Hike Jacumba Mountain via Mortero Palms and Goat Canyon Trestle Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, CA

Jan 07, 2023 — This outing is a buffet of desert fun in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, leading through the beautiful native Mortero Palms grove, down to the Goat Canyon Trestle, and then up to Jacumba Mountain. These three points of interest are nestled amongst cool granitic features and nice views, so the hike is good time for its entirety. There is an unofficial trail that bypasses Mortero Palms in order to more easily reach the Goat Canyon Trestle, but doing this means skipping the grove, which we all throught was the best part of the area. You may want to consult another resource to locate the start to this unofficial trail if you don't care to check out the palms. Aside from this extended detour, our route to the Goat Canyon Trestle uses the standard trail. Surprisingly it's a relatively popular hiking destination, despite its remoteness. Many hikers probably plan to return after visiting the trestle, but we had plans to tack on Jacumba Mountain. We reached this peak after visiting the trestle via a non-standard approach route, and we thought it worked out quite nicely.

You can reach the trailhead from two ways, both equally rough. I was able to get my Civic here back in 2015, though the cracked plastic under my car and possible wheel misalignment at the time likely disagreed with me. After revisiting this area in 2023, I'd say at least a mid-clearance vehicle is needed, though not 4WD. From the east, take Dos Cabezas Road starting here (32.75381, -116.04884). It's pretty straightforward, the main road obvious compared to its many spur tracks leading from it. Alternatively, you can come from the north on Mortero Wash Road. This road is less rutted than Dos Cabezas Road and sandier, though 4WD isn't required. Coming from Mortero Wash Road requires crossing over abandoned railroad tracks, aided by someone's small rock ramp construction. There is also a boulder obstacle just past a junction here (32.72596, -116.13583), but an easy bypass road heads east and merges with the Dos Cabezas Road approach. Aside from these obstacle there were a couple of rocky portions, but it was a teeny bit more pleasant of a drive compared to the other way, if slightly longer.

Whiley, Kevin, and I set out to the west into a major wash, our first goal being to reach the Mortero Palm grove. A social trail kept us mostly out of the wash and away from its many boulder obstacles, but there was some typical granite boulder-hopping to contend with regardless. We reached the palms more quickly than we thought. A "mortero" is a term used to refer to a few indentations natives used to carve in the surrounding boulders in order to crush up food, and we managed to find one without looking too hard. My companions had never been to a grove like this before and wanted to linger for a while, so we took in the silence for a bit (jk I actually can't shut up) before continuing up the canyon. We encountered a section that was a bit more difficult due to a steeper and polished chute. I'd call this short section Class 2/3, though you may be able to puzzle out an easier bypass option.

Once above this obstacle we continued through the sandy wash and its occasional bouldery move until locating the Goat Canyon Trestle Trail at about 2500'. This trail brought us out of the wash and headed west, sticking to higher ground on a desert slope and ascending briefly. It then drops into a wash for a short time. On my attached map you'll see a small loop. The northern portion is the straightforward trail, while the southern line sticks to the drainage and ascends on Class 2/3 dryfall obstacles. I left this option (and provided photos) because there's some colorful formations and cute scrambling within that might interest some. However, if you take the trail, it ascends steeply up a slope and away from the drainage and should be easy to follow all the way to the trestle from now on. Still ascending, the trail crests a saddle that we'd return to later in order to reach Jacumba Mountain, then drops north into another drainage. The trail led through a wash that narrowed into a canyon with some fun down-climbing moves. The canyon opens slightly as it descends more steeply, at which point I recommend keeping just to the right where a social trail avoids all the bouldery stuff and leads more easily down toward the Goat Canyon Trestle. Aside from a fixed rope on a Class 3 section at around 2600', the descent to the historic feature is just a straightforward, steep, somewhat rocky endeavor. The trestle was in use until the mid 2000s, but it's still illegal to explore the abandoned train tracks.

We still had a peak to summit! Back at the saddle, we started south toward Jacumba Mountain on a wide slope. Fortunately the cacti was sparse enough that we could hike pretty quickly, but that didn't mean Whiley didn't manage to step on every detached cholla barb within a ten foot radius. Class 2 got us the last couple hundred feet to the ridgeline above. From here we continued along the crest, enjoying the sights and some colorful eroded rock features we weren't expecting to encounter. After a couple of minor bumps along the way, we merged with the standard route on the north side of Jacumba Mountain. A light social trail led us just below the ridgeline and up to the summit. Jacumba Mountain had a Class 2 summit block.

We backtracked along the peak's northern ridge and decided we wanted to revisit Mortero Palms. To do so, we descended to the north via a somewhat steep slope and down into the drainage below, the same drainage we'd been in earlier on the way out of the grove. You could probably just use any number of slopes/ridges to get up and down Jacumba Mountain and I'm not sure there's any "best" option. From here you could either stick to the drainage and pull the fun dryfall moves I mentioned earlier, or ascend a hundred feet back to the unmaintained trail, taking this back.