Agua Tibia

Today’s summit was Agua Tibia, a 4,779-foot peak near the San Diego- Riverside county line. Our planned peak, Square Top, could not be attempted due to a music festival being held on the Los Coyotes Indian Reservation.

The trail starts in the Dripping Springs campground and begins its climb upward. The weather was pleasant, and the smell of flowers filled the air. The trail weaved its way upward, at times switching back and forth to gain elevation. To our north, the snow-capped mountains framed our views.

About 4 miles in, Ted and I found a nice spot for a break. The route is not too hard, mostly just long…

On the way up we encountered two trail runners. One told us the Wild Horse trail had some downed trees. But we were not doing this peak as a loop. Soon we found ourselves about 8 miles in and looking for the use trail to the summit. This was the only portion that had some challenges, as we bushwhacked our way forward. The Palomar-Magee section used to require you to pass through hunched-over. Thankfully, this section has now been cleared.

We found the register, the primary benchmark, and one reference marker. I signed us in and took another break.

Then we put our packs back on and grabbed our poles and began heading back down the mountain. The miles passed quickly, and we spotted a snake basking in the sun. Since this little fella was just a garter snake, we stepped over it.

We found ourselves back at the same logs for another break. That is one thing that this trail lacks is spots for a break. About a half mile later, we found a family resting on the trail. They looked woefully under-prepared for the hike they are on. Thankfully, they did turn around. As we continued down, we encountered a few more hikers. I doubt they were planning to summit the peak.

Near the base of the trail, someone was doing some maintenance, and we thanked him for his efforts. Soon, we were passing the Agua Tibia Wilderness Sign and the end of our hike. We covered just over 16 miles, climbing over 3,400 feet of elevation to the summit at 4,762. This hike took just under 8 hours and was a great hike for my 95th peak on my 100 Peak Challenge!

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.

Garnet Mountain

The final peak of the day was Garnet Mountain, just around the corner from Pioneer Mall Campground. The Pacific Crest Trail runs right past the peak, but the short trail to this summit is just to the west. Ducking under a metal gate, the rocky trail heads up, and the wind continued to blow.

Once the trail ends, a hint of a use trail could be seen, up through the brush, I went. Atop the summit, I found the register and carefully signed in to prevent it from blowing away.

From the summit, Anza-Borrego was spread out before me. So many familiar peaks dotted the view. Then it was back down to the car, covering a mere 0.75 miles for the entire trip.

Pine Mountain

As part of my 100 Peaks Challenge Reboot, I am hiking these peaks again. Since my planned peak had a forecast of 25-35 mph winds, with possible gusts to 50 mph, it decided to look for other options. So, a set of peaks in the Laguna Mountains fit the bill. In gathering my route information, I looked a bit closer at what Ben and I hiked. Now that I am a bit more seasoned in map reading, I realized that while we had hiked a loop along the Pine Mountain Trail, we actually did not approach the actual mountain.

It turns out that when the Pine Mountain Trail intersects with the dirt road, instead of going straight, you should hang a right onto the road.

The road had been recently graded, as there were no ruts to be found. The road headed north, then turn west as it gently climbed upward. Once I passed enough of the brush, I left the road and began heading south across the open forest floor.

The crunch of the leaves under my feet was a sound I had not heard in a while, as for the past few months I had been hiking in Anza-Borrego. I soon found myself at the top of this gentle summit, sat on a log, and enjoyed a short snack. While the pine trees gave me some nice shade, there really is not any view. I knew this summit would be both benchmark and register-free, so I retraced my steps and returned to the car.

Garnet Peak

My second summit of the day was to be Garnet Peak (Monument Peak was first). Just a few minutes up the road from the Monument Peak Trailhead is the trailhead to Garnet Peak. If you are looking for a longer hiking day, you could hike between them along the Pacific Crest Trail.

The trailhead is denoted by a metal pole, then heads off across a lovely forest meadow. I did have to nudge a small garter snake off the trail.

Once the trail intersects with the Pacific Crest Trail, the real climb began. I remembered this peak giving me a bit of difficulty the first time. The trail got a bit rocky as it climbed upward.

Once at the summit, you are rewarded with a sweeping view of Anza-Borrego. The wind was still making its presence felt. The summit was register-less and there is no benchmark. I did not stay long, as 30 mph wind can be chilly.

Monument Peak

So, I had planned to try fully summiting The Thimble today, but the weather forecast was crazy windy with up to 50 mph gusts. So, instead, I decided to summit several peaks out in the Lagunas. First up was Monument Peak.

This was a 2.87-mile hike to the peak. It was windy! I knew I made the right choice not to attempt The Thimble. I did find the tiny benchmark and left a new register in the can.

Unlike the first time, I had no route-finding issues coming back. Coming back down I had a nice chat with two European PCT hikers. Another four hikers passed me on their NOBO journey. Soon I was back at the car and off to peak #2, Garnet Peak.

Sugg Peak

Headed out in the morning to attempt Sugg Peak again. This time I had Susie Kara to show me the route. We got to the trailhead and one car was already there and the sun was just about to rise above Oakzanita Peak.

We made our way along the East Mesa Fire Road, we passed a gentleman heading down, I assume it was his car. Near the junction of the Oakzanita trail, we headed across the meadow toward West Sugg.

There was no trail, just two hikers following their guts. We picked our way through the brush until a slight trail was revealed. Susie kept her eye open for the boundary fences, as these were reference points.

We came to the old Jeep trail that leads back to Oakzanita, but it was severely overgrown. Given the shape of the stuff we were traversing, it might get tougher soon to summit Sugg Peak.

We found Susie’s magic rock and scrambled up. At this point, we were closing in on the summit. We picked our way through the brush until the summit revealed its rocky top.

We signed the register; we were the first in 2019! The views of the Cuyamacas and the Lagunas were refreshing. The wind made it a tad chilly, so we did not linger too long.

From the summit, I could see the route Mark and I tried. This route was 10x easier. We picked our way down, occasionally correcting our route.

Soon we were back at the East Mesa Fire Road and began trekking back to the car. Did pass two other hikers and several mountain bikers. Oh, I forgot to add that Susie did Baden-Powell yesterday. This was much earlier than my previous attempt.

This was my 85th summit and the final push is now underway!

Sugg Peak (attempt)

I decided to attempt to summit Sugg Peak today. I was able to convince my friend Mark Better to tag along. Sugg Peak sits in the heart of Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, In researching how to get to this summit, I learned that this was going to be a mix of simple fire roads and pure cross-country hiking. Our quest began on the East Mesa Fire Road. We cruised along for a couple of miles or so until we reached where I thought we should leave the road and begin the true adventure.

From reading Derek’s trip report, he spoke of passing through a meadow and of an abandoned cabin before bushwhacking their way to the summit. Like Derek, I had spent some time on Google Earth to identify landmarks and possible routes. As Mark and I pushed past the brush onto the meadow, we had high hopes.

Crossing over the barbed wire fence that denotes the boundary with Cleveland National Forest, we continued on. Sitting on the edge of the meadow was the abandoned cabin! We spent some time exploring it. The stone walls still stood, but the roof was long since gone. But now it was time to find our way to the summit.

We surveyed the landscape before us, wondering if one route might be better than another. Derek’s description does not give us many clues, nor was there a GPS track to assist us. So we headed off to pick our way through the brush. Faint use trails would appear and disappear as we worked through the scrub. It was slow going. After a good hour of this, we had made little progress. Finally, we decided to turn back.

This is actually a valuable skill to possess as a hiker, know your true limits and when to toss in the towel. This attempt was one of those times. We knew how we felt, and what it would take to get back to the trailhead. The peak will have to wait for another day.

We hacked our way back down to the meadow and onto the fire road. While we did not summit Sugg Peak, the discovery of the cabin and time spent with a good friend certainly offset that.

Palomar High Point

Since it was still too hot to consider any of my remaining peaks out in Anza-Borrego proper, we decided to tackle Palomar High Point. Although I still want to hike it from Oak Grove, we opted to drive up the Palomar Divide Trail partway, then hike to the lookout.

We drove the dirt road without incident, meeting one car coming down. Parking the car at a nice turnout, we started up the road under the shade of the trees. Soon, three trucks passed us heading back down from the summit.

After about a mile and a half, we reached the summit. The lookout tower is not open to the public. We wandered around the grounds some before heading back down.

In two weeks, Ted and I would be attempting to summit Half Dome, so we spent much of the time discussing our plans.

We quickly found ourselves back at the car and off to lunch after the drive back down.

East Mesa High Point

I decided to tackle something a bit longer in distance today, East Mesa High Point. I convinced another friend, Steve Boyle to tag along. It was another early start to beat the heat.

For the most part, this was going to be a straightforward hike to the base of the Mesa where some actual bushwhacking would be needed to summit.

We followed the Harvey Moore trail until it met the East Mesa Fire Road. Crossing a meadow and then cresting a small rise, we joined the East Mesa Fire Road.

Steve opted not to join me in my bushwhacking, so off I went toward the summit. I worked my way through the bush without too much trouble. I did not locate a register nor a benchmark.

I headed back down the Mesa and began working my way to the junction where I rejoined Steve. We retraced our route as the heat began to rise. Along the way, we encountered two ladies out on their horses.

We finally made it back to the car, feeling the effects of the heat and miles, but it was still a nice day on the trails.

Guatay Mountain

Well, after a much longer time off the trails, I was finally able to start summiting again. After the plantar fasciitis emerged in the early part of 2018, I took a couple of months off to let it recover, little did I know that time off would extend for almost half a year. While on vacation in Puerto Vallarta, two of my discs in my neck silently herniated. I went from planning my next hike, as my foot had recovered, to now being in tremendous pain. After three months of treatment, I was able to carefully resume hiking. I had done some of the minor peaks around my house that I have never bothered with to test out the neck. Finally, I was ready to try a real peak, and Guatay seemed to fit the bill.

I drove out the summit fairly early to beat the summer heat. When I arrived at the trailhead, a couple was just waking up from spending the night in their pickup bed watching the previous evening’s meteor shower. We chatted for a bit, and I headed off.

I backtracked along the road until I spotted the trailhead, almost hidden from view. The trail follows the creek along the eastern side of the mountain for a bit. Just long enough to warm up your leg muscles before the real climb begins. Coming to a metal post, the trail turn left and begins its steep climb toward the summit.

After a bit, the steepness eases as you reach the main ridge to the summit. The surround peaks also start to come to view, primarily Cuyamaca to the north.

But, Guatay has more work to be done in order to reach her summit. Two more steep sections lay ahead before the top is reached!

To the west, you can see El Cajon Mountain and the surrounding communities, to the south is the Los Pinos Peak/fire lookout in the Pine Creek Wilderness, Cuyamaca Peak stand proudly to the north, and looking back to the east, Mt. Laguna.

After a short rest, and signing the register, I headed back down the trail. So far the neck was feeling fine, and the leg wasn’t too bad. Along the way, I encounter some younger hikers heading up. One of them informed me she left her poles back along the trail. I told her that the section toward the top is a lot easier if you had them. She declined my advice. We parted ways, and I wondered why did you even bring them?

The descent was uneventful as the day got hotter. I was glad for the early start. I found myself back at the car, happy to finally be back on the trails.