Moonscape Over Jacumba Mountains

From the jumbled rock formations at the border are views of two countries (Mexico and the United States), two counties (Imperial and San Diego) and two mountain ranges (the Jacumba and the Sierra Juarez).

These views and a lot of good walking are two of the attractions of the newly designated Jacumba Wilderness, set aside by Congress in October, 1994, as part of the far-reaching California Desert Protection Act. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management protects the Jacumba Mountains, which are highlighted by a collection of cracked stacks of granite, caves and narrow passageways that can only be reached by foot.

The Jacumba’s granite outcroppings resemble those of Joshua Tree National Park; however, the slopes are sprinkled with pinon pine, not Joshua trees. On the U.S. side of the border the mountains are known as the Jacumba range but more internationally minded geographers consider the mountains to be an extension of Baja California’s 100-mile-long Sierra Juarez.

Jacumba range trails lead very close to the border. Jacumba’s high point, the 4,548-foot Blue Angels Peak, is crowned with an international boundary marker, a 10-foot-high steel obelisk. A more unsavory indication of border activity is a historic rock hideaway known as Smugglers Cave, supposedly where bandits, circa 1875, laid low; local lore has it that the cave figured in the smuggling of opium and Chinese laborers.

The most intriguing sight in the Jacumba Mountains is a surreal landscape known as the Valley of the Moon. Sunset photography around this other-worldly creation in stone is superb.

From the saddle on the way to the Valley of the Moon, you can follow Jeep roads and then make a short cross-country climb to the top of Blue Angels Peak. The pinon pine-spiked summit offers good views of the border country. Hold onto your hat--it’s often mighty windy on top. Round-trip distance from the trail head is five miles with a 1,300-foot gain.

Wilderness designation for the Jacumba Mountains means that in later years some of the four-wheel-drive roads that lead into the range will be closed to vehicles and transformed into hiking trails. In the meantime, hikers must share the first part of the road leading to the Valley of the Moon with the occasional four-wheel-drive vehicle.

Directions to trail head: From Interstate 8, about 90 miles east of San Diego and just west of the Imperial County line, exit on In-Ko-Pah Road. Head southwest along the frontage road for a quarter-mile, then turn left onto an unsigned dirt road. Drive three-fourths-mile up the road to a very small parking area just off the road. Four-wheel-drive vehicles can continue about another mile up the road.

The hike: Walk up the Jeep road to a saddle. A spur road forks left to Smugglers Cave, defaced by graffiti.

From the saddle, veer right at the first junction, left at the second. As the road descends, you’ll ignore minor spurs that lead to primitive camps. The road climbs a bit toward minor but prominent Tahe Peak. Stick to the main road, keeping left and avoiding the spur road that leads to an abandoned amethyst mine.

After winding east, then south around the base of Tahe Peak, you’ll turn east once more and descend into the Valley of the Moon.

Explore the lunar landscape via a couple of Jeep roads or by navigating among the big boulders. Stay oriented to the road; it’s easy to lose your bearings in this strange terrain.

Valley of the Moon Trail Where: Jacumba Mountains Wilderness, 90 miles east of San Diego. Distance: To Valley of the Moon is 6 miles round trip with a 700- foot elevation gain. Terrain: Boulder- strewn mountains on California- Mexico border. Highlights: View of two countries; surreal Valley of the Moon. Degree of Difficulty: Moderate. For More Information: U.S. Bureau of Land Managemnt, El Centro Resource Area, 1661 S. 4th St., El Centro, CA. 92243; tel. (619) 337- 4400.