Brush Mountain

With Sawmill Mountain such a long drive from San Diego, I looked to do it as some kind of overnight adventure. I knew I was not ready to backpack it again, so I convinced my good friend Dave to come do it as a traditional camping trip. He has an awesome off-road trailer and a Jeep to pull it, so we would have a very comfortable stay. Initially, I reserved a spot at Campo Alto Campground, but due to some tree hazards, they canceled us. Looking around I found Marian Campground. The campground is primitive, and despite what is stated on the website, there are no pit toilets. I met Dave at his house and transferred my gear to the trailer and we set off. After a quick stop to pick up his oldest son in Santa Monica, we made it to the campground in the late afternoon. The drive up the dirt road was not a problem, and we only dropped into 4wD due to the weight of the trailer and the four of us. We pulled in and had our pick of the five spots. After setting up, I went off to bag my first peak. Just to the west of the campground stands Brush Mountain, #115 on the Sierra Club Hundred Peaks Section list. I followed the steep road toward the summit, enjoying the views. Once I reached it, according to my GPS, I looked around for a register but came up empty.

I decided to continue along the road to Brush Mountain-North Peak, as I thought I read the register was there. Again no luck, but still had rewarding views. I retraced my route and was greeted by the rest of my campmates busily finishing up making dinner. Grilled chicken, veggies, and rice. A nice step up from a Mountain House Meal! We enjoyed a nice fire for a while, then around “hiker midnight” we turned in. Tomorrow we were driving over to near the campground we initially wanted to stay at and hike Sawmill Peak from the West Tumamait trailhead. I have never hiked this section so it was going to be an adventure!

I am an avid peak bagger, sometimes backpacker, and former sea kayaker living in San Diego. In 2019, I became the third person to complete the San Diego 100 Peak Challenge. Not stopping with that accomplishment, I set my sights on the harder San Diego Sierra Club 100 Peak list, which I completed in 2021. In addition, I have conquered several Six-Pack of Peaks challenges (SoCal, San Diego, Central Coast, and both the Arizona-Winter and Arizona-Summer). Beyond attempting the San Diego Sierra Club 100 Peak list a second time, I am looking forward to exploring new summits and new adventures across the southwest.

Lake Hodges (via Sikes Adobe)

My second hike for this year’s Coast to Challenge was to hike from the Sikes Adobe Historic Farmstead to the Bernardo Mountain turn-off. I actually had this as one of my rehab hikes, as I had never done the section from the Adobe to where the trail connects with the bridge. I parked in the small lot across from the Adobe and set off on the paved trail. This section parallels the I-15, so be prepared to listen to the rush of the traffic. The trail ducks under the freeway. As I looked at the dry lake bed, I recalled sitting in my kayak at this same spot while calling my mom to wish her a happy birthday…

The trail now leaves the I-15 behind and links up to the pedestrian bridge. This is a trail I have hiked many times, so I just cruised along. A few runners passed by, along with a mountain biker or two. The trail is closed after sunset, as it is a designated wildlife corridor. I crossed the wooden bridge, which appears to have suffered some damage. At the junction with the trail that would lead to the summit of Bernardo Mountain, I took my required photos and retraced my route. I thought the hike was going to clock in about 4 miles, but my tracker logged it at 3.6 miles.

San Dieguito Lagoon Trail

Every summer the San Dieguito River Conservancy publishes their Coast to Crest Challenge. Each challenge is a series of five different hikes along the various trails that make up the entire system. While some new sections have been recently acquired, they are not ready for hikers yet, so we get to revisit trails that have been used in previous challenges. With the current heat wave, starting with the San Dieguito Lagoon Trail seemed like a smarter choice. I had recently hiked it with some friends as a “warm-up” before brunch at Viewpoint Brewery. Since this was a Monday, they were not open for a mid-hike refreshment. My wife and our dog decided to join me for this early evening stroll. We parked next to the ranger station, just to have a better recorded track.

We cruised along the wide and well-groomed trail, stopping from time to time for a water break for our dog. Instead of going all the way to the overlook, the turn-around point this time was the end of the boardwalk, just north of Viewpoint. I tried to get a selfie of all three of us but gave up as Rocky was just not interested. We cruised back to the car, passing just a few folks along the way.

Toro Peak – West Peak

After the punishing heat atop Santiago, I knew I wanted to hike somewhere cooler this weekend if possible. After some research, Toro Peak, technically Toro Peak – West Peak, seemed like a nice option. The actual climb to the summit wasn’t too long, and to offset the drive, there were camping options. So, after checking with the family, I loaded up the Subaru for the adventure. The one gamble was all the sites, known as Yellow Post Sites, are first-come, first-served. So, there was a chance they could all be taken by the time I got there. I left mid-afternoon on Friday and made my way out to the Santa Rosa mountains. I pulled into the Santa Rosa Pit Stop and grabbed some firewood. Most of the Yellow Post Sites have fire rings and picnic tables. Alas, most do not have bathrooms. I turned off onto the dirt road that I would take up the mountain, keeping an eye out for cars and looking for points of interest. The road was fair, a little rocky at times, and there are sections where passing might be troublesome. Any regular truck or SUV would do just fine on it. As I made my way further and further up, I passed the painted rock and trees that offered their insights on past wildfires.

Each of the Yellow Post Sites is numbered, and I decided to see if #5 was still available. After one tricky section, I pulled into the spot. There was a nice level section for the car, so I parked and began setting up. The nice thing about car camping is it really doesn’t take long to set up. Just to the north of my campsite was the summit of Santa Rosa Mountain (HPS #67). I grabbed a trekking pole and strolled up the road. Atop the summit there is a huge fireplace, all that remains of a cabin that once stood there. I scrambled to the top of the summit rocks and took in the view. A hint of smoke filled the air from the Bonnie Fire, burning off to the west. There are actually two Yellow Post sites here as well, and I did consider relocating, but since it was just me, I was fine with my site. As I returned back down from my stroll, some ideas for a work project had gelled in my head, so I grabbed my notebook and sketched them down. Depending on where I stood, I had some cell signal, so I checked in with the family. Peakbagger showed another summit just off to the southwest of me, so I was off for another mini-trek.

I climbed the short slope onto the ridgeline and then followed it for a short while until I reached its summit. I brought my Garmin, just in case. Once at the summit I found a nicely shaded rock and wound up taking a short nap. Once back at camp, I began prepping my fire and watching the sun slowly set. The moon had risen and I could see Toro Peak directly off to my east. That peak is on the Santa Rosa Indian Reservation and is off-limits. I tried to spot the “replacement” peak but had no luck. I lit my fire and later enjoyed my dinner and beverages. With the bright moon, I knew that any real star-gazing would not be in the cards, so I crawled into the car and went to sleep.

For some reason, I did not sleep all that well. I woke up just before dawn and was thankful to get a lovely photo of the pre-dawn sky. Rather than start from where I had camped, I decided to continue driving toward the trailhead and start somewhere closer. According to the map, there was a vault toilet about a mile to the east at a cluster of three campsites. I parked at the one closest to the road. All three were empty, so I did not have to worry about waking anyone up. As I gathered my gear, a rainbow appeared to the west. I already had a few sprinkles coming down on me when I was packing up, so a rain jacket was added to the pack. The first part of the hike followed the main road toward Toro Peak.

I spotted the cairn that marked the steep gully that I would follow up to the saddle. I left the road and began working my way up the steep and pine needle-covered slopes. To give a sense of the steepness, the average grade was about 28%, and coupled with being at almost 8,000 feet, my lungs were working overtime. Once at the small saddle, I turned westward for the final push to the summit. It had sprinkled on me from time to time on my ascent, so I did not expect to linger too long on the summit. I found the register and signed in. The views were breathtaking, but I was mindful of the weather, so I headed back down. Pictures never do justice to the steepness of the terrain, but trust me, it was steep! Once back on the road, I quickly cruised back to the car. I did not have a real breakfast, so the Paradise Valley Café was calling my name. All told the hike was 2.6 miles and had an elevation gain of 775 feet.

Santiago Peak

Today’s plan was to summit Santiago Peak, followed by Modjeska Peak. We drove up from the Maple Springs Trailhead to the pullout to start our adventures. The forecast from NOAA seemed to be good enough for us to hike the 5 or so miles for these summits. After applying a good amount of sunscreen, we set off to Santiago. It felt a light warmer than we wanted, but it was still pleasant enough. We reached the junction with the side trail that would allow us to leave the main road. I took the lead as we followed the slightly overgrown trail up toward the summit. The shade was welcomed, but there was now an uptick in the number of bugs that were beginning to swarm around us. We passed by the crashed truck. How it got here is a puzzle I would love to solve one day…

I kept pushing myself up the trail. I have to keep reminding myself that I am still rebuilding my fitness from being off-trail due to my foot for almost a year. The towers on the summit drew nearer, and soon we reached the summit. We snapped some photos and then found some shade to cool off under. But the bugs were just too bothersome to linger, plus it was getting toasty.

We retraced our route and found ourselves at the saddle between the two summits. Now we took a different trail that would climb toward the road that leads to Modjeska. The trail is a bit more exposed, so we could feel the sun beating down on us. Once at the junction, I found some shade to rest for a bit. Although the summit was about 1/2 mile away, I did not feel up to it (plus I had driving responsibilities). Modjeska was the peak that Susie was interested in summiting, so she set off for it. I cruised back down to the car and relaxed for about 20 minutes until Susie returned. She was thankful I had been running the AC in the car. The thermometer on the car read 101! WTF! That was a far cry from the mid-80s that were forecasted.

While on the way up we only saw 2 motorcycles, but this time we had some traffic to deal with. One jeep was coming up way too fast and they had to dive into the brush to avoid the collision. I squeezed by them, but still got some new pin-strips on my car. Once back with some cell signal, we punched in the route home and our estimated time to home was over 2 1/2 hours! Switching apps, it found a route through the surface streets that avoid whatever mess was happening in Dana Point. While I would have liked to have gotten both peaks, I know I will be back as I have promised to bring Ted up here so he can work on his SoCal county high points. While the hike itself was only 4.3 with 1,020 feet of gain, part of the test was seeing how the foot would do with a bit more driving. So far it is feeling pretty good.

Wild Horse Trail

I wanted something with some difficulty as the last hike before my final PT appointment. Between the heat and some afternoon commitments, I did not have a lot of options for this hike. I settled on doing the Wild Horse trail out at Iron Mountain. We pulled into the parking lot at about 6:30, finding plenty of parking. The forecasted temperatures probably kept some folks home (or they were at ComicCon). We took the required photos of the trailhead sign and the tree tunnel and set off. The Wild Horse trail parallels the main trail, just one ravine to the north.

After passing a small pond, our route headed east and began its climb to the ridge line. The sun was just starting to crest over the hills as we made our way up. Some of the trails were closed due to raptor breeding. At the ridge line, we decided to make the short side trip to the top of the Ramona Overlook. This is one of the 12 peaks that make up the Iron Mountain Preserve. After grabbing our photos, we set off toward the junction with the main trail toward Iron Mountain.

Since the trail is on the east side, we could feel the sun beating down on us. Once at the side, I debated if I wanted to try for the summit or not. Heat is not my friend, so I was uncertain, but opted to try, while being mindful of how I felt.

We worked our way up toward the summit and the trail was much more populated than our initial route. As we neared the Little Iron Mountain, I knew that the full summit was not in the cards. Maybe if we started an hour earlier or took the direct route it would have been. We decided to weave our way through the brush and scramble up some rocks to the summit of Little Iron Mountain. I enjoyed some of my orange and grabbed a few photos, but the heat kept assaulting me, so it was time to make our descent. I plodded back down the trail, taking a couple of breaks in the shade just to be safe. I was amazed at the number of folks ascending in the heat and with so little water. I saw one couple with an Iced Starbucks for each of them and nothing else. Adding to that, they had a dog with them! Ted and I also looked quizzically at one hiker ascending in a jacket!

I pushed on down the mountain, bummed that I did not summit again, but knowing I made the smart call to turn back. While my foot is doing pretty well, my fitness level is not where it was pre-injury. That is going to just have to come with time and effort. Back at the car, the temperature read 91 F in the parking lot. Yikes, that was toasty for 10 am! All told it was a good hard hike, I got a couple of summits in, and it was a friendly reminder that I am still rebuilding…

Black Mountain (via Black Widow Trail)

For those hikers who tend to seek out summits, one of the major sources of information (also known as beta) that we use is peakbagger.com. While not the nicest-looking site, the data stored within is invaluable. On the mobile app, the default starting point is a listing of nearby summits. Recently a new summit near my house was added to the database. So, every time I launched the app on my phone, this unclimbed summit was staring me in the face. As one who likes to complete things, this would not do. So, I finally decided to cross Peak 1005 off that unclimbed list.

I parked near the service road entrance to Black Mountain and set off in the late afternoon. It was still warm, probably low-80s. Making a turn onto one of the other service roads for the powerline before finding the use trail that I take up to the summit. The trail was very rocky and very steep. This route was certainly one that I would not recommend descending. The trail crest the bump, and I checked my location and I was on top of the summit. I decided to keep climbing to the summit of Black Mountain. My route linked up with the Black Widow trail, and up I went.

This trail is interesting, there is an almost straight route up the side of the mountain and a trail that snakes its way back and forth. I opted to plod straight ahead. Finally, I reached the main service road and then cruised onto the summit. This time there was no mountain biker sharing their music. I hung out a bit before heading back down, this time taking the service road the entire time. It was late enough in the day that almost this entire road was now in the shadow of the mountain. The shade was very welcomed. The entire hike was 3.1 miles in 1:17. The total elevation gain was 751 feet, which occurred in the first 1.1 miles of the hike.

Woodson Mountain (via Fry-Koegel Trail)

A sliver of a moon hung in the eastern sky as I pulled to the side of the road. San Diego was under an extreme heat warning, so I needed to have a very early start to attempt to beat it. I wanted to try the Fry-Koegel trail for this attempt up the summit, having done the other two routes to the summit. If you ever drive along the 67 and see a few cars near the intersection with Archie Moore Road, that is where you should park if you want to use the Fry-Koegel trail. Otherwise, continue on a short bit to park with everyone else who will summit via the Service Road. I pulled over just past the guard rail and parked. As expected, there was no one here. In fact, I only saw two cars near the other trailhead. I gathered my gear, turned my headlamp on, and set off. Besides hoping to reach the summit, my other goal was to keep my pace and exertion level at a reasonable level. The trail initially skirts past a collection of backyards. I would occasionally look back to view the changing sky as we drew closer to sunrise. There was an occasional hoot from an owl to break up the silence.

The trail kept climbing up the north side of the mountain until I reached a fork in the trail. To my left was the old trail, and to my right the new route. Since either route would be new to me, I opted for the old trail. About 1/2 mile later the trail linked up with the trail you would use coming from Lake Poway. The sun had almost risen over the mountains as I now headed eastward and I grabbed a few photos of the first light spilling across the landscape.

The main draw for this hike is the Potato Chip, a piece of granite hanging free that folks love to climb upon. In contrast to the almost Disneyland-like lines which are frequent, I was alone. I snapped a few photos but skipped going onto it. The summit was still a bit further, so I strolled on. I went over to the true summit, just to take a look. I certainly wasn’t planning on scrambling up that summit block either. I pushed the rubber tips onto my trekking poles before I headed down the paved service road.

I was now starting to see folks making their way up. The temperatures were already climbing, so I was glad to be heading back down. The steepness of the road did bother my foot a bit, but it was manageable. The real test will be later today and how it feels then.

I tossed my gear into the car and carefully pulled on the 67 and headed home. When I started the hike, the car said it was 64°, as I sped away, it was now 82°! The entire hike was 5.4 miles in 2:35 and had 1,475 feet of gain.

Ramona Grasslands

After summiting Volcan Mountain yesterday, I knew I should keep my trail time to something more on the mild side, and Ramona Grasslands seemed to fit the bill nicely. I decided to try this hike with the dog.

The marine layer had already burned off, but a good breeze kept the temperatures nice and comfortable. Rocky was not on his best behavior, so a lot of corrections were needed as we strolled down the wide trail. We passed a few others out enjoying the area but had a lot of the preserve to ourselves.

I opted to do the longer loop, stopping at the picnic benches for a quick break in the shade and some water for Rocky. A few flowers still dotted the sides of the trail.

Once back at the trailhead, a ranger had set up a display about various wildlife. Turned out he was the same ranger from Barnett Ranch and he remembered me. We chatted some before I bid farewell. A nice Sunday stroll of about 2.75 miles in 1:02.

Volcan Mountain

Today was going to be a real test of my foot. I have to admit, I was nervous. It had been almost a year since I had done any real hiking and today’s hike up Volcan Mountain was going to be my longest and highest effort. My primary goal for the rest of 2023 is to try to complete several Six Pack of Peak Challenges. Ted pulled up to my house just before 7 am, and I tossed him the keys to the Subaru so he could make the hour-long drive to the trailhead. I did not want to over-exert my foot by driving. The drive was uneventful–the familiar road passing quickly by. I still can’t believe they haven’t finished rebuilding the McDonalds in Ramona yet. When we arrived at the trailhead, there were only about 4 cars parked along the road. I was a bit surprised that there were so few cars, but a quieter summit is always welcomed. We gathered our gear and set off. After a quick bio-break at the porta-potties, we passed through the ornate gateway and the hike began.

I had thought that my hike on Volcan Mountain back in 2022 was when my plantar fasciitis became an issue. Turns out I was off by a couple of weeks, it was actually when we hiked Santa Ysabel East, which is just a few miles away, that the injury occurred. Nevertheless, I was going to be pushing my foot and my fitness on this hike. The well-groomed dirt road quickly gained elevation and I could feel my heart begin to beat faster. This was going to be my 7th time climbing this peak, so I was quite familiar with what lay before me. My heart kept pounding away while my lungs kept working overtime. We opted to stay on the main road and not use the Five Oaks Trail like we normally do. The foot was doing well up the steep grades, each step closer to the summit. I pushed through the tougher sections, knowing that an easier section was just over the rise or around the bend. Soon, we passed under the pines, and the open meadow near the summit came into view. I knew that in a few minutes, I would reach the summit!

I sat in the shade on the picnic bench next to the abandoned aerial navigation tower and enjoyed my well-earned rest. After a bit, it was time to set off back down from the summit. In many ways, this was the bigger test of my foot. We stopped off at the actual benchmark and grabbed a few photos with the summit signs and one with my Six-Pack-of-Peaks tag. One down, five to go!

The weather was near perfect, with nice temperatures, a light breeze, and fairly clear skies. More importantly, not a lot of bugs. The descent went well as we retraced our route and a few more folks were making their way up toward the summit. The nice thing about descending was I was no longer breathing so hard that you could hear me all the way in Julian.

Soon we were back at the car. It was still too early for a sandwich at Dudley’s or a pint at Calico Cidery, so we headed directly home. During the hike, I purposefully did not look at my tracker, but now that we were done I wanted to see how long it took. Back in 2022, Ted and I did this hike in just over 2 hrs. (using the slightly longer Five Oaks Trail). AllTrails reports the average time for this hike at 2:41. We clocked our active hiking at 2:11! I honestly did not believe it. This really made me feel a lot better about the whole journey.