East Mesa Fire Road

East Mesa High Point
Elevation: 5,178′
Mileage: 8.8
Trailhead Map

Once again, I was going to be racing weather. The report said that high winds, coupled with heavy rains and snow at Mount Laguna and Cuyamaca Peak would be unleashed at exactly 5PM. I’d say that would be a motivating factor in getting off the trail, wouldn’t you?

The plan was that Level3 and New Jersey George would be running Noble Canyon to Penny Pines and back, a total of 20 miles with plenty of gain. Since there were no peaks on that route and I wasn’t going to be doing 20 miles, I recommended that the She-wolf and I head over to East Mesa in Rancho Cuyamaca State Park and hike to the high point. I had seen the high point from my trip to Sugg Peak and it looked like an easy enough hike up a not-too-densely covered mountain in the middle of the grassy East Mesa.

After waving goodbye to the two ultra-runners, we drove through Guatay and headed over to the East Mesa Fire Road trailhead. It’s easy to miss, apparently, since we had to turn around and drive back to it after passing it. We got out of the car and were instantly reminded that it was going to be a chilly day. We added a layer or two and headed up the trail. I’ve been in this area twice already, once for my aforementioned Sugg Peak trip, and once for my snowy trip to Oakzanita Peak. I liked it a lot and so did many others, since the East Mesa Fire Road is a pretty popular hiking area.

As we started the incline, we took note of the many tracks in the dirt, mostly human, horse and some dog. We could hear Descanso Creek rushing below us, swollen from the recent rains. We then saw two healthy-looking coyotes with large, bushy tails, standing in the trail in front of us. They would trot ahead a little bit and then turn and look back at us. After a couple of bends in the road, they disappeared and we never saw them again. Truly a wild experience in San Diego County.

View from The Trail to Sugg Peak

Elevation Gain: 1,205′
Miles: 8.5
Trailhead

I was excited to get back to Cuyamaca and excited to be going after a peak that I could see from my hike up to the top of Oakzanita Peak.

I am glad that I didn’t attempt this the same day as Oakzanita hike, since the bushwhacking involved would have been compounded by the snow all over East Mesa.

Brady (@HikingSanDiego) and I got to the trailhead just after 6AM and were the only people there. The sun wasn’t fully up yet, but it wasn’t cold at all, so I was worried that it might get pretty hot as the day progressed. We headed out on the East Mesa Fire road and were almost immediately presented with a nice view of Oakzanita Peak, which would dominate the landscape for most of the day.

We saw plenty of tracks in the road; deer, turkey and even some large mountain lion, but saw nothing other than lizards, squirrels, quail, and some rabbits.

While hiking up the road, we shared our varied hiking experiences and approached the area where we would start bushwhacking. I had scoped out the region from Google Earth, but I couldn’t tell which way was the best way.

Cuyamaca Peak from Japacha Peak

Cuyamaca Peak
Elevation: 6,512′

Japacha Peak
Elevation: 5,825′

Airplane Ridge
Elevation: 5,000′

Arrowmakers Ridge
Elevation: 4,740′

Total Mileage: 14.22 miles

Getting to Cuyamaca Rancho State Park always takes longer than I think it does. I left the house at 6AM and didn’t get on the trail until 8AM, as I have to take into consideration picking up the PD, getting breakfast to go, and driving out to the park.

Regardless, we arrived at Paso Picacho and were instantly chilled by the wind blasting through the valley. I was glad that I had brought extra layers, even though the weather report indicated that the high would be hovering near 70 degrees.

Stairway to Stonewall

A body was found near Stonewall Peak in Cuyamaca today. The body is believed to be that of 52-year-old Joseph Roushar, (who appears to have been a local masseuse via a quick Google search) who went hiking about noon on Friday. His jacket containing his cell phone was found at around 7PM the same day. Rescuers began searching during the night and found the body at 10:45AM, about 200 feet below the peak.

I will keep my commentary to myself other than to say be careful out there.

Stonewall Peak is a fairly safe trail, especially when it is dry. There is a guard rail and it is visited often. Don’t be deterred by the occasional accident in the outdoors. Trekking poles definitely help in any sketchy situations.

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 Tiguan. 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.

Burning the brush on Middle Peak in Cuyamaca

I ran across this photo on SignOnSanDiego, which is the Union-Tribune. I should have waited for them to do this before I attempted my bushwhack up Middle Peak last month.

Firefighters John Reynolds (left) and Shannon Johnson with CalFire start a controlled burn in a wash on the north side of Middle Peak. The 70-acre fire was planned to remove vegetation in advance of planting 20,000 Coulter and Jeffrey pines in the spring. (John Gastaldo / Union-Tribune)

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?