Trip Report:
Canyon Sin Nombre is a gorge in Anza Borrego near the Imperial County border. It as well a the Mud Caves are located in the Carrizo Valley.

Canyon Sin Nombre

We left San Diego around 8AM and made it to the desert by 930AM. The view over Canyon Sin Nombre from the Carrizo overlook was beautiful. The air was clear and the temperature in the 60s. We began driving into the canyon to find one of the many slot canyons to explore.

Mine Peak

The Road Into the Canyon

Carrizo Overlook

As we were making our way into the canyon we had great views of the surrounding mountains, many of which I had stood upon and many of which are on my list to hike at some point in the future.

Sombrero Peak and Monument Peak

Rockpile in the Canyon

It was interesting seeing how water has shaped this canyon. We could see evidence of recent rains all along the canyon floor.

Canyon Sin Nombre

Eventually we stopped near one of the slot canyons and ventured inside. It was fun climbing through the canyons and finding our way to the top.

Rocks Near the Slot Canyons

The Slot Canyon We Climbing Through

Inside the Slot Canyon

View From The Top

Jacumba Mountain

Sombrero Peak and Monument Peak

After wondering through a few of the slot canyons we drove to the mud caves just north of Canyon Sin Nombre. I had never been to the mud caves but knew they are a popular place in Anza Borrego.

The First Mud Cave

The first cave lead to a giant room inside the mountain.

The Second Mud Cave

The second cave was much longer and lead out to the top of a hill. There was a nice trial leading back down to the canyon.

Above The Second Mud Cave

The Trail Down From the Cave

The Third Mud Cave

The Canyon Near The Third Mud Cave

The Canyon Walls

Commercial Plane

Canyon Sin Nombre Panorama

This was a great first trip to this area. I plan on exploring it more in the future.

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Elevation: 4,614 & 4,586 ft.

Date Hiked: 4-9-2011

Trip Report:
Pinyon and Wilson Benchmarks are located along a ridge known as Pinyon ridge. There is an old 4WD jeep trail that winds along this ridge. We followed this road along the ridge as we made our way to the top of both benchmarks.

Flowers Along the Ridge

Mark and I drove from the San Ysidro trailhead south across S22 to the start of the old jeep trail along Pinyon Ridge. We parked and began the hike along the road. The trail was easy to follow and we made good time. We wanted to get back to the car before sunset which was about 4 hours away. There were a few interesting rock formations along the road that people had created.

Looks Like an Eel

Toro Peak in the Distance

The views were great in all directions from the jeep trail. To the south we could see all the way to the southern end of the Laguna Mountains.

The Laguna Mountains and Granite Mountain

The Volcan Mountains Near Julian

Eventually we wondered off the road and made our way to Pinyon BM. The final section to the summit required a few class three moves.

Mark Climbing To the Summit

The view from the summit of Pinyon BM was best I had seen in San Diego so far. Pinyon Ridge has a central location in San Diego county so has great views in all directions. What sets this benchmark above the rest is the view both north and south. To the north you can see into the Borrego Valley. There is also an excellent view of Indianhead. To the south there is an excellent view of Whale Peak as well as Granite Mountain. After a short stay on the summit we headed for Wilson BM.

Indianhead

Wilson BM a Few Miles Away

Mark Headed for Wilson BM

Near the Summit of Wilson BM

Eventually we wondered around Wilson BM and made our way to the top. The view from this benchmark was not nearly as good as from Pinyon. We did have a better view of Indianhead.

Indianhead from Wilson BM

A Plateau to the South

The Summit Marker

Wilson Benchmark

Whale Peak to the South

Flowers Along Pinyon Ridge

After a short stay on the summit we left along the jeep trail back to the car. By this time the sun was slowly going down.

A Look Back at Wilson BM

Thunderstorm To the North

Sunset

Finally we arrived back at the car just as the sun had set and it was getting dark. This was a nice hike with great views of eastern San Diego County.

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Elevation: 5,779 & 6,147 ft.

Date Hiked: 4-9-2011

Trip Report:
This was the third time I was visiting this area, both times before I did not summit San Ysidro Mountain. Mark had not summited the Thimble or San Ysidro so we decided to tag both while we were here.

San Ysidro Mountain

We met along S22 and drove to the trailhead. From our parking spot it was a short distance to both the Thimble and San Ysidro Mountain. This was also a recon hike for an upcoming all day hike we had planned. The hike to the Thimble was easy and did not take long.

Making our Way to the Thimble

Snow on Palomar Mountain

The Thimble Summit

Ice and Snow Near the Summit

Most Tree Branches Were Covered With a Coat of Rime Ice Near the Summit

Near the summit the wind picked up and it was much colder. There was a coat of ice on all of the rocks and trees.

The Summit Blocks

The Summit Register

Myself on the Summit

Mark on the Summit

Mark found an easy descent route down the west side of the summit.

Mark Down Climbing from the Summit

Once we descended from the Thimble we traversed across to San Ysidro. We tried to follow the directions from the HPS website but ended up making our own path.

Looking Back to the Thimble

Looking Up to San Ysidro

The Thimble from Higher on San Ysidro

Getting Close to the Summit

The Summit Blocks

Rime Ice on the Summit Blocks

Once we arrived on the Summit ridge there was a nice flat area to set our packs and take a look at the summit register.

The Summit Area

Rime Ice

The actual benchmark was on a large rock which required a few fun moves to reach the top.

San Ysidro Benchmark

Mark Climbing to Reach the Benchmark

The Thimble From San Ysidro

Toro Peak

Rabbit and Villager Peaks

San Ysidro Summit Ridge

Granite Mountain and the Lagunas

After signing the register we made our way down the mountain and back to the car.

Looking Back at the Thimble

Clouds Above the Thimble

San Ysidro Mountain Pamorama