In which my opinion of Anza-Borrego State Park changed.
My limited previous experiences with that state park have been from the Salton Sea side. That (accidentally-formed) lake has a certain odor, shall we say. A few years previous I'd tried to camp in the Badlands area and heavy wind gusts broke my tent poles.
However, the side with the peak in question seems to be a bit better, like Joshua Tree but with some green vegetation. And, a meadow.
Getting up at an ungoshly hour to make it there at 7am, I joined a large group for the scramble to the top. That was via an offtrail route up Smuggler's Canyon, with the return along a more distinct use trail. It was only Class 2, but it was boulder after boulder after boulder. The peak has good views and there's a sign and a register.
Named apparently by a park ranger due to it looking like a whale (OK), it's one of several HPS peaks in the area. It's also a range highpoint (the Vallecito Mountains).
After, we went partway up Ghost Mountain to the ruins of a 1930s/1940s homestead that belonged to writer Marshal South and his family. Unfortunately we didn't go to the top but it was an enjoyable trip nonetheless.
1/31/26 UPDATE: I did it again, this time with a Sierra Club group instead. We used the use trail in Smuggler's Canyon to go up and down; on the previous trip we'd gone up cross-country and returned on the use trail. Another difference is a steep bypass with loose dirt. I think that was to avoid an area with 6' rocks, and while I definitely know we came down it, I think we went up that way too. Before I'd avoided the 6' rock by using a series of steps on the right side as you're descending and I would have preferred to do that again rather than the loose dirt. That said, it was a fine outing and I've included a summit video and some other pics.
Afterwards I was considering hiking or biking Cuyamaca Peak via what I believe to be a paved road, coming back by headlamp. The road starts at the Cuyamuaca Rancho State Park, and the lady at the entrance gate didn't seem too enthused by my plan; I got the idea they like to roll up the sidewalks early. There appears to be no legal parking along the road, I probably would have got to the top too late to get good pics, and there's the trailhead for another peak directly opposite. So, I decided to save my $10 parking fee for another trip.
I continue to be impressed with Anza-Borrego, or at least the Whale Peak section of it. Frankly, it makes a lot of the L.A. area seem monotonous. It also reminds me of various other areas; part of the road near Lake Cuyamaca reminded me of part of the drive into South Park, CO. Other parts of the area remind me of southwest Oregon, parts Malibu.
