11/13/2015
Topic:
San Ysidro - East approach
Viper
|
Hi all,
I've been reading this forum for awhile and have enjoyed all of the great information. In a couple of weeks, I am planning to hike to the summit of San Ysidro Mountain from the east, specifically from Borrego Palm Canyon using the major ridge that comes in just south of the main palm grove. Information on bagging San Ysidro from the east is very sparse; Schad's book describes hiking up partway and I found only one summitpost description, which has no details. We have already done the Thimble approach (though not all the way to San Ysidro) and are looking for a route that is more challenging. Mainly hoping for info on whether the route is chock full of bushwhacking and bouldering or whether that stuff is only a minor issue.
Appreciate any insight anyone has. |
11/18/2015
Topic:
Combs Peak Hike
Viper
|
Happy to see your report on Combs. We did it a couple of years ago on a beautiful summer morning and saw nobody. It is a great short hike that gives a unique perspective of Anza Borrego and surrounding areas. And nice to know we weren't the only ones (based on one of the summit entries in your photo) who were plagued by tiny flies at the summit. But as my son recalled in his blog writeup, they were the wimpiest bugs in the world, as they seem to die on contact. http://peakbagginben.blogspot.com/2013/10/combs-peak.html |
11/27/2015
Topic:
San Ysidro Mountain - East Approach
Viper
|
Made it out to San Ysidro "East" Peak (aka Peak 5386) with my son last weekend. Pretty tough hike, with 5,000+ elevation gain in under 4.5 miles to the top. The first quarter mile or so is a trail from the Borrego Palm Canyon campground to Panoramic Overlook and then it's all cross country up the ridge to San Ysidro Mountain. The route was a gauntlet of yucca, agave, cholla, hedgehog and barrel cactus with lots of catclaw thrown in for good measure. A little ways up the geology changes from metamorphic to granitic with a distinct increase in slope due to the more resistant granite. Needless to say, it was very slow-going. But it was well worth it for the views, including deep into the South Fork of Borrego Palm Canyon. There is a summit register on Peak 5386, and it looks like it gets several visits per year. We had originally hoped to make it to San Ysidro "West" Peak as well (another 3.5 miles one-way), but once we got onto the long ridge of San Ysidro Mountain, we realized that we'd need a much earlier start for that excursion. Another great day in the desert.
edited by Viper on 11/27/2015
edited by Viper on 11/27/2015 |
11/28/2015
Topic:
San Ysidro Mountain - East Approach
Viper
|
Had hoped to see some bighorn sheep but they all seemed to be hiding that day. |
12/1/2015
Topic:
San Ysidro Mountain - East Approach
Viper
|
Not including the extra-long break we took at the top, it was about 7.5 hours RT. |
12/2/2015
Topic:
San Ysidro Mountain - East Approach
Viper
|
Unfortunately, no good pics into the South Fork. This one looks toward the South Fork (apologies if my picture-posting skills are not yet up to snuff):
Looking back toward the trailhead:
Summit register:
The "high" country:
edited by Viper on 12/2/2015 |
12/2/2015
Topic:
San Ysidro Mountain - East Approach
Viper
|
dsefcik wrote:
When in doubt, pinky out
Keepin' it classy in the backcountry. |
10/5/2016
Topic:
Mount Whitney
Viper
|
Nice work, surfponto. You make it look easy. If you want to see a 13-year-old's perspective of Whitney-in-a-day, you might enjoy my son's write-up: http://www.peakbagginben.com/new-page-69 Warning: it is not a short read! |
1/8/2020
Topic:
Jet crash site Mine Wash
Viper
|
I haven't been to the crash site, but the Lindsay book says this about it: From the Mine Wash turnoff (mile 79.5 on SR78), travel 1.6 miles to the Mine Wash Indian Village Site. "Another plane crash site is up on the hill east of the road." It says "another," because the previous section says that "a short 1 to 1.5 mile hike south from Stag Cove leads to an old airplane crash site. Half a buried engine is in the wash with scattered pieces of the plan strewn about." If no one else here has info, you should contact Dennis, who runs this site: https://www.facebook.com/bfpartyline/ His other hobby is hiking to plane crash sites. He told me that between he and his hiking partner, they had been to over 1,000 crash sites in the West. He will likely have lots of info. |
1/8/2020
Topic:
Coyote Mountain
Viper
|
Had a very nice stroll up Coyote Mountain over the weekend. Took the standard east approach from Rockhouse Trail. Not another soul on the mountain. Perfect weather and perfect views.
Unobstructed views of the Santa Rosas and a great vantage point for the alluvial fans/bajadas at the base of that range.
Although the summit has a benchmark and is clearly the highest point of the mountain, there is another prominent bump to the SW that was nagging me to visit, just in case. Sure enough, there was a summit register tucked away in the SW bump, likely mistakenly placed there by early hikers ascending from the south and thinking they reached the top. It was a highlight to find an entry from Jerry Schad, one that pre-dates the first edition of his San Diego book.
Back on the true summit, the register was well-hidden and also had entries going back a few decades (but none from Schad that I found).
On the descent, we played around with the echoing canyon to the west. There was one really cool spot where the echo was delayed by a full two seconds. That made for a cool effect with the absence of wind and great views.
edited by Viper on 1/8/2020 |
1/8/2020
Topic:
Coyote Mountain
Viper
|
It is 5.3 miles RT, with 2,500 feet of gain.
edited by Viper on 1/8/2020 |
1/21/2020
Topic:
Butler Canyon
Viper
|
Had a quick trip to Butler Canyon over the weekend. We got a very late start, arriving at 3 pm, so we could only explore a couple of miles of the canyon. But it was a perfect afternoon--70 degrees and no wind--and it was the highlight of my weekend just to be out there, even for a couple of hours.
Rockhouse Canyon Rd. is in great shape. We drove to the Butler/Rockhouse junction and then drove about another mile towards Butler before parking. There is one small stretch of deep sand about 8 miles from S-22 where I used 4WD (and probably needed it). No other issues at all with the road.
Even though there have been some obvious flash floods, Butler Canyon makes for some very easy walking as far as desert canyons go.
Looking back towards the canyon mouth:
Ran across the remnants of a hand cart that has been ravaged by time (and floods).
Here is what the cart looked like in 2012, from Daren's trip report:
The next flash flood may bury it for good. And that was a good reminder of the fleeting nature of the desert landscape. The canyon may have been dead calm on my visit but it is ever-changing and will look different the next time. |
1/21/2020
Topic:
Butler Canyon
Viper
|
dsefcik wrote:
Did you find the BHS skull and bones?
I did not see the skull and bones, but I definitely need to spend more time exploring the canyon. |