| CERRO PESCADORES |
20 JANUARY 1990 |
DAVE JURASEVICH |
|
On Friday night our group
converged in the Mexican desert just off Mex Hwy 5 for a Saturday ascent of
Cerro Pescadores. Participants. included Bill Stevens, Richard Carey, Rheta
Schoeneman, Rob Langsdorf, Terry Flood and Cathy Hanchett, all from the San
Diego area and Barbara Reber of Newport Beach. At first light on Saturday
morning we caravaned in five 4WD vehicles to the start of our climb, a point
near the gap in the frontal range of Pescadores approximately 1 kilometer NW of
the 300+ meter hill with six antennae (actual count is seven) shown in the
Peaks Guide. The hiking time on Pescadores was 3h30m up and 3h00m down via the
following route: |
| Walk west for 50 yards into the
wash, where you will be standing in the obvious gap of the frontal. range. At a
bearing of 215 will be a prominent gendarme high on the ridge. This is the
ridge you will climb to do Pescadores. Hike up the wash for approximately 1
mile toward the ridge, en-route passing by a 30 foot cliff on your left which
is the junction of a large sand wash running behind the 300+ meter "seven
antennae" hill. When you reach a fork where a major wash enters from the left,
bear left and follow it for about 200 yards to the base of a rocky ridge on
your right. Climb this long, rugged ridge, staying basically on the crest and
passing the abovementioned gendarme on the way. A short distance beyond the
gendarme the ridge will drop 150 feet to a notch. From this notch, bear right
and up a scenic gully of decomposing granite with interesting weathered
patterns (caves, potholes, arches, etc.). Near the top of this gully exit right
and up over slabs to a saddle. From here either contour around or climb the
ridgeline to the summit, approximately 1/4 mile to the west. Round Trip: 7
miles, 3100 ft. elev. gain. |
|
After the hike, Bill
Stevens left us for a marathon drive to join a Ron Jones trip in progress on
Granite #2. The rest of us spent the evening around a campfire not far from
where we started the hike that morning. On Sunday morning everybody went their
own ways, and I stayed behind to scout out the labyrinth of roads on the desert
floor between Pescadores and Hwy 5. In the course of that investigation, I
found a more direct approach to the roadhead than is currently described in the
DPS Peaks Guide (see accompanying map and DRIVE/APPROACH directions). This is
definitely a 4WD route with lots of deep, soft sand along the way. The writer
cautions against driving this route with a single vehicle; better to go with
two or more 4WD's in case someone gets bogged down in the sand. AAA won't make
calls in Mexican sand washes. |