Bucksnort Mountain Hike

On Saturday, S and I climbed Bucksnort Mountain.

On a cool, clear day we headed south on the 15 to Temecula where we picked up the usual supplies: canned soup, bagels, cream cheese, water. From there we took the 79 into the back country.

We had burgers at the Stagecoach Inn in Aguanga. Eight miles past Aguanga on the 79, we took a left into Chihuahua Valley, pulled off onto the dirt Lost Valley Road and headed into Anza-Borrego Desert State Park from the northwest side. A couple of miles into the park, the Lost Valley Road crossed the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) on its traverse from Warner Springs to Idyllwild.



There was ample evidence of the forest fire from a few years ago. The pine trees were just burnt trunks, but, the scrub has recovered quite nicely. The chaparral plants had filled in with the manzanita having recovered all their leaves. One common plant that I didn't recognize was covered with small yellow flowers. Fall flowers are unusual for the desert.



About two miles down the PCT, we turned uphill on a barely marked trail that lead more or less straight up Bucksnort Mountain to the Combs Peak, the higher of its two peaks. At the top of the peak, there is still wreckage of a small plane. I hadn't heard about a plane crash on any of the hiking sites, but, reading through the trail journals hidden at the summit, there was mention from a guy named JB that his parents Gina and Terry and their dog Uta died in a plane crash in 2006. He'd placed a small sign that read "Barry [hearts] Gina, Terry and Uta."






We passed through Lost Valley looking for a place to camp. Deer were plentiful, especially around the boy scout camp