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.

Villager Peak from Rabbit Peak

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
200 Palm Canyon Dr
Borrego Springs, CA 92004
760-767-5311
anzaborrego@parks.ca.gov
Agency: California State Parks

Other Links:
The Anza-Borrego Foundation
The Anza-Borrego Natural History Organization

Encompassing 600,000 acres, Anza-Borrego Desert SP is one third of San Diego County. While mostly desert, there are a few places in the higher elevations that have some pine trees and have seasonal snowfall. A large draw for visitors is the annual spring wildflower bloom, which is especially powerful after a wet winter. There is also an extensive trail system for OHV, as well as a great variety of hiking trail of all difficulties. The area is so large that driving long distances is necessary to see the popular locales within the park, such as Fonts Point or Borrego Palm Canyon.

Lawson Peak shrouded in clouds from the Lawson Peak Trail

Lawson Peak:
Elevation: 3,664′
Miles: 4.5

Gaskill Peak:
Elevation: 3,836′
Miles: +2.5 (added to total above)

Trailhead

All week the weather report stated that Sunday was going to be sunny. However, late Saturday night, the weather report changed to showers and sun. On my way to the trailhead, I had to slow the car down on the freeway to 40mph, since was raining too hard to see anything out of my windshield. Since I could see some blue skies to the west, I decided to chance hiking the trail today.

Once I got to the trailhead, there were plenty of clouds, but no rain. I headed up the dirt road, which was also a stream more often than not. I could see some Jeep tread marks in the trail, but couldn’t imagine anyone trying to drive up this steep, muddy road today. I encountered plenty of small waterfalls and some giant puddles as I made my way up the contoured road that lead to the ridge line above. Lawson and Gaskill Peaks were above me somewhere in the clouds. Normally, I can get my bearing based on landmarks, but for much of the first portion of the hike, everything was enshrouded in fog.

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.

Green Valley in Cuyamaca

Cuyamaca Rancho State Park
13652 Highway 79
Julian, CA 92036
760-765-3020
cuyamaca@parks.ca.gov
Agency: California State Parks

Cuyamaca Rancho State Park is located about 40 minutes from downtown San Diego, yet feels worlds away. I’ve been there several times, and each time I have had the pleasure of seeing wildlife, including mule deer, turkeys, woodpeckers, squirrels and a variety of other birds and reptiles. There have also been sightings of mountain lions and coyotes.

The park, which is over 26,000 acres, includes meadows, Lake Cuyamaca, and many peaks, including Cuyamaca Peak, the second highest peak in San Diego County (Hot Springs Mountain is the highest). I highly recommend it to any visitor to San Diego who is looking for a trip away from the city.

The view from Black Mountain

On New Years Day, like most people, I tend to reflect upon the past year and on the year ahead and this year was no different. Another tradition is to get outside. In previous years, I hiked Woodson Mountain, went fishing at Lake Poway, and in 2009 I took a day trip to the snow in Idyllwild.

This year, we went to Hilltop Community Park in Rancho Penasquitos. It is a park that I have been going to lately because my daughter likes to play there. While there, I decided to make a quick trip up Black Mountain with the PD and TN.

I had a bit of the flu a couple of days leading up to New Years Day, but I felt  fine this day. The weather was incredible, compared to the rest of the country. I was happy to encounter a lot of people on the trail, and changed my usual “hello” to “Happy New Year.” I was so impressed by a woman who was obviously training for something intense by running up and down Black Mountain 3 times for a total of around 20 miles that I applauded her as she lapped me a second time.

Lately, I have found myself trying to find space on the calendar to get outside and go hiking. The weather here in San Diego has been absolutely perfect for hiking, biking, running or getting outside in general.

This time of year has historically been slow for me, work-wise. The good news is that my clients have been keeping me really busy, which is making up for a slow year. In addition, holiday social engagements have been taking up my weekends. The bad news is that I have fewer, if any, chances to make it outside.

As a result, the number of peaks that I complete may be slowing down.

I want to be clear about this: I am not complaining about having plenty of work and spending time with friends and family. It’s just that, like most of you, I have a strong urge to go outside, get some fresh air, and get away from it all.

The question is:

How do you balance your work and other commitments with your desire you go outside and run, bike, hike, etc? For those of you lucky few who were able to marry your passion for the outdoors with work, how did you successfully accomplish this?

I absolutely love comments and feedback.

I just installed a spam filter for my comments, so if you have any problems let me know from my contact page or from any of the Social Media links above.

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.