The Vallecito Mountains are in eastern San Diego county and spread over a large area. The west part of the range is dominated by Whale Mountain, but the goal today was the eastern high point at 3583'. This part of the range is so remote that the starting point requires an 18 mile one way trip on a jeep trail. It took an hour and a half to make the drive over large rocks and deep sand. 4x4 required.
The hike itself is short but challenging, with two boulder walls to overcome. In between is a flat, sandy plateau sometimes called Tarantula Flat. We found a lot of bones in this area, either bighorn or deer. The actual high point is not visible until you are within 200' of it. The best views from the summit were east toward Borrego Valley and Salton Sea.
