Squaretop (SDC #9, 4649′) • map • directions

The easiest approach to reach Squaretop appeared to be from within the Los Coyotes Indian reservation, so that’s where Christian and I headed this Saturday morning. We arrived at the front gate just before 9am and paid the entrance fee to the friendly girl at the kiosk. The road quickly turned to well-groomed dirt and though there were many intersecting roads, it was easy to stay on course. We didn’t see anyone during our drive in and passed just a handful of buildings, ranging from new and modern to abandoned and irreparable. Keeping right at a fork at about 5.5 miles in, we crossed the road that heads east to San Ignacio and descended on slightly rougher roads towards Squaretop. There were patches of snow on this part of the reservation, particularly on the north facing slopes, leftovers from a brief storm the previous Monday.

When we reached an obvious plateau, Squaretop came into view about 3 miles out. There was a white 4Runner parked near where the “good” road ended. I’d expected to hike down 600 feet from here into the canyon below but an old road switchbacked down and seemed to be in alright shape, though probably hadn’t been driven in many years. Overconfident from navigating other rough roads recently, I drove down with  only minor trouble getting into an appropriate parking spot at the bottom of the canyon. Unbeknownst to us, we would have some trouble here later but the immediate task at hand was to reach Squaretop.  Christian and I set off in a northerly direction on foot.

We followed portions of the old road alongside a shaded stream for the first mile, pleasant hiking. There were remnants of a use trail here and there when the road would fizzle out and what seemed to be fresh footprints, assumedly from the owners of the 4runner. It would be a rare day to have two parties heading for Squaretop but that seemed the most likely explanation. Parts of the route had been heavily flagged with plastic ribbons tied into trees and shrubs, which seemed rather unnecessary. 

Just over a mile of hiking brought us to more of the old road, splitting left from the stream we had been following. We soon passed a sign that marked the boundary of the reservation and entered into Anza Borrego State Park. When the road fizzled out again we crossed the upper reaches of Cougar Canyon, then again found an even more prominent portion of the road. We followed it up to the east side of a barren hill, what appeared to be the only one around that wasn’t capped in rock. After reaching a saddle on the east side of that hill, Squaretop appeared, just a stone’s throw away across the south fork of Sheep Canyon.

It was hard to tell how challenging it would be to make it through all the brush and rock on Squaretop’s south side but we’d find out soon enough. Christian and I dropped a few hundred feet and climbed through some large boulders to cross the stream running through the south fork of Sheep Canyon, then started up the steep slope leading to Squaretop’s summit. We gained about fifty feet before squeezing through brush and finding relatively open slopes, making for easy progress. There were frequent sections of brush and  rock but nothing too difficult or harder than class 2. We gained a cool 700 feet in a 1/4 mile to reach the summit plateau and scrapped through more brush and rock to reach the high point.  Here we met the owners of the footprints and the 4Runner, having just climbed the summit block and packing up to head down. We introduced ourselves and shook hands, chuckling about the unlikeliness of two parties being on the summit of Squaretop at the same time.

I examined the tall summit block, looking for the easiest way up. Squeezing through Manzanita I circumnavigated the boulder, deciding that the west side would be easiest. I returned to the east side of the boulder and flaked out my 30 meter rope, then re-coiled most of it in my hand before tossing it over.  A perfect good throw on the first try. I double checked Christian’s harness and belay setup before heading back to the west side of the boulder and tying in. The initial moves were challenging, thin finger holds and steep smearing for the feet but it soon eased to an easy class 3 slab. I took a minute on top before I asked Christian to lower me and we switched places. Christian surmounted the boulder a few minutes later and I unclipped to walk back and get a few photos of him. He commented at how much the view had improved just getting onto the summit block, then I lowered him down as he had me. After the excitement we ate a snack and read through the register, populated almost entirely by recognizable names. I snapped a few more pictures, attempting to preserve the views of El Toro, Rabbit Peak, the rest of the Santa Rosa Mountains, a sliver of the Salton Sea, and Mt. Collins. 

After Christian and I signed in we began our descent. We took just one short break to dump sand out of our shoes and made it back to the truck with time to spare, perhaps with enough time to visit another peak on the reservation.  After  rehydrating and preparing the appropriate music, we started up the steep dirt road. We made it a few hundred feet before my rear wheels lost traction, blowing out a section of loose dirt and sinking into deep ruts. Shoot, not a great place to get stuck, not great at all.  I let the truck roll backwards, engaged the rear locking differential, and gave it another go with the same results. Again I tried and finally a 4th time, I backed up as far I could and gunned it, spinning my back wheels with a dirt rooster tail behind, just barely making it through. I attempted to keep momentum but hit a 2nd patch of soft stuff about halfway up. The tires again blew away the soft medium and I again let the truck roll back to harder ground and punched it. The speedometer read 30mph but the truck inched along at under five, swimming its way up.  Lucky for us the remainder of the road went easy. We laughed the nervousness away, lucky to avoid a 7-8 mile walk through the reservation to get help. 

We were supposed to check out of the reservation by 4pm but the allure of a quick visit to San Diego County’s highest point was strong. Hot Springs Mountain lies entirely within the reservation and is 21 feet higher than San Diego’s more frequented 2nd highest peak, Cuyamaca. Reports indicated that I’d be able to drive to near the top but it turned out not to be our day for Hot Springs Mountain. We hit patches of snow on our way up, becoming more frequent and severe as we went higher, causing the truck to slide and spin the tires. Having pushed our luck enough for the day we called it off. What an odd day and  satisfying adventure indeed.