100 Peaks

Ocotillo on the way to Villager Peak

Villager Peak:
Elevation: 5,756′
Miles: ~13.78

Rabbit Peak:
Elevation: 6,640′
Miles: ~8.9

Trail head

This was my first peak summiting with a group (Gut Check Fitness with Joe Decker) and the first overnight trip, as well. I have been wanting to do this hike for along time, since the epic scope of it seems unlike any other hike in San Diego. Although I summited two peaks on this trip, only Villager Peak counts, since Rabbit Peak is in Riverside County. Both peaks, however, are on the Hundred Peaks Section of the Angeles Sierra Club.

Robb on the trail

Elevation: 5,054′
Miles: ~6
Trail head

A series of heavy storms have hit San Diego since my trip up Sheephead Mountain. The storms dumped a lot of water and, in higher elevations, a lot of snow. I was in Mount Laguna yesterday and saw what looked like a light dusting of snow on the Cuyamaca area. I wasn’t expecting it to be nearly 12″ in places.

Robb (The SoCalPeakbagger) drove all the way from Thousand Oaks and we headed for the trail head. We were the only people there and we noticed a stream was running briskly along the road. This is a fairly popular trail, specifically for mountain bikers, so I was expecting the trail to be broken already, if there was any snow at all. We saw some snow here and there with a lot of mud showing through.

Not too long on the trail, and we were presented with a view of Oakzanita Peak, named for the oaks and manzanita growing on its slopes. As we ascended, the snow got deeper and the mud went away completely. We saw a lot of tracks in the snow that belongs to deer, raccoon, turkeys, bobcat, rabbits and what looked to me to be a very large mountain lion. But once you are out in the back country as much as me, all tracks look like a mountain lion.

The Sheephead Mountain Trail Head at Dawn

Elevation: 5,896′
Miles: 3.5
Trail head

After the holidays and a lengthy battle with the flu, I was ready to get back on the trail. It was a chilly pre-dawn morning, but alive with the promise of sun and beautiful blue skies. On the road to the trail head in Mount Laguna, the sun started to peek out behind the eastern mountains, bathing Sheephead Mountain in a beautiful orange glow. The smoky mountains to the south seemed to go on forever.

I was also excited to be completing a peak on the Sierra Club’s Hundred Peak Section.

I got to the trail head, and once again, I was the only other people within a few miles. Although the sun was shining a little on me, it the icy wind chilled me to the bones after leaving my heated car. I put on some layers and headed out on the trail.

Elevation: 5,730′
Miles: 4.0
Trailhead

I was excited to be on my way to Stonewall Peak, since I was completing my 25th peak, a milestone in my quest for 100 peaks. I was also excited since it lies within Rancho Cuyamaca State Park. The last time I was here to climb Middle Peak, I saw a lot of wildlife in my short visit. Although I was hopeful to see more animals on this trip, I wasn’t too optimistic, since I had late start.

However, on this trip, I had a couple of deer cross the road in front of my. One got spooked and went back the way it came. I found a place to turn off the road and I quickly got out to take a few pictures. I was excited, since they were only about 10 feet away from me, but I couldn’t get my camera out and on in time to get any close pictures. Instead, I had to zoom up the hill to capture them after they made it out of the brush on the upper side of the road. It was still a great experience to be so near to such beautiful creatures.

Deer in Cuyamaca

I then made it to the trailhead, ready for cold weather and snow hiking, since a furious storm dumped a lot of precipitation two days ago. In the parking lot, it felt warmer than the 38F that it was. The sun was shining and there was little wind. A perfect day for hiking.

Elevation: 6,533′
Miles: .4
Trailhead

This weekend I had the privilege to have access to a peak that has been closed since Labor Day 2004. From what I could ascertain, it was closed due to the behavior of some individuals who did not respect the tribal lands, including OHV drivers and campers.

Elevation: 5,883′
Miles: 6
Trailhead

This is another hike where I was fortunate enough to have someone come along with me. The PD was eager to do a little hiking since he’s been addicted to mountain biking for the last couple of years. The days have been still warm, but not crazy-hot like they’ve been over the past few months. It turned out to be a perfect day.

On the way to the trail head, we stopped off to see some friends off, as they were taking the Green Valley trail to Middle Peak and back. We were happy to see an abundance of wildlife that seemed to show itself everywhere we looked. We saw several groups of deer and many gangs of turkeys in the morning light.

Turkeys in Green Valley

Green Valley in Cuyamaca

We then drove to the trail head and saw more deer cutting their way across a meadow. They were too far away for me to snap a picture. With nearly 1,300′ of elevation gain, we were in for a morning of climbing. The views from the trail very nice.

The Middle Peak Fire Road and the Cuyamaca Valley

Lake Cuyamaca from Middle Peak Fire Road

We continued up the trail, which became increasingly “powdery.” Once again, the trees around us were completely charred from recent fires. The PD, who had been on the trail recently, noted that the Forest Service had been busy clearing “widow-makers” and fallen logs since he had last been here.

Burnt Trees on Middle Peak Fire Road

As we climbed higher and higher, I began looking for any sign of the trail to the actual peak, for the fire road merely skirts the peak on its northern flank. Once we got to the highest point of the road, we could see what looked like a thinning of the brush that appeared to completely cover Middle Peak.

We started going off trail, reassured by occasional rock ducks. It wasn’t long before we came upon a wall of brush with no apparent way through. Looking behind me, I saw a strand of shiny silver metallic ribbon tied to a branch. Looking over the brush ahead of me,  I saw another.

We both realized that it would be necessary to force ourselves through 7-8′ tall brush in order to make our way to the peak. It had taken us 45 minutes to get to the top of the fire road. It took us an additional 45 minutes to go through .25 miles of brush, searching for the elusive silver ribbons, to the summit, where we found a pile of stones and a summit register.

Cuyamaca Peak rom Middle Peak

Summit Register on Middle Peak

Our way out. What trail?

Once again this year, I was able to get to Joshua Tree National Park. And once again it was only overnight. But any night in the outdoors is a gift these days, since it’s hard to get away.

My friend Marc came with me and, since it was his first time here, I wanted to give him the quick tour. We drove directly to Keys View and were blasted with high winds, which is pretty typical for the area. We then went on a hike to one of the Sierra Club’s Hundred Peaks Section Peaks, Mount Inspiration.

We passed a large rock cairn on an adjacent peak, which looked like it should have been blown over a long time ago. After a few false summits, we reached the first of two summits for the day.

The valley from Mount Inspiration

Mount Inspiration benchmark

The cairn on the way to Mount Inspiration

We then headed down the road a bit and began the longer hike to Lost Horse Mine. The trail showed the signs from burning in May of 2009 and was wide enough for us to hike side by side and talk about our lives. The view from the mine is pretty epic, but we were headed towards the summit of Lose Horse Mountain, which gave us a great view into the valley below, which seemed to go on forever.

The Lost Horse Mine Trail, burnt from May 2009

The Lost Horse Mine

The view of Malapai Hill and into the valley below

We made our way back to the car and drove to Indian Cove, where we hung out by the fire and drank a few bottles of wine. The next day, we had to make our way back home, so we took the route through the Pinto Basin and visited the Cholla Cactus Gardens. It was a nice speed round of Joshua Tree, but very enjoyable.

The moon over Indian Cove

Cholla Cactus Garden

Elevation: 5,700′
Miles: .75
Trailhead

On the same trip as the trip to Garnet Peak, I made a quick side trip up to Garnet Mountain, while the rest of the family waited at the Kwaaymii Point trail head, which turns out is a hang glider launching point.

No railing here

It was a short jog up what looks like a jeep trail.

The trail leads up

After a couple of hundred feet of minor off-trail hiking (not really bushwhacking, since the bushes are low-growing). I was on the peak. I signed the summit register, allowed the breeze to cool me off and drank in the views to the east into Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

In a couple of minutes I was back down.

Whale Peak from Garnet Mountain

Garnet Mountain summit register

Garnet Peak from Garnet Mountain summit

Elevation: 5,909′
Miles: 2.4
Trailhead

Today was a family day. All three of us drove out to Mount Laguna to enjoy the warm weather and great outdoors. The whole family was going to go to Garnet Peak and then I was going to run the 3/4 miles up and down Garnet Mountain, so that I could complete two of my 100 Peaks in one day, as well as complete two peaks from the Sierra Club’s Hundred Peaks Section peak list.

It’s a fairly easy hiking trail with some moderate elevation gain.

Soph and I, ready for the trail

The heat rose, making it hard to believe that it was almost November. We made it to the trail head, already seeing the effects of the Cedar Fire from 2003.  Some of the trees were already making a return, but others looked like they weren’t ever coming back. Once again, shade was scarce along the trail to the peak.

Garnet Peak Trail Head

This tree didn't make it

We made our way up the mountain, passing the Pacific Crest Trail along the way. The trail cut into the northern side of the mountain and we could hear the Harley Davidsons opening up the engines along the Sunrise Highway. We passed some friendly hikers along the way, and were suddenly climbing a trail to the right and we were on the peak.

This peak had a similar view as Monument Peak; a nice view into Borrego Valley and views north and south along the Mount Laguna ridge line. We enjoyed the panorama and made it down the way we came.

Looking south from Garnet Peak to Monument Peak

Sawtooth Mountains from Garnet Peak

Soph, enjoying lofty heights on Garnet Peak

Once again, dangling over oblivion, this time it's Storm Canyon

My father and I atop Mount Whitney in 1984

This was a special hike for me, since I invited my father to come along. He has been hiking and camping with me on many occasions, including the fantastic trip to Mount Whitney in 1984. We’ve canoed together, hiked in the snow, went for 50-mile bike rides and have gone water skiing, mostly with the boy scouts. He is 71 years old, but is very active and seems like he is 58. I found myself trying to keep up with him as he bounded up the trail ahead of me, only occasionally taking a breather. We went to see Spamalot last week and there were many elderly people there in scooters and walkers. He turned to me and said, “What’s with all the old people?” This was funny to me since they were all practically the same age as him, but his activity is keeping him young, as well as his laid-back outlook. I realized again, as I have done many times in my life, that my insatiable curiosity and my attention to detail can be attributed directly to him. It was a great day, topped off with a pretty good burger at the Alpine Inn and some pleasant company.

Elevation: 6,271′
Miles: 2.9
Trailhead

On to the trip report. We got a later start, but it was OK, since it was fairly cool, with the clouds threatening to continue the rain that had arrived the night before. However, once on the trail, we warmed up and the clouds let the sun shine on us from time to time. We hiked through some meadows and pine trees, which was a nice break from the sun-beaten rocky ridges that dominate most of the hikes I have completed thus far.

Big Laguna Trail

After a couple of missed turns due to subtle signing, we found our way to the Pacific Crest Trail and made our way towards Monument Peak. As we ascended, the pine trees gave way to dense thickets of manzanita that were shoulder high.

My dad on the trail to the summit

Once we got near the peak, we encountered a great deal of equipment, some of it protected by a chain link fence. The peak’s prominence at the edge of the desert makes it ideal for antennae equipment and some laser research at the adjacent Stephenson Peak.

The fence on the way to the peak

After the fence we got onto a service road and were immediately hit with some fierce winds that buffeted us all the way to the top and the entire time we spend on the peak. There was one sheltered spot by some rocks and a large manzanita that gave us some respite. The view into the Anza-Borrego Desert was incredible. For such a short hike, it was truly a panoramic view. To the east there was the desert, and to the west, we had views into the lush Laguna and Cuyamaca areas.

Whale Peak over Anza-Borrego from Monument Peak Summit

Monument Peak Summit Register

Monument Peak Summit Benchmark

My dad on the peak, enjoying the view

Hawaii-like ridge next to Stephenson Peak

The Sawtooth Mountains

We shared the peak with some very large equipment and then, happy to be leaving the challenging gusts behind, made our way back down the mountain. It was a fairly easy hike and I always enjoy the drive through Mount Laguna.

My dad on the way back down the service road. Almost out of the wind.