The family was in Southern California for the Christmas holiday, one of my favorite times
of the year because it means I get to hike in San Diego County. I spent the first day
around Escondido, near where my mother-in-law lives in Rancho Bernardo. I had a handful
of
easy peaks in mind that even combined made for a modest day. I couldn't convince Jackie
to join me for the first of these because she knew when I get started I don't want to
stop until the sun goes down, so she waited for later in the day to join me.
Tombstone/Old Rocky/Devils Anvil
These peaks are found on the northeast side of Escondido, near the junction of Valley
Center and Lake Wohlford roads. I had been to the area the previous year to climb Bottle
Peak and had since learned a bit more about the area. A public trail reaches the area
from the east end of town, taking one to the summit of Bottle Peak through land managed
by the Escondido Creek Conservancy. Side routes take one to these other three lower
summits further west. I found
a link on everytrail.com
that described a shorter route to these summits starting from Lake Wohlford Road. This
route is unsigned, essentially an old use trail that locals have traveled for decades.
The link describes the route as having steep slopes, bushwhacking, huge boulder
scrambling and great views. Though I wouldn't have described the views as "great" and
I found no real bushwhacking, the route
was steep and the summits all had some
scrambling fun. I found of the route easily enough (thank you Google
Maps) and made my way up to Tombstone in about 25 minutes. was rutted
and steep as it rises quickly through the chaparral. It crosses two old ranch roads on
the property, one of which I had used on my previous visit to Bottle Peak. Tombstone is
the highest and most difficult of the three peaks. Described as class 3/4, I found this
fairly accurate. I climbed a slabby from the
before
discovering the easier class 3 route from the southwest. No register on any of these
three peaks. To lies the city of Escondido, part of a 20-mile stretch
of urban sprawl reaching to the coast at Oceanside. To can be seen
Burnt Mtn and Stanley Peak, part of the newly created Daly Ranch Park. To
is Bottle Peak and to were the other two summits
to which I headed next.
I paid a visit to Old Rocky, about 15 minutes . It is the least
interesting of the three peaks with a few boulders and an .
Graffiti, glass shards and
other detritus tell the story of a teenage nighttime drinking hangout. My friends and I
had our own versions of this growing up in the San Fernando Valley, but without the
graffiti and broken glass. Mostly we went for the views and the intellectual discussions
all drunken teenagers think they are having. Ten minutes was
Devils Anvil. I'd guess the name comes from a rather large lying
prone near the highpoint. The here was particularly annoying, a
bright blue that stands out as a testament to youthfulness and poor judgement.
Burnt Mountain
Burnt Mtn is the highpoint of Daly Ranch Park. There's no official trail to the
highpoint, disappointing at least one
fellow enthusiast,
but the
more determined
will point out there is a very good use trail that will get you through what otherwise
would be nearly impenetrable chaparral. The park is quite large, encompassing more than
3,000 acres and there are a variety of ways one might reach the start of the use trail.
The trails are generally old ranch roads, in good condition, open to bikes, hikers and
equestrians. It appears to be very popular with mountain cyclists. The shortest all-legal
approach is from the west via the Cougar Pass trailhead, about 4.5 miles roundtrip. I
chose an even shorter approach, about half that distance, though the legality of it is
somewhat questionable. I took Valley Center Rd north to Mirar De Valle Rd, then west for
1 3/4 mile to a dirt road heading south. I off the pavement here and
followed the road south past several homes to a near the top of a
small hill. This was the questionable part as it's not clear if the road is public or
semi-private, but I wasn't bothered even though several folks spotted me walking up the
road. The water tank is surrounded by (no need to breech it) with
another fence running north. There is a hole in this fence and a use trail leading
into Daly Ranch. If you're careful like I wasn't, you won't have any bushwhacking to do
by using the trail. Otherwise you may need to dodge some poison oak and weave through a
stretch of heavy brush to reach located about 100yds from
. Once on the trail, I followed it southeast to
, taking the Burnt Mtn Trail over the eastern shoulder of Burnt Mtn.
I soon made my way to the south side of the mountain where I had no trouble picking up
the where expected. There is even an
Area Closed
at the start to make it easy to find. The use trail is an interesting mix
of yucca hopping (in the beginning), dodging through narrow paths in the brush, granite
slabs and other fun stuff, taking about 10 minutes to navigate. I was at the summit in
little more than 30 minutes of starting, happy to find it all work out so nicely.
I found almost a dozen rock cairns at , few of which survived my
efforts to restore it to a more natural appearance. In addition to ,
there was a register of sorts, really just a loose that had a
few entries. The most recent was from Terry Flood, only six days prior. The views I
thought were better than on the other peaks, with more views of the San Diego
and less of the . Palomar Mtn dominates the
view to , across Valley Center and a collection of indian
reservations. My return was via the same route, with the happy addition of finding the
use trail leading to the water tank, saving me a second fight through the brush.
Starvation Mountain
This summit looks quite good from .
The unusual name had caught my attention years earlier, but it appears to be all private
property and require better planning. I had tried the previous year to pay it a visit
from the east, but a series of signs threatening anyone who parked off the road had
gotten to me. A better review of online resources found a SummitPost page and a better
way to reach the summit. I didn't transcribe the directions all that clearly and made the
hike harder than it needed to be, but it still worked and turned out to be an enjoyable
hike. There is a water tank and catch basin just north of the peak that is visible on
the satellite views. Paved Highland Mesa Dr reaches to near these and is the shortest
route to the summit. Just west of where the pavement ends is a ducked use trail leading
to the summit. The route utilizes an old road that winds up to the summit, but no longer
driven on. I started from an old avocado orchard off Starvation Mtn Rd about a mile north
of the summit. I just off the narrow, paved road and
an old, steep stretch of winding through the
and above an occupied home. I soon reached Highland Mesa Dr
by this extra bit of hiking and found the near the water tank.
show at least two clipped routes that can be used to reach the
leading to the summit from the west, winding its way around the north,
east and south sides before reaching the summit. The offers a short
scramble, easy class 3.
It took less than 20 minutes to reach the summit. Mt. Woodson, the dominant summit in
the area, is prominent to . To the east can be seen the Cuymacas
while in urban and suburban views are prevalent. Directly
below to the and are a small number of very exclusive
custom homes, some finished, some still in development. The Ramona airport is four miles
to the east and in the low pass between Starvation and Woodson can be seen
and other general aviation aircraft coming
in low on approach for landing. It was a surprisingly nice summit given the moderate
amount of difficulty to reach it.
Battle Mountain
I returned to Rancho Bernardo and picked up my daughter at grandma's
for a short hike to nearby . The summit has a huge
and takes less than ten minutes to climb. The cross is prominent
from nearby Interstate 15 and the summit is a small island in a
. We by the
from the east and , then headed down the for an
alternate, less-used route. The summit provides a good view to Starvation
Mtn, southeast to Woodson and to Twin Peaks. We were by
4:30p, shortly before sunset. Our entire Battle Mtn adventure took exactly 20 minutes -
and that was just fine by Jackie...
Continued...