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.
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.
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