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Talk about a trip you took out to Anza Borrego

Indianhead North Ridge Messages in this topic - RSS

tekewin
tekewin
Posts: 357


10/30/2022
tekewin
tekewin
Posts: 357
It's desert season! I started this year by visiting Indianhead for the second time. My first trip was in 2013 following DPS route B, up Palm Canyon then back along the southwest ridge. This time I tried the north ridge. I drove to the intersection of Borrego Springs and Henderson Canyon, then followed the dirt road past the Jeep statue as far as north as it went. I followed a use trail up a wash toward Henderson Canyon. Approaching the main gully, I noticed some bones of a bighorn scattered around. A brief search revealed an intact skull, a spine, and a couple of legs with flesh still clinging above the hoof. The kill didn't look recent. Just right of the gully, I started climbing in the shade of the mountain. The ground was littered with large boulders, low vegetation, and a surprising amount of grass. The north side must retain water long enough for the slopes to be grassy instead of barren like the south side. This helped with traction as it grew increasingly steep.


Golden hour, summit not visible yet










Easy walk to the summit from here

The route crossed some of the minor ridges to avoid the worst terrain. There was a lot of low level scrambling, but only a couple of moves I'd consider class 3. The slope continued to get steeper near the top and some of the boulders grew to the size of shipping containers. Multiple registers filled a plastic container. I signed the newest one, the previous entry from March. After taking some photos/videos, I headed for the south summit, a prow jutting into space. I had not visited it on my first trip. A faint use trail traced the bottom of the angled slabs and it was easy to get to the high point. It had a dramatic precipice and view. While there is no easy way to the top of Indianhead, the north ridge seemed easier than DPS route B. That impression might be due to having more experience now. The north ridge does provide shade in the morning, so requires less water. Indianhead remains one of my favorite desert peaks.


South summit


San Ysidro East


Looking down from south summit




Heading back down the north ridge


edited by tekewin on 10/31/2022
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ziphius
ziphius
Posts: 911


11/1/2022
ziphius
ziphius
Posts: 911
Nice-looking trip. On my to-do list.

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http://www.coyotelearning.org
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Buford
Buford
Posts: 453


10/31/2022
Buford
Buford
Posts: 453
Nice. The pictures definitely capture the terrain well. Great start to the desert season. That invasive fountain grass in the pictures is everywhere now. Sounds like the dirt road was open? It's been gated the last couple times I've been back there and was forced to park at the paved curve in the road.

I've done the route you just did and was also surprised at the amount of normal grass on the slopes. Kept it from being too loose but was slippery in it's own way. Another time I came up Henderson Canyon to the Palm Mesa high point, then traversed down to Indianhead hitting all the high points along the way before dropping down to Henderson again.

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Links to my photos: ABDSP photos, Bighorn sheep photos, ABDSP time lapse video, Wildlife photos (mainly birds)
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rockhopper
rockhopper
Posts: 668


11/2/2022
rockhopper
rockhopper
Posts: 668
Nice rock scramble! Fantastic views. Thanks for posting the trail report and for kicking of the desert hiking season. I need to get in gear!
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