Tule (SDC #83, 4649′) • map • directions*

Groan (SDC #81, 2732′)

Gasp (SDC #79, 3223′)

I’d scouted the area after a hike to Jacumba Mountain just a few weeks previous, so I knew just where to park for our loop hike of Mt. Tule and the Gasp and Groan benchmarks. I was joined in this trip by Tom Waggoner, a long time friend from college and someone who I’d been on many climbing trips with in the past. It was hard to believe that I hadn’t seen Tom since our trip to Denali in 2010, so it was great to have him along and catch up on things between catching our breath.

Tom and I left the truck and started off towards Mt. Tule at 9:30am, walking along a dirt road that leads partway up its northern slope. The starting point had been just west of the Sacatone Overlook, a spot any vehicle with moderate clearance could reach without much trouble. We could have driven the road towards Mt. Tule to start even closer but it wouldn’t have helped us out any since we would be returning to the truck from the opposite direction. Tom and I followed the road until it ended, about 400 feet below the summit of Mt. Tule, which we then reached in less than 30 minutes after leaving the truck.

 

The summit register was in bad shape, being a more popular summit than most of the peaks I’d been working on lately. We signed our names and departed in an easterly direction, dropping elevation quickly as we took aim for our next and more exciting objective, the Groan benchmark.

The going towards Groan was easier than expected and we traversed around the left side of what’s labeled P3679 on the topo in order to avoid gaining unnecessary elevation. We eventually dropped to a saddle just below and south of Groan, having lost 2000 feet since our brief visit to Mt. Tule. A short but steep scramble from there got us to the Groan benchmark and outstanding views of Carrizo Gorge. Groan BM was really just a point near the end of a ridge that separates Carrizo Gorge from one of its tributaries, and boasted excellent views of the Goat Canyon Trestle (though not nearly as good as the views from Puff BM). The register dated back to 1982 and had but a fraction of the visitors of Tule.

 

After Tom and I signed in to Groan, we backtracked down to the saddle then proceeded to drop another 700 feet, this time towards the Gasp benchmark. The terrain was again easier than I had expected and we contoured towards the base of Gasp BM’s eastern ridge, just west of what’s labeled “Palm Grove” on the topo. There didn’t seem be any palms there, but there were small palm groves in several of the surrounding valleys.

 

Tom and I had been riding the gravy train all morning but that would change as we started working our way up 1500 feet of desert ridge. Having been out the previous four weekends and Tom having partially retired from the mountains for the last two years, I pulled away quickly before stopping to wait, where Tom insisted that I go ahead and meet him at the top. I stayed near the center of the ridge, soon reaching a false summit at 3000 then dropped 100 feet before scrambling up the final 400. The footing had been solid and all but just a few spots had been a hands-free affair. The real challenge now was the wind; we were 24 hours ahead of one of the more intense storms that would hit the area in the past year and the wind was relentless. It had been increasing throughout the day and was hammering the east ridge of Gasp now, almost knocking me over a few times. 

Once I topped out on the ridge, it took me some time to find the register and really what I found was more of a geocache, located next to a still standing survey pole. Its possible that the typical two-can register was around but 10+ minutes of searching turned up nothing. I walked back over to the edge of the ridge and tried to locate Tom to no avail, so I figured I had some time and sought out some shade and shelter from the wind. I ate and drank and admired the spectacular views of Carrizo Gorge. When Tom reached my little sanctuary he complained of muscle cramps and declined a break, wanting to continue on and finish the day, so off we went…

From Gasp, Tom and I continued to gain another few hundred feet on milder terrain, up the ridge leading to McCain Valley. A couple of easy class two humps got us to a system of overgrown dirt roads that would eventually lead us all the way back to the truck, though for the sake of saving miles, we left the road for over easy cross country through Redondo Flat. A few easy miles and another 500 feet of gain got us back to the truck where Tom and I reveled in a great day and started home. The rest of the weekend would be spent indoors and out of the rain (it rained on the way home and the fence in my backyard some 60 miles from Carrizo Gorge blew down 🙂)

 

*-I’ve added an intermediate point within the driving directions to direct you to McCain Valley Rd, as Google will re-route you onto Ribbonwood Rd.