Sentenac Mountain

The third summit of the day was going to be Sentenac Mountain, back near the Scissors Crossing. To reach this trailhead, I turned off the highway and began driving south into Plum Canyon. I kept right at the fork and soon found myself at the end of the road and ready to hit the trail.

The route to Sentenac starts along the California Riding and Hiking Trail. I followed it for about a quarter-mile or so before turning up a side canyon. Once I left the CRHT, the trail turned from sandy to rocky one. Soon I was clambering up dry waterfalls as I made my way up the canyon.

Once I reached a fork in the canyon, I had a decision to make. When I first did this peak I went straight up to the summit. But in looking over the topo map, I saw that if I stayed along the left fork, the grade was less but it did add a little bit of distance to actually reach the summit.

I decided to give it a shot. I did not stay in the canyon but saw a nice route along the north side that lead me up to the plateau before the summit. It was the right choice.

Upon reaching the summit, the register was in two on the ground. I could only find two pencils. Bummer. Sadly I did not have a replacement register on me. So if anyone might be headed up there, please take a new one and a plastic baggie.

I took a short break and enjoyed the views of Grapevine Mountain directly to the north, Granite to the southwest, and Whale to the southeast. Instead of returning the same way, I opted for the direct route, just to compare. While the descent wasn’t bad, it did confirm my route up was the better choice.

Once back in the car, I decided against going for the fourth one (Ghost Mountain). It was warm enough to be bothersome, and I could tack it on to two other peaks I still need to summit again. All in all another great day! 14 peaks to go!

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.

Goat Peak

With the trail closed for Rock Mountain, Derek needed to find a replacement peak. After some discussion, Goat Peak in Poway was added to the Challenge. I had some unexpected free time this afternoon, so I decided to go hike it. I had limited research on this peak. I knew where the trailhead was, and a route, but not a lot more than that. The trail begins at the end of Quiet Valley Lane and follows Poway Creek for about 0.7 miles. I crossed the dry creek bed 5 times before leaving the canyon.

Now the trail changed its character from a gentle stroll to a real workout. Over the next ¼ of a mile, I gained over 400 feet of elevation. The path here is quite eroded and slippery and at times sports ruts down the middle, making footing a bit awkward. Finally, I reached a plateau and found a nice rock to sit on and grab a short breather. It offered a great view back down the canyon. Looking to the east, the actual peak finally came into view.

Soon the trail began working its way up a dry creek where I encountered a few dry waterfalls, some requiring mild scrambling to climb up. So much for doing this hike after some rains… Finally, I left the other creek and the last push to the summit. Throughout the hike, there were portions of the trail built up for mountain bikes, but it was clear they had not been used for some time.

To reach the summit, a little bit of scrambling was required. As I sat and let the breeze cool me off, Mt Woodson stood to the north, and Iron Mountain to the east. I found the register with no problem and added my name.

After soaking in the vistas, I carefully worked my way back down the rocks to the main trail. I knew descending was going to be slow, given the trail conditions, but I was in no hurry. While the trail was easy to follow, you are going to need long pants to avoid some of the overgrowth. Soon I had made it back down the dry creek and the other steep section. It was nice to get another peak crossed off the list, #71!

Lawson & Gaskill Peaks

Driving out to the trailhead, Dave and I were questioning our decision as rain would periodically come down. Once we reached the turnout, that is when we would make our choice. I pulled up several radar maps on my phone and it looked like nothing was headed our way, so we geared up and set out past the gate. The skies were grey and the air moist as we followed the road up toward Lawson and Gaskill. The clouds hid the summits when they should have been within view. The upside of doing this hike twice before was I was familiar with it.

I had debated which peak to do first–Lawson, which was the first but also harder, or Gaskill. In the end, we opted to summit Lawson first. Following the trail upward, the damp brush slowly made our pants and shirts wet. We navigated up the steep slope with no real issues, except for me banging my finger on a rock and needing some band-aids. I slipped on my gloves for some extra protection for the rest of the ascent.

Once at the chimney, Dave scaled it first. As I made my way up, I needed a little help to get past the last rock. We passed through the cave, and since I had gloves on, I moved some broken glass off to the side. We saw the plastic register box off to the side, but we continued working our way up the rocks to the actual summit. No views today, but I was glad to stand atop it again. We did not stay long in case the weather would turn on us. We made our way down the chimney again, then finally to the road and onto Gaskill. The clouds had lifted some, so I could point out the actual summit to Dave.

As we cruised along the road, I spotted an arrow and a use trail that appeared to be the south trail I had read about in some trip reports, but I decided to stick to the trail I knew.

We finally came to the use trail I remembered and set off. We were enjoying the coolness, the quiet, and the smells of the plants as we worked our way closer to the peak. This trail was far less traveled than the Lawson trail, so we had to push through the brush as we climbed ever higher. The trail did vanish at one point, but we did find it again and continued our scramble across the rocks, taking extra care due to the dampness.

Finally, we reached the summit region. When I did Gaskill back in 2018, I was still recovering from my neck injury so I did not attempt the true summit. But this time I was going to make it!

Following a use trail around the south side of the summit, I began looking for a ‘tunnel’ that would lead us up closer to the summit. And there, on the west side, it revealed itself!

We easily clambered our way up, the true summit so very close. The final push required some careful hand and footwork, but I was now atop Gaskill! I proudly signed the register, that was tucked between two rocks. We did not stay long on the summit again, as we did still have a hard descent and several miles of hiking back to the car.

These peaks were #69 and #70 of my #100PeakChallenge!

Tooth Rock

UPDATE: This peak and trail are now closed to the public.

Since I still had my KT tape on my foot from yesterday’s hike up Mount Israel, I decided to go hike Tooth Rock in Poway.

The trail follows Rattlesnake Creek for about a half mile before starting its steep ascent to the distinctive rock at the summit. The trail is slightly overgrown, but I did not regret wearing shorts.

The setting sun cast a lovely glow upon Mt. Woodson and Iron Mountain to the east. I took a short breather and headed back down. All told this was 2.2 miles and 525 feet of elevation gain. More importantly my 66th peak of my 100 Peak Challenge!

Mount Israel

With the days getting shorter, I knew I needed to do this peak soon since the reserve closes around sunset. Unlike the last time I did this peak, the day was nice and clear. I crossed over Escondido Creek and began my climb up the Way Up Trail. There is no warm-up for this trail, so be warned. This nice thing about doing this hike in the late afternoon is you get some shade as you make your way up the switchbacks.

Once at the crest, you will reach a junction with some of the various trails in the reserve, as well as your first view of the Olivenhain Reservoir. Heading to the west is the Equine Incline Loop Trail which will take you up toward the actual summit.

The summit is located at the Elfin Forest Overlook. Here you will find two shaded stone benches to take a break on. There is also a memorial post to our canine companions. The actual summit is marked not by a benchmark but by a viewing platform. A similar one is also atop Iron Mountain.

After a quick break, I headed back down the trails and to my car. This was my 65th peak of the 100 Peak Challenge.

Corte Madera

The sun had almost risen as we pulled into the turnout to the start of today’s hike to Corte Madera. We had done this hike almost two years before. This time we were just missing Dave.

As we began following the road to the Espinosa trail, the oaks that lined the road would be providing welcomed shade upon our return. Once we made the turnoff, the trail began to climb, and after a bit, the oaks receded. The sun finally crested the distant mountains as we made our way up to the saddle.

Once there, another Subaru was parked. We wondered if we would run into them along the trail. Los Pinos stood over us to the south. From here we had our first glimpse of Corte Madera glowing in the early morning sun.

After following the road north for a bit, we would again return to the trail. This is where we would gain a modest amount of elevation. The day was already beginning to warm, as we pushed upward. Once we spotted the split rock, we took a short break.

The trail would continue working its way westward. While the trail is easy to follow, you will want to wear long pants, as there is some overgrowth along with it.

Soon we reached the summit! We did not stay too long as we could feel the day getting warmer. There did not seem to be a benchmark, but we located the register near the edge of the cliff, secured to a bush.

We quickly made our way back down. The one rocky descent we had going out to the peak was almost trivial when ascending. Soon we found ourselves back at the saddle, and the car still there. Hum? The day was continuing to warm up as we headed down the Espinosa trail. Those oaks along the road did provide some welcomed shade as we made our way back to the car. This was peak #63 of my #100PeakChallenge!

Bell Bluff

Today’s summit was Bell Bluff, just south of Alpine. I did this peak back in early January of 2018 with Ted. I wanted to beat the heat, so I set out early, just after sunrise. The rope down to the riverbed is still holding strong. The marine layer hid the summit as I crossed the dry Sweetwater River and onto the single track that led off to the southwest.

I made great time along the trail as it gently worked its way toward the peak. The sun finally broke through as the marine layer began to retreat.

I missed the double cairns which mark the turn-off to the peak, but the detour was just a few minutes. The trail had some overgrowth, but it was still passable. Now the hard work would begin, as the trail would get incredibly steep.

After about a half-mile, I reached the summit again. I signed the register and took my photos. I tended to a hot spot on my heel before heading down. I briefly lost the path a few times but found it after some review of my ascent route.

I cruised back down the trail to the car, the day was starting to warm up, so my choice for the early start was a wise one. That was my 57th peak of my 100 Peak Challenge!

Woodson Mountain (via Ramona)

Since I had a family obligation in the morning, I decided to summit Mt. Woodson to catch the sunset. I had been trying out some new hiking shoes from Oboz and had been experiencing burning pain in one ankle. I tried two different sizes and no change. So I decided to switch back to my Merrill’s to see if it was truly the shoes or something else. Unfortunately, I took a closer look at them and a Viking funeral might be in order. So I high-tailed to REI and bought some replacements. I tossed them on and drove out to the trailhead off the 67.

I actually have never done Woodson from this side, as I like the trail up from Poway. The route up follows the service road to the summit. It is short but steep. I really wanted to see how the shoes felt, and I hustled up. I happily held about a 23-minute mile.

Upon reaching the towers, I went looking for the benchmark. I found the rock, but there was no way I was scrambling up it solo.

The sunset was still about 20 minutes away, so I decided to check out the Potato Chip. There was a small crowd and was able to get my photo on it again. But once the sun started to go down, I got some great photos.

I made my back down the road, passing quite a few folks heading up. Toward the end, I did break out my headlamp. Soon I was back at the car and happy that it appears that it was the shoes. That was peak #56 of my 100 Peak Challenge!

Battle Mountain

Since I had my hiking gear on from summiting Double Peak and I was driving right by this peak, I decided to make a quick stop and knock it out.

The trail starts between two houses at the end of a cul-de-sac. The trail is a steep one, so you will get a nice workout as you make your way up to the top.

I snapped a few photos and then headed back down the trail.

Double Peak (via Ridgeline Trail)

For summiting this peak again, I opted to use the Ridgeline trail. This trailhead is just to the east along San Elijo Road. From a nice parking lot, I headed along the well-maintained trail.

After about .6 miles, I turned off the main trail and onto the single track for the rocky steep push to the top. This was the route I used down on my previous trip.

Once at the summit, I snapped a few photos and headed back down. I loved the steep trail warning.

This was my 54th peak of the 100 Peak Challenge Reboot.