Ode (SDC #19, 1510′) • map • directions
Kay (SDC #18, 3587′)
Sirens (SDC #20, 4401′)
San Ysidro East (SDC #17, 5386′)
Webo (SDC #23, 4173′)
Ted (SDC #25, 2369′)
My alarm went off at 6am, I jumped out of the back of my truck and into the parking lot for Hellhole Canyon. I was without a full night’s sleep but wide awake and excited to get going. It didn’t take long to cram down half a steak quesadilla, paint myself with sunblock, and pack my things. It was just getting light enough to not need a headlamp so I left it in the bottom of my pack and set off towards the ridge containing the Ode, Kay, and Sirens benchmarks, rising to the west from the desert floor.
I walked seven tenths of a mile across the flat desert and started to climb up to the Ode benchmark, requiring just 600 feet of vertical effort. I found a register, signed in, and left for Kay at 7:07am. Reaching Kay would mean realizing half of my elevation gain for the day, so I set a brisk pace in order to relax a bit more later. The hike up to Kay from the Ode benchmark ascended 2000 feet in a mile but without much difficulty by staying on top of the ridge. I used my hands to pull myself over the large boulders once I got near the Kay benchmark and signed in to the register at 8:35am. After taking a few minutes to put down a snack, I checked my GPS for the day’s next destination, unofficially named The Sirens.
Though The Sirens was only half a mile and just 900 vertical feet from Kay I wasn’t sure which pile of rocks was which. The terrain looked less appealing from a distance, choked with boulders and desert shrubs. I dropped a few hundred feet and made the most direct line as seemed reasonable. The going was easier than I had anticipated and I climbed up between two rocky hills until I was just southeast of The Sirens. From there the climbing got steeper, likely the steepest part of the day. A class 2 route could be found but I opted for some class 3 moves and found the register along with great views of Anza Borrego at 9:39am.
My big concern for the day had been the desert sun, and I was already feeling the heat by 9am. I’d been depriving myself of the four liters of fluids I’d had with me but it was going to be tough to do that much longer. Leaving The Sirens, I dropped down the northeast side and found some shade behind one of the massive boulders before cracking open my Gatorade. My much anticipated luxury item. After a few swigs I continued on to my highpoint of the day, San Ysidro’s east summit.
Relatively easy going across the flatish section between The Sirens and San Ysidro got me to within one solid but short push to the crest of San Ysidro’s massive east ridge. I slowed down here and took a few short breaks to stop from overheating in the still air and rising sun. Once I reached the top of the ridge, I followed it west towards the highpoint, staying to the left of a few false summits. The rock along the way was impressive, most notably a few massive chunks embedded into the mountain just below the east summit.
San Ysiro’s register was found at the base of the easily stood upon summit boulder and dated back to 1979. Very cool. From there I retraced my steps a short ways, pausing to snap some pictures of a trio of turkey vultures that had buzzed the ridge and landed not too far from me. I had 2.5 liters of fluids left, plenty to last the day now that most of the elevation gain was done. I took a big swallow off my Gatorade and dropped down to Hellhole Flat. The desert brush occasionally ripped at my pants, seemingly wanting me to stay forever. A breeze that had started during my descent of San Ysidro grew stronger and boosted my energy. The dryness in my mouth slightly alleviated, I ingested some much needed calories while on the move. I crossed over the Tuck benchmark (thought I didn’t see or bother to look for it) and contoured north a short ways then around a short rocky point before reaching the wash that runs north of my next destination, Webo.
From Hellhole Flat, reaching Webo would require 400 feet of gain, the last uphill effort for the day. I walked up its northern slopes to the highpoint, setting my pack down near where I found a geocache at 12:52pm. The geocache was of the same style and had been placed by the same guy, “Gecko Dad,” as the one I’d found on the Gasp benchmark just a few weeks previous. I searched for the more traditional Borrego summit register, climbing up a few of the highest boulders but found nothing.
Satisfied that I had just a three mile descent left to finish out the day, I took a lengthy break on top of Webo and drank my fluids down to a liter. The profile views of The Thimble, which I’d climbed just nine days previous were some of the best I’d seen of that peak. The views back towards San Ysidro and The Sirens were great also, looking farther than I’d come.
I turned on my GPS just to see how far the Ted benchmark was from Webo. It was then that I noticed that the Webo benchmark didn’t coincide with where I was sitting and was actually about 100 feet to the north. I went to have a look, remembering that these benchmarks aren’t always on the highest point. I scrambled eight feet or so up a large boulder, finding both the register and the benchmark. The register consisted of mostly loose pages sealed in a glass jar and I read through a few of before adding my name.
After killing half an hour hanging around Webo, I suddenly felt rushed and threw on my pack to begin the descent towards the Ted benchmark. This ridge was gentler than the one I had ascended, the reason I’d done the loop in this direction.
I kept my eye on my altimeter watch and stopped to look for the Ted BM after dropping down to about 2500 feet. I went from one outcropping to another, before finally locating the benchmark and register on a knee high rock, hidden from the west by a large teddy-bear cholla. The views from Ted were less impressive that those on Webo and the others but the palm tree grove in Flat Cat Canyon was visible. Something I would have missed had I not stopped at the Ted benchmark.
Looking forward to finishing out the day, I hiked down to the desert floor. I aimed for and then followed a wash that came out of Hellhole Canyon, meeting and then chatting it up with a few guys from San Diego who had just come from Maidenhair Falls. It had been a nine hour day, plenty of time left to grab some Borrego Springs grub before heading home.
