The view from the trailhead

Mount Tule
Elevation: 4,649′
Miles: 2.25
Trail head (32.71269, -116.23672)
Agency: McCain Valley National Co-op Land and Wildlife Management Area

It’s always nice to be able to get away. Even if sometimes the hike is the same duration as the drive to and from the trailhead. Sometimes it’s the anticipation of the hike, of the view, of the experience.

After dropping my daughter off at preschool, I drove out to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. It’s a long drive and I had planned on bagging as many peaks as I could before I had to head back and pick up my daughter. I started to get a little worried when I drove through a lot of precipitation on the way to the trailhead.

Most of the time, as you drive east from San Diego proper, the weather tends to ease up and the clouds give way to sunny skies. This time, it didn’t happen that way. And I learned when checking the weather that one adjacent zip code could vary widely from another.

Columbia Peak 2 Peak Jacket

Disclaimer: Columbia sent me a free jacket for me to field test. Their purpose was for me to take a survey after I used it out in the field. But I also wanted to write about it here.

When I received the Columbia Peak 2 Peak Jacket in the mail, the first thing I noticed that it was pretty light. It’s not as light as my other super-thin rain shell, but it sure felt more durable. The other thing was the color. Columbia calls it Compass Blue and it is a really nice color. Most of everything else I have is forest green, black, khaki, or white.

I examined the seals and zippers and the pockets all seemed waterproof. The fit was nice and it wasn’t as noisy as some other waterproof clothing I have.

I appreciated the Velcro cuffs and the wire-supported hood and the overall feeling of durability that the jacket offered.

Here are the specs:

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.

Elevation: 2,183′
Miles: 4.8
Trailhead

For the first time in 164 days, San Diego got rain. The forecast said that there was to be some small showers here and there, but nothing much.

Before I went to bed last night, I committed myself to going on a hike today. A little rain never hurt anyone, right? Several times during the night, I woke up to the sound of massive amounts of precipitation pounding on my roof. I rolled over and went back to sleep, dreaming of the trail I would hike the next day. The storm should blow itself out.

At 854′ in .75 miles from trailhead to summit, this hike was straight up the whole way. It wasn’t until I got almost the whole way up that I saw a sign reading that the trail was closed. So basically I followed game trails until I hit a highly used ridge that met up with the main trail. It was then I looked back and saw the sign telling me that I would have to use a closed trail back to the car.

On my way up, I saw a red-tailed hawk feather on the trail. Some Native American tribes consider the feathers sacred and use them relgious ceremonies. I considered it as an auspicious sign, snapped a picture, and left it where it lay. Conisdering that I was on a game trail and the trail was closed, it is possible that this feather may be there for years to come.

Red-tailed Hawk feather on the trail

I continued scrambling up the ridge until I turned a corner and noticed that the clouds had gathered over Cuyamaca Peak and were in the process of emptying their precious water cargo all over the range. The temperature was definitely hotter than yesterday. I am sure the firefighters in the county definitely welcomed any precipitation during this endless heat wave.

Rain falling over Cuyamaca peak

I scrambled up to the peak and was greeted with a view of Cowles Mountain Summit, as well as Fortuna Mountain. Some clouds drifted over the sun and a nice breeze cooled me off while I looked around and caught my breath. I saw yet another red-tailed hawk gliding below me. Around me, I could still see brush that was damaged in the Cedar Fire of 2003, but were well on their way to recovery. I drank some water and headed back down a trail that I knew to be closed. I will summit this peak from a different approach on a later date.

Fortuna Mountain with burnt sage brush in the foreground