On Top of La Cumbre Peak

Cathedral Peak
Elevation: 3,333′
Miles: ~4.5 Miles
Trail head (34.4956, -119.7142)
Agency: Los Padres National Forest

Since I got so close last time, I decided to give this peak another try. Once again, the sun rose as I ascended Camino Cielo and drove to the La Cumbre Lookout Tower. I decided to give the tower a quick visit.

Since I had started running again in the mornings, I felt good as I scampered over the summit block. I tried recording a video, but had some audio issues.

Monetico Peak from Cold Springs Trail

Montecito Peak
Elevation: 3,214′
Miles: 2.4
Trail head (34.48418, -119.63895)
Agency: Los Padres National Forest

While planning for this peak, I had the option of hiking this from the south, or accessing it from the north, on Camino Cielo. Since I am just getting back into hiking shape, I decided on the shorter route.

I was pumped to get going in this hike, it being my first hike since my last San Diego to Mount Tule, about 2 months ago. It was still dark when I pulled my covers back and entered the cool air of the morning.

I drove the winding road leading up to the high ridge. There were other people, parked here and there, standing outside their cars to capture the full beauty of the orange and purple sky and the sun rising over the ocean.

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.

Bell Bluff, menacing from below

Bell Bluff
Elevation: 3,409′
Total Mileage: 7
Agency: Cleveland National Forest

Trailhead Map (32.81348, -116.73607)

It was going to be a hot day. And there was going to be bushwhacking. I knew it before getting into this. I had read the trip reports and did all the research I could. I was as prepared as I was going to get. Against my better judgement, I wore shorts. I would accept the deep scratches on my legs as a trade-off for being slightly cooler.

I left my house at about 6AM. The sky was already grey with the promise of a new day when I arose at 5AM. It was already warm. I’ve told plenty of hikers that, as long as you carry enough water, have the property clothing and sun protection,  and have an adequate level of fitness, you’ll be fine hiking in the heat.

But today was absolutely muggy. The humidity made me start sweating the second I closed the hatch on my car and started walking down the street to the trailhead. It was a little sweltering, until the breeze came, reminding me why it’s so great to be outside.

Boucher Hill Viewing Platform

Trailhead Map (33.33195, -116.90684)

After reading a recent article about the renovation of the Boucher Hill Fire Lookout Tower and knowing that Palomar Mountain State Park is slated to be closed as a result of budget cuts from Sacramento, I decided to make Boucher Hill a priority. I summited the peak back in 2006 with my brothers-in-law and had a great time, but it wasn’t officially part of the 100 Peaks quest, so I wanted to summit it again.

Knowing I could squeeze it in the middle of a work day (I have a flexible schedule), I made the beautiful drive through Pala and Pauma Valley. I couldn’t smell the citrus blossoms like I sometime can in the spring, but it was a really nice morning. The temperature rose from 75 to 85 as I made my way around winding roads and past cyclists and motorcycle groups to higher elevations on the mountain. It was going to be a warm day.

Barn in Daley Ranch

Be on the lookout for some changes to the site to be coming up over the next several weeks. What is live now is a new Peak List, which is a sortable table that indicates whether or not a peak is in the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter Hundred Peaks Section (HPS), the San Diego Sierra Club’s One Hundred Peaks List (SDC) or whether or not I’ve created a Google Earth trail map for that particular hike.

I intend to have maps for all the hikes, so that column will go away once I am up to date.

The next minor thing is that I’ve numbered the icons on my Peaks Map to correspond with the Peak Numbers.

What’s to come:

• Creating information pages for all the agencies associated with the areas that contain each peak.
• Creating links or portfolio views to Flickr Sets for each trip report, so that higher res pics can be seen.
• Cleaning up older, more sparse, trip reports and making sure there are links to the trailhead and maps. I will also add any new pictures I’ve taken since I’ve been there.
• Working on my backlog of gear reviews, non-profit organization summaries, list of parks and recreation areas throughout the county
• Creating a list and map of my non-San Diego Peaks, and hikes, such as my trips to Mount Whitney, Ka’ala Peak on Oahu, San Jacinto Peak, and other peaks I’ve summited over the years.
• Creating a Tips Page, for hiking and camping tips. I’ve learned a lot and have made a lot of mistakes that others can avoid.
• Fleshing out my About page, containing more information about what I am doing, where I got my peak list, and what I consider a peak.

I am hoping to be summiting more peaks over the next few weeks, so these trip reports will be on the way, as well.

The weather has finally heated up and I hope you are all getting some time on the trails. As always, I love to get comments, even on really old posts.

As some of you know, it’s hard for me to find time to hit all the peaks quickly, as my schedule is pretty dynamic. I often am not sure I am going to be hiking until the night before. Hopefully that will change soon.

I hope to see you on the trail!

-Derek

Whale Peak Summit Sign

Whale Peak
Elevation: 5,350′
Total Mileage: ~10

Trailhead Map (33.05165, -116.36605)

This hike was supposed to be a grand day of hiking involving up to six Southern California bloggers. I was supposed to be the knowledgeable host, guiding my guests around the San Diego backcountry. I had hand-picked two hikes to show two distinct regions of San Diego to my guests from the north.

However, hiking is all about being flexible and taking whatever comes your way with a smile, and sometimes, a sigh.

It all started with a simple tweet. I tweeted a picture from one of my hikes and Casey (@ModernHiker) tweeted back that he should come hiking in San Diego. I tweeted back that it was a great idea and we should calendar it or it would never happen. Then Kolby (@TheHikeGuy),Jeff (@SoCalHiker), Peter (@ADKinLA) and Kam (@CampfireChic) all got into the mix. The SoCal Hiking Blogger Summit, as Kolby called it.

Then Kolby lost his job and decided to hike the Pacific Crest Trail all the way through. Understandably, he had some planning to do. Casey and Kam also had other plans get in the way, and we all know that feeling.

So it ended up being Jeff, Peter, and I to meet and hike in San Diego. The plan was to meet and drive out to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park together, hike Whale Peak, a short 4-mile hike with 1,500’ of gain. Then we were to drive back towards Julian for an easy stroll to Volcan Mountain.

And then have apple pie.

Sunrise Over Anza-Borrego

Bonny Benchmark
Elevation: 4,574′

White Benchmark
Elevation: 5,326′

The Thimble
Elevation: 5,779′

Ysidro Benchmark
Elevation: 6,147′

Total Mileage: 7.96

Trailhead Map (33.210596, -116.49509)

It’s amazing the difference that weather can make on a hike. About a month and a half ago, I attempted this same hike. The weather was cold, but the wind, combined with some icy precipitation and some snowy patches made the trip very challenging. Therefore, I decided to pull the plug and turn around, only completing half the peaks that I had wanted to on that day.

This time, it was still cold (26F on the way to the trailhead), but the winds were calm and the sky was devoid of any clouds. This would make all the difference in the world.

Sunrise over Anza-Borrego Desert SP

Bonny Benchmark
Elevation: 4,574′

White Benchmark
Elevation: 5,326′

Total Mileage: 5.26

Trailhead Map (33.210596, -116.49509)

Sometimes the stars align and everything makes for a perfect hiking day. This was not one of those times. Granted, any day of hiking is better than doing almost anything else, but some conditions can be more challenging than others.

We got an early 4AM start. When I say “we” I mean the friends I will refer to as the She-wolf and Level 3. I’ve hiked with them before, on my trip to Villager and Rabbit Peaks. I was kicking around the idea of squeezing a hike in before I would have my daughter (Sophia) solo for about 2 weeks while my wife (Hoa) travels for business.

I mentioned taking a day off work to Level 3 and he asked if I wouldn’t mind if he came along. That sealed it. We had a plan and were going with it. Leading up to the day of hiking, I looked at the weather several times a day, and all signs said that all hell would break loose over San Diego on Friday afternoon.

We decided to get an early start. 4AM is pretty early, even for me, even when excited about hiking, which I was. We drove through Ramona in the dark, searching for someplace to get some pre-dawn breakfast. Jack-in-the-Box did the trick and we took a left in Santa Ysabel and continued north past Lake Henshaw.

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.