Talk about a trip you took out to Anza Borrego
Sunset Mountain
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tekewin Posts: 365
4/15/2018
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I drove up Pinyon Wash to get as close as I could to the west side of Sunset mountain. From my parking spot, I walked a half mile across the flat desert toward the western slopes. The thorny population consisted mostly of cholla, agave, ocotillo, and barrel cactus, in that order of frequency. After ascending the main wash a short distance, I started up a slope on the left. The angles were steep and the non-boulder sections were decomposed granite. The chossy crust on the dirt often gave way. Class 2 boulder sections came up now and then and were a welcome oasis of stability. Route finding was mentally taxing. In addition to avoiding the cactus and agave, almost every step required careful attention. It was slow, steady progress kept manageable by the short distance.
I hit the edge of the northwest ridge and was greeted with awesome views into Lower Borrego Valley. A short time later, I was on the summit. The benchmark and register were about 25' from the highest boulder. The benchmark was stamped "Yak". On top, wind blew steadily with gusts in the 25mph range. There were several books in the register cans and I signed the latest one before packing up and heading down out of the wind. When the wind was still, nothing moved and nothing made a sound. I'm used to being alone on remote desert peaks and the silence was notable, almost unnatural. I was glad to get down without a fall. 4 miles round trip, 2000' gain, 4 hours.
Lower Borrego Valley and the Borrego Mountains below
Looking south over the Vallecito Mountains
Descending back to Pinyon Wash
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Britain Posts: 596
4/15/2018
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Nice, Been wanting to get that one. Thanks for the share.
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Cant drive 55
Britain
http://icorva.com
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tommy750 Posts: 1040
4/16/2018
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Great views from up there, Tekewin. Only made it up to the two nearby guzzlers before crapping out a while back. Thanks for posting. Tom
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ziphius Posts: 911
4/17/2018
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Nice trip report. Can confirm the footing is sketchy on that slope.
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http://www.coyotelearning.org
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+1
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