8 min
Overview
The solitary massif known as Granite Mountain dominates the landscape in the Blair Valley region of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The 5,635 foot-high peak reaches high enough into the sky to support a woodland of juniper, pinyon, and chaparral species. The panoramic views from the summit encompass much of Anza-Borrego State Park as well as most of the Peninsular Ranges, San Bernadino Mountains, and Salton Sea. On exceptionally clear winter and fall days, hikers can spot Santa Catalina Island, 110 miles away. There are a number of routes up to the summit of Granite Mountain, and none of them are easy. Like all desert peaks in Anza-Borrego, climbing the mountain is a “simple” matter of following a ridge uphill until you top out. However, there are a handful of preferred routes to the top. One such route follows an old mining trail to an abandoned mine worked near the turn of the 20th century before following the mountain’s prominent southern ridge. The route presented here, made famous by late San Diego hiking guru Jerry Schad, is the shortest and steepest, but also the most interesting. Hikers attempting to follow this route to Granite Mountain should be mindful of a number of warnings. There is no official trail to the top, and what trail occurs is little more than an informal path beaten into the earth by occasional foot traffic. This “trail” is not reliable enough to follow for navigation’s sake, so you’ll need to know how to navigate in the desert using map and compass. The helpful GPS track provided here can light your way to an extent. My experience is that GPS units provide a false sense of security, both because they break but also because hikers tend to relax about paying attention to the terrain when they turn over navigation to a device. My directions frequently reference the topo map, which YOU ABSOLUTELY SHOULD BE ABLE TO USE EFFECTIVELY if you attempt this hike. Moreover, since named landmarks that aren’t obvious unless referenced against a topo are crucial to the route finding, you aren’t going
Trail Stats
12.0 km
1036 m
1718 m
783 m
—
Photos
Trail photo
No caption provided.
Trail photo
No caption provided.
Trail photo
No caption provided.
Trail photo
No caption provided.
Trail photo
No caption provided.
Trail photo
No caption provided.
Trail photo
No caption provided.
Trail photo
No caption provided.
Trail photo
No caption provided.
Trail photo
No caption provided.
Trail photo
No caption provided.
Trail photo
No caption provided.
Trail photo
No caption provided.