Borrego Springs: Grapevine Peak - Bitter Creek

Rating	*****
length	8.7 mile - 5 hour 30 minutes (Return trip). Moderate.
Height	1950 - 3940 feet
Access	At HWY 78 close to mp 74, take the dirt road, marked Grapevine (West).
Other Trails	C
Data	To download these files, right-click the link and choose 'save as' |--| .GPX (GPS file) |-----| .KML (Google Earth file)

Back

A nice hike up to the Grapevine Peak for some stunning views.

At HWY 78 close to mp 74, take the dirt road, marked Grapevine (West).
I've seen regular cars on this road, but I recommend some clearance. The road is a sandy one, drive it for about 1.3 mile and park at a parking to the left.

Follow the sandy wash uphill, after about 400 yards a dry fall blocks the canyon, but can easily be hiked on the left side.

Go for another 0.3 Mile and hike up to your right to a saddle.
"Photo 3" is the hill you have to hike up.
Hike up to the top and follow the ridge.

Once of the two peaks, there is no other way than going down a bit.
Hike up on the left side of the next hill, right of the rocky wash ahead ("Photo 4").

We probably hiked a bit higher up the mountain. I suspect staying a bit lower is easier.

Stay hiking South West, unless you have a GPS the peak will be harder to find.
Because there isn't a distinct peak anywhere around.
So it's actually a simple climb up to the Grapevine Peak.

On top you find a survey stead and a marker in the rock surface.
Enjoy the view.

Going down is always trickier than coming up.
We followed the ridge South West and eventually we choose a point to go down.
A bit steep everywhere, so pick the spot you like best.

The Butter Creek Canyon in on your right. (West)
Once down in the canyon again, you have to navigate a lot of thorny scrubs,
Mesquite, Tamarisk, cat claw, cacti.

Enjoy the sandy wash, because it's not over yet.
Some minor falls that can be climbed or slide down fairly easily.

The main obstacle in this wash is the dense thorny scrub.

At point "Out 1" and "Out 2" we left the wash for a short while, on the east side.
At point "Out 2", once in the wash again, follow the sheep trails and cross the canyon and hike more on the left side.

You should see a lone Cotton Wood tree on you right. That's the Butter Creek Spring, but looks mostly dry. Even a couple of days, after almost an inch of rain, there was no water there.
There is some tubing to be found that runs to a mostly empty white bathtub.
The bathtub is at the right hand side at point "Photo 11".
At this point you find the most easy route to the spring.

When you reach the dirt road, follow it to the right towards the car.








Disclamer: Read this first before you start your hike.
Contact: usa/at/e/f/m/e/r/.eu (leave out the /)
All hikes recorded on pocket loox (pocket PC) using gpsTuner(.com)
Hiking Grapevine Peak - Bitter Creek Borrego Springs Area (Anza-Borrego Desert State Park) California, Hike with gps, gpx and kml (Google Earth).