Eagle Peak

In late May 2024, Forest Service officials renamed this trailhead, Cha’chaany Hamuk, which translates roughly to “three sisters” in the Kumeyaay language. Plus, there is a new parking lot, restrooms and a helicopter landing area for fire and rescue crews.

Today’s adventure had Susie Kara and I heading out to hike Eagle Peak. After some navigational errors on my part during the drive (that I atoned for by buying a flight at Calico Cidery), we pulled into the parking lot. There were a couple of cars already there, including a ranger. After grabbing our gear, we set off down the trail, stopping to chat with the ranger for a bit. He informed us that they are hoping to make some major improvements to this trailhead, pave the parking lot (which is very rutted), add a pit toilet, and some picnic tables. If the budget is approved, work might start in 2022.

For those unfamiliar with this trail, it shares the same trailhead as Three Sisters Falls, hence why there is a need for the improvements. After about 6/10 of a mile, the trail comes to the junction — to the left is the descent down to the VERY DRY waterfalls and straight onto Eagle Peak. In fact, there is a sign near the start of the trail with a photo of the state of the falls.

Initially, it felt a bit warm and we were glad this hike was just over 4 miles in length. Luckily, a nice breeze picked up and kept things pleasant. The trail is a little overgrown, but not too bad. We quickly worked our way up toward the summit, passing over the minor false summits. We signed the register and stood out on a boulder for some nice photos. We did not linger too long, as we really wanted to sample those ciders back in Wynola. Once back at the car, we estimated it was now in the mid-80s. A few more cars had arrived since we had left. Never can understand hiking in the heat to see a dry waterfall. We did the 4.2 miles in 2:04, including the time on the summit. My tracker reported just over 1,000 feet of gain.

Our post-hike stop this time was the Calico Cidery in Wynola. This is a really cute tasting room. We each had a flight of the three ciders that were available and enjoyed them on some nice shaded benches. I filled my growler with “The Granny” and Susie opted for “Fieldblend”. With a little luck, we might be able to do one of my remaining peaks next weekend.

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.

Kanaka Flat Loop

Decided to return to the Santa Ysabel East Preserve and hike the Kanaka Loop again. Two fellow peak-baggers had just hiked this as part of their attempt to do the Julian Hiking Challenge in a day. One of the issues they ran into was the gate to the parking area doesn’t open until about 8 am. Since it was Labor Day, I had no problem “sleeping in” before driving out to the trailhead. As I made my way onto Wyola Road, I spotted the County Park Ranger’s truck two cars ahead of me. Passing the trailhead for Volcan Mountain, there were already about 15 cars parked along the side of the road. The ranger unlocked the gate, and I followed him in. I gathered my gear, then chatted with the ranger for a bit before heading off.

The trail initially follows Santa Ysabel Creek for the first 1.5 miles. A few cows milled about chopping on the dried grasses. The trail would duck in and out of the shade from the oak trees. There were some bugs buzzing about. Initially, I ignored them, but I finally stopped and broke out the bug net. Along the way, a new throne had been created from the stump of a fallen red oak.

I crossed over the creek and began the climb up to Kanaka Flats. The trail climbs about 300 feet in just under 7/10ths of a mile, so you will get a nice workout after the relatively flat first section.

The Kanaka Loop is about 2.5 miles in total. I debated if I want to go clockwise or counterclockwise. I opted to go clockwise. This meant continuing to climb a bit more to the high point on this trail. Once near the selfie spot from the Coast to Crest Challenge, I found some shade under some nearby pines and took a short break. The day was getting warm and for much of the loop, there was going to be no shade.

After the break, I set off again. I was surprised I had not seen any more cows. As I approached the western end of the loop, I saw two ranchers tending to the herd that was currently corralled. I guess that answers that question about where the cows were. I gave a friendly wave to the ranchers and continued on.

As I descended back down to the creek, I kept an ear out for the ranchers, as I knew they would be driving back out. At the creek, I spotted the bridge just to the west of where I crossed, so no need to rock hop this time.

The hike back to the car was uneventful. One runner and two e-bike riders did pass me. The day certainly was heating up, and the idea of getting in a second hike quickly was dismissed. The heat also stopped my friend’s attempt as well. Back at the car, a family was just about to head out and asked if I had any sunscreen, which I was glad to lend to them. They were hoping to still find some berries to pick. I wished them good luck and to be mindful of the heat. I popped into Don’s Market and grabbed a cold soda and headed home. All told the hike was just over 7 miles with 994 feet of gain. I did the lollipop at 2:37 including my break.

Boucher Hill

Initially, I had planned to hike Guatay Mountain as part of helping Ted Markus complete the Sierra Club, but with all the National Forests closed due to fire danger, we had to pivot. Between the closures and hikes that are located in Anza-Borrego, we were left with just a couple of options. Since his knee was feeling a bit sore, we decided that Boucher Hill would be a good call. In fact, we both brought our wives to tag along.

We drove up the mountain and paid the $10 day-use fee at the ranger station, then parked at the Silvercrest picnic area. I brought some spare hiking poles for the ladies, just so they would not feel left out. While you can drive to the actual summit and fire lookout tower, we planned to hike from the picnic area, up to the lookout, then loop back passing the Scott Cabin site.

We made our way up to the lookout tower without issue. There were a few folks hanging out. Due to Covid-19, access to the tower was restricted, so we did not go up this time. From there, we set off on the loop, enjoying the nice trail. Once we reached the Cedar Grove campground, we began the climb back up. The heat, elevation, and altitude slowed the ladies down some, but they took breaks in the shade and continued on. Soon, I spied one of the power poles and knew we were almost down. One final short but steep section and we were done. All told, we hiked 3.7 miles in 2:25, with a respectful 766 feet of elevation gain. Since they had earned their hiking chops, lunch at Burger Bench seem like the right call.

Pine Mountain

After climbing Cush-Pi (Stonewall), we headed over to the Lagunas to summit Pine Mountain. Some recent reports of this peak spoke of bushwhacking to reach the peak. I did not recall this when I did it in 2019. There were a couple of cars in the Pioneer Mail campground when we pulled in. We crossed Sunrise Highway and set off on the trail. A light breeze helped keep the temps to a mild level.

When we reached the turn-off point from the road, it was fairly clear of brush as we made it to the top. We took a short break and made our way down. Instead of retracing our route, we opted to use the dirt road instead. We had planned to toss in Wooded Hill as well. A small blister had formed on my toe, so I sent Ted Markus off on his own. With that, he is three peaks closer…

Cushi-Pi (Stonewall Peak)

Good to be back on the trails after visiting family. Didn’t feel like tackling any of my remaining Six Pack of Peaks this weekend. So instead I suggested we try to knock a few more peaks off Ted’s remaining 100 Peaks. First up we climbed Cushi-Pi (Stonewall) after parking across the road at the day-use area at Paso Picacho. The shade was nice, as it was going to be warm as we worked our way up the peak. We passed a few groups of hikers heading down from the peak, but otherwise, it was pleasantly uncrowded for such a popular peak.

Once at the summit, there were a couple folks soaking in the view. They soon headed back down and we had to peak to ourselves for a bit. I pointed out some of the recent summits, Oakzanita and Sugg off to our south. Since we were hoping to bag two more today, we headed down. A few more folks passed us as we cruised back to the car. Now on to Pine Mountain.

Santa Ysabel East – Nature Center Loop

While I had previously hiked a good portion of Santa Ysabel East Preserve, I had not done the Nature Center Loop yet. Since it was on the San Diego County Parks Tour Our Trails Challenge, I convinced my wife to come along for the adventure. We brought our dog along for the adventure as well. We started from their new Visitor Center and began our climb up the hill. We took it slow.

Once up the hill, we cruised to the north before dropping back down and returning to the start. Since we were still dealing with COVID-19, we did not go into Julian or Wynola, but I could see doing that next time.

Garnet Peak

After summiting Monument Peak earlier in the morning, our second peak of the day was going to be Garnet Peak. While the trailhead at Penny Pines was filled with cars, there was no one at the Garnet Peak trailhead. I spied a couple of hikers making their way up the peak, and later a few more along the PCT. We passed through the meadow quickly and found ourselves ready to start up the rockier portion of the hike.

We made good time up the trail, and two hikers passed us returning from the summit. Once there, the three hikers I spotted on the PCT were enjoying the peak. The ‘infamous’ wind that usually is found on this peak was nowhere to be felt. We took a short snack break and snapped our photos. I tried to survey the extent of the fire that had burned recently near Oriflamme Canyon. It appeared not to have reached Roost Benchmark. I would later learn that it actually came within just a few feet of the summit.

As we made it our way back down, there were more hikers making their way up. Once back at the car, we looked at the time and decided that we would skip trying to squeeze in Wooded Hill and headed back into town.

Monument Peak

Initially, I had hoped to sneak in one more peak on the Sierra Club list, but some commitments in the early afternoon made it too tight to attempt San Ysidro. Instead, I opted to do some of the shorter peaks in the Lagunas that Ted needed to summit. First up was Monument Peak, a nice 2.8-mile hike. We pulled into the parking area and grabbed our gear and headed off along the trail.

The temperatures were pleasant as we made our way to the summit. Flowers still dotted the sides of the trail, making for an even more visually enjoyable hike. After a short stint on the PCT, we turned on the trail that would take us to the peak. This section of the trail was a bit more overgrown and could use some light pruning.

We reached the summit and were greeted by the fantastic desert views. Unlike previous visits, there was almost no wind to speak of. We snapped our photos and signed the register before heading back down. Once back at the car (and not missing the turn as I did on my first time hiking this peak), we headed off to our second peak of the day, Garnet Peak, just a few minutes down the road.

Oakzanita & Sugg Peaks

Being Memorial Day weekend, I did not want to drive up and tackle any of the Six-Pack of Peaks, so I turned to one of my non-desert peaks on the Sierra Club list that I needed to summit again. Since Ted Markus was back from his Grand Canyon adventure, I roped him into tagging along. Since he needed to summit Oakzanita, we opted to hit it along the way. We followed the Lower Descanso trail up until it reached the East Mesa Fire Road. After a very short stretch, we hopped onto the Upper Descanso trail. As we made our way up, wildflowers dotted the sides of the trail.

Soon we found ourselves at the junction to the peak, and the trail then began the final push to the top. Once there we enjoyed the views, Cuyamaca and Cush-Pi (Stonewall) to our north, Long Valley to our south, & the Lagunas to the east. We did not linger too long, as we heard voices from some other hikers making their way up. We chatted a bit and let them enjoy their time on the peak.

As we neared the junction, we passed two more hikers en route to the summit. These would be the last people we would see until we returned to the trailhead. Our route was to head south on the trail until it looped northward again, near the meadow we would cross to begin our cross-country trek up to Sugg Peak.

I had my track from 2019 when Susie Kara had graciously guided me to the summit. Now it was my turn to guide Ted. I remembered the landmarks that Susie had used when we did this peak, and I planned to use them as checkpoints. First up were the flat rocks just past the meadow’s edge. From here we were next on the lookout for the boundary fence between Cuyamaca State Park and Cleveland National Forest. After passing through the fence, we were now keeping our eyes out for the route that we would follow south for a bit. I spotted the faint path at the end of a small clearing; it had certainly become overgrown since I used it almost 2.5 years ago. The next landmark for us was the old jeep road sign. Ted did not believe there was once a road off to our right.

Now for the last bit, the real bushwhacking would begin and the final push to the summit. From here we would leave the ‘trail’ and head east up the saddle toward Sugg. I would mostly just use my guts and some general suggestions from the track to weave through the thick brush that covered its slope. We reached the large rock slab that I tore my pants on the last time when descending. This was the only real landmark for this section of the hike, so reaching it was a good sign. I kept working us upward, checking my decisions with Ted from time to time. Soon we crested the false summit and Sugg Peak stood before us. We made our way over to the true summit. I signed the register, having to move the loose survey mark out of the way. We enjoyed the views while munching on our snacks.

We headed back down, hoping to retrace our steps, but I knew that following our exact route was a pipe dream. We hit a couple of dead-ends, but I worked around them and soon we were spot on with our track where we had left the ‘trail’! Maybe I have learned something after 100s of miles and 100+ peaks 😉

Once I got us back to the edge of the meadow, we had a decision to make. We had considered tacking on East Mesa High Point for Ted, but it was a touch warm and pizza and beer sounded really good (vaccinated bonus!). So, we cruised back down the trail toward the car. All told we covered 8.9 miles in 5:11 hours with 1,787 feet of gain.

Cuyamaca Peak (via Conejos Trail)

With my recent summit of Hot Springs Mountain, I was down to only one more peak to complete the San Diego Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge — Cuyamaca Peak. Initially I had planned to save doing it until a nice fall day, but we still had some nice spring weather so I decided just to go knock it off the list. The past few times I have summited this mountain I had been working on the 100 Peak Challenge, so getting Airplane Ridge and Japacha Peak had been on the agenda. This time I did not need to revisit those summits, so I looked at some of the other possible routes. For many, they simply take the newly re-paved fire road to the summit from the campground. This was the route I did the first time years ago. While it is the shortest route, it is steep and all on a paved road. I had no desire to take this route again. Instead, I opted to use some of the trails on the north side of the mountain.

I pulled into the parking lot near the Trout Pond trail, just a bit north of the Paso Picacho Campground. This the same starting point you would use if you were going to hike up Middle Peak. There were a few cars here as I gathered my gear. It was still a bit nippy, so I pulled on a fleece. The forecasted high on the summit was in the low 50s, so I was probably going to want it later even if I warmed up while I was hiking.

After carefully crossing the highway, I headed down Milk Ranch Road. The grade was nice and gentle and had some lovely views. I passed the turn off that would take you up toward Middle Peak. After about 1.4 miles I came to the junction of the Black Oak Trail to my north and the Azala Springs Fire Road to my south. Walking around the gate, I continued on for about a quarter of a mile until I reached the Conejo Trail. My route now turned from nice wide roads to a more traditional trail. I continued to have a nice view of Cush-Pi (Stonewall) to my east. Over the next 1.5 miles, I would gain almost 900 feet of elevation. I could occasionally hear some voices ahead of me, and since I was making good time, I figured I would probably catch up to them. As I turned the corner of one of the switchbacks, I recognized Amber Haslerud from the San Diego Hiking Society. She and her boyfriend were also climbing Cuyamaca today. I stopped and chatted a bit. I loved following Amber’s hiking journeys, so it was a treat to finally meet her face to face. I wished them a good hike and continued on. The trail still had some nice wildflowers along it, so I seemed to be grabbing my phone to snap a photo quite often.

The Conejo Trail meets up with the Lookout Fire Road about .4 miles from the summit. However, I still had over 300 feet of gain until I summited. As I made my way to the top from the road, I spied two teeny tiny patches of snow tucked in the shade. The summit sign was still there, so I took my summit selfie then wandered over to take a few more photos of some of the interesting landmarks, the NASA benchmark, the Forest Service carving, and of course the view. I had a quick snack and was just about ready to leave when Amber and John arrived. Since this was their first time at the summit, I showed them how to get to the top. Once there, I gave them a quick tour of the summit. We chatted some more, and then I let them enjoy their accomplishment by themselves.

Since I found much of the Conejo Trail a tad rocky, I opted to take a slightly different route back to the car.

So, I stayed on the fire road until it met up with Azala Springs Fire Road. I followed it for about .6 miles until I reached the spring. Now if I had parked at the campground, there is another trail that would take me there, but I continued north back toward Milk Ranch Road, and eventually my car. My entire hike clocked in at 8.73 miles with 1,862 feet of gain in 4:02 (including all the chatting).