Bench in Daley Ranch

Daley Ranch
3024 La Honda Drive
Escondido, CA 92027
(760) 839-4680
Agency: City of Escondido
Open daily from dawn to dusk.
Free to public.

Today I had the intent to finally tackle another peak, since it’s been almost month since my last epic adventure in Anza-Borrego. It was sort of an impulse hike. I tend to keep some of the local peaks in my head as last-minute hikes in case I get a free moment. These hikes are typically fairly easy on well-maintained trails that are frequently visited by locals.

In this case, I wanted to hike Burnt Mountain in Daley Ranch. Burnt Mountain is on the Ranch’s official trail maps, but a trail is not shown to the peak. Thinking that I would either find a small use trail or simply bushwhack to the summit, I quickly packed my car up this morning and drove to the trailhead. I had seen reports of other peakbaggers summiting this peak over the last decade, so I figured there must be a way up.

Daley Ranch Trailhead

Elevation: 1,983′
Miles: 5.5
Trailhead

I was all set to go out to Anza-Borrego to bag some peaks and see some wildflowers, but the weather wasn’t looking very hospitable. Traveling on dirt roads after heavy rains isn’t advised, even with my all-wheel-drive Tiguan.

Instead, I set my sights on a “backup hike” that I’ve had in my mind for a while. This hike is in Daley Ranch in Escondido, which is pretty well visited. On this morning, however, the rain likely kept everyone but the loyal away.

On my way to the trailhead, it looked like the clouds were clearing up, which bode well. However, once I got about 15 minutes up the trail, the rain started and didn’t stop until I reached the summit.

The trail was nice and maintained, a welcomed break from my past few hikes. It dipped down past a rushing stream and meandered through what would have been a nice meadow, if it hadn’t been raining so hard on me.

In some places, the trail was pretty muddy and I could see where horses had recently sunken pretty deep into it. But overall, there were firm spots here and there, so I didn’t get the mud weights on the bottom of my shoes like I did for the McGinty Mountain hike.