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.

Manza Benchmark from the ridge

This topic has been coming up a lot lately in my conversations: Have you ever met an unfriendly hiker?

In all sorts of other recreational activities, it seems like there are hotheads and inconsiderate people. But hikers, in my experience, reach some sort of meditative state where they are at some sort of peace with themselves. Hiking to them is not a race or athletic endeavor; it’s a journey or break from an otherwise chaotic life. The act of hiking is a calming process that balances the focus inward with the focus outward.

I bring this up because I met some especially nice hikers on my trip today.

I got another early start. I love driving in the dark on the way to a trail. It might be cold when I get there, but I love to feel nature wake up in the morning. The quiet sounds of birds waking up and the wind blowing gently through the trees are typically what I find once I set foot on the trail. I didn’t get that today.

Dawn behind Rabbit Peak from the Laguna Mountains

Wanting to complete my hike to Pine Mountain while the way was still fresh in my head, I got up this morning at 4:30 AM. I wanted to be on the trail early before the day warmed up. Even though the forecast read it was to be 45 F with 2mph winds, it was 65 F and windy when the sky turned pink over Anza-Borrego.

It was a great sunrise, flashing at me from in-between the mountains to the east as I drove along the aptly named Sunrise Highway.

I quickly geared up and bounded up the trail, acutely aware of the mountain lion tracks that I saw last time I was out on the trail and also keeping an eye out for overzealous hunters.

I made great time, following the path up the mountain and was welcomed by a splash of orange, completely illuminating the top of Pine Mountain, the only mountain in the immediate area to have pine trees on it. It is easy to see why it was named. The whole valley woke up to the light, the birds flitting from branch to branch, as if they were waiting all night for this moment.

An online friend of mine stumbled upon a couple of curious stickers while hiking on recent hikes. One was on Garnet Mountain, which I hiked about 11 months ago, and another was on Ken Point, a peak along the Desert Divide. Since I didn’t see the sticker on Garnet Mountain when I was there, I can only surmise that it was placed there fairly recently (less than a year).

Does anyone have any insight on these stickers? Please feel free to comment below.

Sticker on the Ken Point summit register

Sticker on the Garnet Mountain summit register

Sticker on Martinez Mountain

Update 10/11/2010: Added another one from the same friend who keeps finding these.

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.

In Mount Laguna, near a remote hiking trail, a body has been found that appears to have been burnt at the site. Police don’t know yet if the body is a male or female and the remains were airlifted to the Medical Examiners office.

It’s always possible that a campfire got out of control, especially with the high winds and lower temperatures this weekend, but there’s always the possibility of foul play.

No word on how long the body has been out there or any other significant details.

Map of the general location of the body

I’d hate to be out hiking and be the one to come across something like this.

Be careful out there, people.

Storm Canyon at the edge of Garnet Peak in Mount Laguna

Laguna Mountain Recreation Area
Descanso Ranger District – Cleveland National Forest
Owen Martin, District Ranger
3348 Alpine Boulevard
Alpine, CA 91901
(619) 445-6235
Agency: Cleveland National Forest

Laguna Mountain Recreation Area is located about 45 minutes from downtown San Diego and is adjacent to Rancho Cuyamaca State Park, is part of the Cleveland National Forest, and is seated at the edge of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Also known as Mount Laguna, it features several miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, some of it that runs along the edge of a steep drop off into the desert to the east, providing unparalleled views into the valley below. There are several large meadows that have large ponds (lagunas) that are well worth the hike.

The Sheephead Mountain Trail Head at Dawn

Elevation: 5,896′
Miles: 3.5
Trailhead

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 trailhead 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 person within a few miles. Although the sun was shining a little on me, 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: 5,909′
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.