Oct 27, 2018 — Whale Peak is a sprawling desert mountain in Anza Borrego Desert State Park. I chose to take the standard route coming in from the north. Reaching the trailhead requires 4WD due to sand, but I made it in my Subaru. Turn off from main road (S2) here (33.0567746,-116.4199211) to reach the trailhead. The hike begins at a cairned gully/canyon with some Class 2 rock-hopping leading to one of many flat sections as the route slowly progresses to the summit. The trail then proceeds to wander through the desert on a much more well-defined trail than I anticipated. The hike doesn't require much elevation gain, but there are a few humps to go up and over. Cairns help through some od the spots where route-finding would otherwise be a little difficult. All the big boulders kind of start to look the same. The last half mile to gain Whale Peak is a bit steeper than the majority of the hike and includes more Class 2 scrambling. The wide views into Anza-Borrego Desert State Park were lovely.
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