Steele Canyon

I have driven past this trailhead numerous times, as I headed out for some of the peaks located further east. Finally, I had a chance to stop and explore the trails here. One of the main attractions for this hike is the historic bridge at the trailhead. I pulled into the smaller parking lot as there were a few spots available. I grabbed my gear and strolled across the bridge. The Sweetwater River flowed underneath it. Just past the bridge, was the larger parking lot. I wandered over to the signboard and checked out the plans to extend the trail system. It is always great to see new trails being planned.

The trail crossed a small stream, and off to the side, a horse and its rider were taking a break. Once over the bridge, I began noticing signs along the sides of the trail. One of the trail options is to take an interpretative nature trail, and these signs highlight the local flora and fauna. Some were created as part of an Eagle Scout Project, and others by a collection of agencies.

I cruised along until the trail reached a marked junction. Here you could continue back along the nature trail, viewing the southern portion of the area, or keep heading west. After about .2 miles I reached the other bridge that crosses back over the river. Once across I stopped to see explore my options, when a couple and their dog caught up with me. We chatted a bit, they actually hike these trails a lot and invited me to join them. Rosci (named after the ship from The Expanse) trotted along ahead of us. The trail was now the service road for the water district, so we had plenty of room to chat about the network of trails and other hikes. Soon we reached where the road was gated. Rosci had a well-earned drink. My new hiking companions told me more about the plans to connect the trail to the west. We headed back once we all had a nice drink. They pointed at a small trail that goes down to the river and a spot that was crossable, but once there the river was running too high. I returned to the service road, and I caught back up with them, as they stopped to give Rosci another break. We chatted some more until we reached the junction again. They stayed on the service road while I crossed back over the bridge and followed the trail to the river and west. After crossing a small stream, the trail climbed a small distance to a nice overlook. From here you can get a great view of the valley. I kept on hiking west for a bit, but it was getting closer to lunch and some chicken enchiladas from Mi Ranchito were calling my name.

Back at the initial junction, I took the trail to the south. The interruptive signs, once again started to dot the sides of the trail. I took a side trail up to a nice shaded bench near one of the other trailheads. I cruised back to the trailhead tossed my gear into the car and headed home. This hike was another great reminder that San Diego is filled with so many great trails tucked away throughout the county.

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 Arizona-Winter). 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.

Monserate Mountain Loop

With some unpleasant weather in the forecast, our planned hike out in Anza-Borrego seemed not to be the wisest option. So, instead, we decided to do something shorter and closer to home. Rick suggested, “Why not do Monserate Mountain?” That hike worked for me. As I pulled into the parking area a bit before 8, there were a lot more cars than I expected. I spotted a tent covering set up near the trailhead, so something organized looked to be happening. I grabbed my gear to investigate. It turned out that this was the conditioning check hike for the Wilderness Basics Course (WBC) participants. While hanging around I spied Casey Wear-Molean milling about. We had a brief chat before I spotted Rick and Andrea pulling in. I headed over to them and filled them in on the extra hikers this morning. They quickly grabbed their gear and were ready to head off. Most of the WBC hikers had left, so we weren’t in the thick of it. Andrea was feeling a little off, so she hiked her own hike. Rick and I would stop periodically to let her catch up. Meanwhile, I picked Rick’s brain about my water caching idea for doing the CRHT. He said it sounded solid, too bad my neck issues are keeping a backpack off me for the time being.

He picked my brain about various desert peaks that they need (and I need again for my x2). Once at the summit, we took a short break, had a quick snack, and snapped a few photos. I learned that the WBC hikers needed to summit within 55 minutes (1.5 miles), but since we stopped several times to regroup with Andrea I could not simply look at my elapsed time and see if I made the cut-off. Thankfully, Strava calculated “moving” time, and according to it, we made it to the summit in 43:23.

The rains had not come yet, so we opted to do the loop now that it was reopened. We made our way down from the summit and made a left turn toward the water tank. Part way down, a small spur trail led off to the side for about 20 feet, and according to Peakbagger, this tiny bump, Peak 1309, was in its database. Ascent recorded! 😉

We made our way down the stair section and soon found ourselves on the road that services the water tank. Following it down a bit, another trail to our right caught our eye. Checking out maps, this was a shortcut back to a trail that would loop back to the beginning, so off we went. It had a “fun” little bit of steep rocky section, but I prefer that over boring pavement any day.

Once on the connecting trail, we passed a wire-fenced trail to our left. Continuing our theme of exploration, we took it. After a short bit, it linked up with what appeared to be a trail that starts in the development to the south. We instead turned right, back toward the Monserate Mountain trail. The trail hugged the contour of the mountain and crossed several gullies with some nice wooden bridges. We reached a junction, and the main trail appeared to continue westward back to the development, while the other trail, we assumed, linked with the trail we started on. Our assumptions were correct, and we found ourselves back on the familiar trail. Once at the trailhead, Rick and Andrea offered me a cold Diet Coke, which I gladly accepted. We chatted a bit more, but soon those forecasted showers started, so we bid farewell before it really started coming down. Hopefully, the weather will be better next weekend and we can go climb something in the desert. The discovery of this new alternative section for the Monserate Mountain loop has my full endorsement. I logged this route at 3:93 miles with an elevation gain of 1,234 feet. The moving time was 1:51.

Woodson Mountain (via Fry-Koegel)

With my usual hiking companions busy, I decided to start working on this year’s San Diego Six Pack of Peaks challenge. I debated between Volcan Mountain and Woodson. Since I did not feel like making the long drive out past Julian, so Woodson it is. I opted to ascend via the Fry-Koegel trail and descend via the service road. Unlike last time, I started after the sun rose. While cars lined the road near the usual trailhead, no one was parked near the trailhead for Fry-Koegel. It was chilly, so I did slip on my light fleece before setting off. The trail follows the backyards of some homes for the first part of the trail. This time there were some lovely smells of breakfast cooking…

Some mushrooms lined the side of the trail as I worked my way westward. After a bit, I shed my fleece and secured it to my waist pack.

A few folks passed me returning either from their earlier summit or a morning walk with their dog.

Reaching the junction with the old Fry-Koegel trail and the new Fry-Koegel trail, I opted to take the old route again, in part to compare my times.

Once on the trail that leads up from Lake Poway, I cruised toward the summit. But first I would pass by the “famous” Potato Chip. I have been out on it several times, so I could bypass the Disney-like lines to climb out on it. Now I did snap a photo with my San Diego Six Pack of Peaks Challenge Legacy badge before cresting the summit.

I slipped my rubber tips onto my trekking poles, as the rest of the hike would now be on asphalt. Streams of hikes huffed and puffed their way up the road. Some were clearly not happy about the steepness of the route they were taking.

Soon I found myself back along the road. A sheriff’s car was parked right at the trailhead, and almost all the cars had a warning flyer about keeping valuables either at home or out of sight. In fact, there was broken glass from two smashed windows near where I parked. Thankfully, I had no issues upon my return. I tracked my hike at 5.3 miles in 2:19, with an elevation gain of 1,410 feet.

Goat Peak

With Ted needing to be home by noon-ish and the predicted warm temperatures, we settled on hiking Goat Peak as our adventure. I have done this one twice already, but Ted had never done it. We parked at the trailhead and gathered our gear. Since this hike was about 3 miles round trip, we both went lighter on our gear, with Ted wearing one of his running vests, while I opted for my new Osprey Waist pack. My upper back has been bothering me since my overnight trip to San Jacinto, so not having a pack on my back was a good thing. The trail starts off nice and mellow, crisscrossing the currently dry Sycamore Creek several times before beginning to make a steep climb toward the summit.

As we neared the start of this section, we heard some voices ahead of us. I was a bit surprised, as this peak is a little off the beaten path. It turns out it was a group of about 10 women hiking to celebrate one of their birthdays! They kindly let us motor past.

Soon we found ourselves at “The Wall”, and scaled it with no issue. Finally, the summit came into view, and shortly thereafter we were scrambling to its summit. There is no benchmark here, but there was a wooden sign and register box. We relaxed here a bit, and soon the women reached the summit as well. After chatting a bit, Ted and I began our careful descent. At one point I mentioned to Ted “Aren’t you glad you have trekking poles?” To which he answered with a resounding, “yes”. Soon we were back on the mellow section and cruising back toward the car. The entire hike was 2.8 miles with 1,105 feet gain and in 2:19.

Pamo Valley

I knew when I hiked this trail with the family that it was a gamble, as it might be included in the 2023-2024 Coast to Crest Challenge. Well, I lost that bet, and this trail is one of the five hikes. I really didn’t mind hiking it again, as it is a very pleasant stroll along the valley. Given how easy the trail is, I had hoped one of my friends could join us, but he had prior commitments, so it was just Ted and I. We pulled into the parking lot, and there were about 5 or 6 cars parked. The skies were overcast again, thankfully not due to an incoming tropical storm, but just some “standard” monsoonal stuff. We grabbed our gear and headed out northward along the trail.

When I did this hike about a month or so ago, portions of the trail were overgrown, but now the grasses near the trail had all been cut. We cruised along the trail at a nice pace. I spent part of the time outlining my upcoming camping and hiking trip to the central coast. Along the way, a trail runner passed us, with a dog following behind. The dog stopped to say hello to us, and we learned that the dog did not belong to the runner and that apparently lived at one of the ranches in the valley. The dog trotted back toward the runner and we continued on. The trail ends at the intersection with the road that goes up “Big” Black Mountain. We had a quick snack, and I took my trip photo at the nearby sign.

We began retracing our route, passing a hiker who was headed up Big Black Mountain for some training for the Grand Canyon. We wished him well and to be careful on the road. A bit later, we spotted the dog again. He had trotted back to us, and for the next couple of miles, mostly hung out with us. He did run ahead and play in the water for a bit at one point. Turns out, he is a fixture on the trail. Larry Edmonds sent me a photo of the dog from a few years ago. He has no collar, so we can’t tell you his name. Soon we reached the parking lot and my final Coast to Crest Challenge was complete. I am thinking of stringing all five together in a point-to-point fashion and doing them in one day, but that is for another time. One other thing to note is I swapped out my pack. I picked up an Osprey Talon 6 for these lighter hikes. My regular day pack just seemed like overkill. The pack worked well, although I will need to adapt to using bottles instead of a bladder. The hike was a pleasant 6.3 miles that we covered in 2:15, with just about 470 feet of gain.

Santa Ysabel Lower Truck Trail

The hike along the Santa Ysabel Truck Trail was back on this year’s list of hikes for the Coast to Crest challenge. I really enjoyed doing it last time, so I was looking forward to hiking it again. Since the hike is a fairly mild one, I invited my friend Jeremy to join Ted and me on this adventure. We pulled into the parking lot and got our gear together. The skies were slightly overcast from the incoming Hurricane Hillary as we set off.

We cruised along the trail, catching up about our recent college graduates, various trips we have taken, and life. Soon we reached the junction with Orasco Guejito Truck Trail and took a short break. I warned Jeremy that our return would be a touch harder, as you don’t directly feel it, but you are following the San Dieguito River, and water only flows one way…

Along our way back we encountered some cyclocross riders trying to get some outside time in before the rains and winds hit. When we got back to the car, two horse trailers had arrived. Since we did not encounter them, I assume they were off enjoying the Pamo Valley trail. We drove back home and enjoyed a well-earned lunch at Mi Ranchito in PQ. Three hikes down, two to go! The stats for the hike were 6.7 miles with 600 feet of gain in 2:44.

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.

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…

Woodson Mountain (Via Fry-Koegel)

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.