Continued...
I had planned to do these two summits the previous day, but the morning had
warmed quickly and I called it a day after doing the first summit. Today would
be similar - very nice around sunrise while temps were still cool, but soon
getting too warm. The first hike, which was all cross-country, was a delight.
The second, almost all on trail, was too warm and the annoying flies were out
in force.
Poser Mountain
This summit is located in the Cleveland National Forest, about 2mi northwest
of the previous day's summit, Chiquito Peak. Like Chiquito, Poser is covered
in chaparral with nary a tree. Access is from the south via
well-graded Viejas Grade Rd. The road connects Descanso to the east with the
Viejas Indian Reservation to the west. It would have been faster to drive in
from the reservation, but I only realized this afterwards. I also learned
afterwards that there is a use trail running up to the summit from the SSE,
visible in the satellite view. There are GPX tracks on PB by Michael Sullivan
and John Strauch that approach from the SE, going cross-country. John has been
to the summit half a dozen times with the Monday Maniacs, also seemingly
oblivous of the trail, or choosing deliberately not to use it. I used the same
as the GPX tracks, but did not refer to them after
starting. The cross-country is not difficult on these south-facing slopes, so
missing the trail is not a big deal. The were the easiest,
with open areas of grass and yellow flowers. The brush becomes
as one gains altitude, but mostly hip-level and I found no
need to crash though any of the denser stuff. I in
just under 40min, a distance of 3/4mi with 700ft of gain. There was a county
survey marker and just north of the summit. A register can is
found at . A loose page dated left by
a Monday Maniac party. Another party from the same group left a notebook
that now has 15 pages of entries. The views from the summit
are outstanding. The higher Cuyamaca Mtns rise higher to the east. Viejas Valley
lies below the southwest, with Viejas Mtn to . To
is Chiquito Peak, the summit I had climbed yesterday, its
large clearly visible. I returned back down via much
, returning to the
Jeep an hour and a half after starting out.
Pine Ridge
The weather had been wonderful for the first hike, but it did not last. I drove
25min back out to SR79 and north to the Green Valley Campground in Cuyamaca
State Park. Day use is $10, but the kiosk pay machine was signed for Out of
Order, so today it was free. I parked at just on the
north side of the Sweetwater River (dry this time of year) and followed a 3.5mi
loop route up and over Pine Ridge, lying west of the campground. I walked the
paved road through the campground to find the start of the Pine Ridge Trail. I'd
have struggled to find it without the GPX track I'd downloaded, as the only
signage was a small right at start between two of the
campsites. winds its way up chaparral-covered slopes,
often over head level. Views open up periodically to the surrounding state
park. I had expected this to be a pleasant bit of non-bushwhacking, but in
addition to being too warm already, the flies were out in abundance. This
included the in-your-face, standard coastal chaparral flies that plague one
during the summer months, but also large, rust-colored ones that would bite hard
as soon as they landed on me. A breeze would have kept them at bay, but it was
mostly calm this morning. At the trail's highpoint just below the summit, I
ducked for the short bit of actual bushwhacking needed
to reach the top. Mark Adrian and a few other Monday Maniacs had left a register
here , now with six pages of entries. Cuyamaca Peak rises to
, the highest summit in the range. are
not as good, blocked by high brush and the regrowth of . I
only stayed at the summit long enough to sign the register and snap some quick
photos - the flies doubled their efforts if I stopped moving. I descended Pine
Ridge to the north on the continuing trail, meeting up with the Arroyo Seco
Fire Rd. This is a pleasant road that follows the Arroyo Seco to its junction
with the Sweetwater River. It travels through shady , a
pleasant respite from the non-shady Pine Ridge Trail through chaparral. The
road ends back at where I'd started. It wasn't yet
9:30a when I finished up, but I was more than happy to call it a day and head
back to Rancho Bernardo...
Continued...