulders

Hellhole Canyon from Lookout Point

Butterfly Peak, Rock Point, and Gold Hill

Hiked: 2/28/2020
Distance: 9.2 miles round trip on trail and cross use trail
Summit Elevation: 6240' (Butterfly), 5280' (Rock Point), 5164' (Gold Hill)
Elevation Gain: 2962'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.4
Round trip time: 8 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 128 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Table Mountain Road
Difficulty: Strenuous (Route Finding, Class 5 summit)

These peaks are southwest of the desert divide and slightly lower. They are exciting, though, and tested me thoroughly. I drove to the trailhead on Table Mountain Road. The trail first goes up a paved road before cutting between two houses and meeting a dirt road that heads north. I started at 8:00 AM, a little late for me. Soon enough, the road becomes a sandy wide single track. The trails to each of these peaks intersect sort of in the middle. The order I choose to tackle these was Butterfly (HPS #170), Rock Point (HPS #254), then go back for Gold Hill if my energy level allowed. To get to Butterfly, I continued north past intersections with the other trails. I stopped at the intersection with the Rock Point trail to cache my rope and climbing gear. I passed some mining ruins and several sealed adits. A sign said the mine was sealed to protect local bats. At the final fork, I went right. The trail to Butterfly goes left. At the end of the trail, I had to scramble and plow through some brush before eventually getting back to the trail. There were a few cairns set up along the way so other people also came that way. I lost the trail a few more times in the last half mile and also brushed off two ticks. I highly recommend taking a GPS track for Butterfly. When I reached the summit, it took me a while to find the register in a white tube underneath one of the boulders. Didn't locate any benchmarks. I signed in then headed to the slightly lower Peak 6228 just to the west. Peak 6228 had a class 3 summit but no register. Magnificent views from both peaks. I had an easier time following the trail down but the trip took more time than expected. I went past the turn off for Gold Hill and took the trail to Rock Point.

Butterfly from the first trail junction

Caching 14 pounds and $400 worth of climbing gear

Old mining machinery

One of the sealed mine adits

Off trail scrambling

Butterfly summit

Register tube under a boulder

Looking over at Peak 6228

Class 3 summit of 6228

I picked up my rope and gear before heading south. The trail to Rock Point is relatively flat until you get to the base of it. Switchbacks take you up about 250' to the summit area. I did not find a register or any benchmarks. The high point is a daunting 25' boulder. Roughly 5% of people attempt the summit boulder. The standard route is class 5.3 up a crack on the north side. Strong rock climbers free solo it. I might have been able to get up, but was not sure I could get down, ergo rope. After surveying all sides, I decided to attempt an ascent on the south corner. I set up an anchor on a large rock on the north side, then tossed the rope over. It took a few tries to get it positioned where I wanted. The first solid hold was about 9' up. I set up two prusiks, one for my protection once I reached the boulder, and one to hold a Metolius ladder aider. This worked perfectly. I climbed the ladder high enough to mount the boulder, then attached myself to the other prusik. With great holds the rest of the way, it took less than a minute to reach the top. The top of the boulder was long and wide, with the high point on the opposite side. There were more excellent views from Rock Point. It felt great getting the summit boulder. After exploring the top, I climbed back down with prusik protection. It had warmed up to a very pleasant 60F and I lounged around the summit eating lunch and soaking up sun. The sun also brought butterflies, which were everywhere the rest of the day. I spent about 90 minutes on the summit before packing up and starting back. Energized by success on Rock Point, I decided to pick up Gold Hill.

Rock Point ahead

Massive summit boulder

Looking at Butterfly from Rock Point

New floppy hat for better sun protection

When I hit the main trail, I headed north for Gold Hill. Going back up added a little extra gain and distance compared to doing Gold Hill on the way back from Butterfly. The turn off was marked with a sign about gold mining in the local area. The trail climbed a couple of hundred feet to the north side where a use trail branched to the summit. The trail was marked with some cairns and required minor scrambling. The route finding took a little effort but was nothing like the top of Butterfly. At the top, I found a register placed in 2018 with very few signatures. Gold Hill had fine views and comfortable rocks. I finished the last of my food and water, then returned to the truck. This trip checked nearly every box of fun. Multiple peaks, bushwhacking, scrambling, route finding, a technical roped ascent, scenery, summit views, and perfect weather. Aces.

Gold Hill summit register

Other Reports:
Butterfly, Gold Hill, Rock Point, Little Cahuilla (Peaks for Freaks)
Butterfly Peak and Rock Point (Moments in Dirt and Ink)