by sdpacatc | Jul 6, 2014 | Hikes
Looking down towards the desert from the peak at Volcan Mountain
Hiking up Volcan Mountain was a pleasure. 2 days after the fourth of July with the heat being unbearable in the city we headed up to the mountains in Julian. The hike starts around 3900 feet and by the top of the hike your over 5200 feet and feeling a great breeze skimming along the top of the mountain, I understand that it can get quite windy up there at times. The top of Volcan Mountain is only open on weekends and major holidays from April to October, so if you are heading out that way plan accordingly. After the hike, we had lunch in Santa Ysabel at Dudley’s Famous Bakery, they make kick ass sandwiches there, and if you want a treat the Julian Pie Company is right next door.
https://www.ihikesandiego.com/volcan-mountain/
by sdpacatc | Jun 23, 2014 | Hikes
Approaching the cables on Half Dome
A couple of weeks ago a few buddies and I headed up to Yosemite for several days. I’ve posted the write up for the first hike we completed that trip, Yosemite Falls. This write up is for our 2nd big hike that trip, Half Dome. Half Dome is one of the ultimate experiences as a hiker. If you want to take a hike that will make you feel alive and appreciate our national park in Yosemite, this is The Hike.
Check it out:
https://www.ihikesandiego.com/half-dome/
by sdpacatc | Jun 23, 2014 | Hikes
Hiking up Boucher Hill towards the fire lookout tower.
I took advantage of a beautiful weekend to take a group up to Palomar Mountain for a hike. What a great little hiking area. I got the idea from another web site Modern Hiker. This hike was wonderful. Its a nice long moderate hike. It was nice to see all the different foliage, walk through the pine trees and oak trees, some that where just plain gigantic. Walking through meadows and fern meadows. Going by a pond fend by a spring, and checking out an awesome fire tower with a great view. There is a lot that this hike offers, its not to far from San Diego, about an hour from Central San Diego, and I never got tired of the every changing scenery along the way. It was nice to have a great little mountain hike so close, get out and enjoy it. Just watch out for the poodle dog bush.
Check out the hike description below:
https://www.ihikesandiego.com/palomar-mountain/
by sdpacatc | Jun 15, 2014 | Hikes
Looking at Yosemite Falls from across the valley at Glacier Point
I had the pleasure recently of heading up to Yosemite with a couple of friends from work for several days. Yosemite is a real special place and although this is only my second time visiting I cant imagine ever getting tired of going to the park, there just seems to be so much to experience in the park. This is our first hike of our visit, Yosemite Falls. The previous time I went to Yosemite this falls was bone dry (October) so it was nice to see it with a lot of water flowing over the edge. Its a great hike that your legs will feel afterwards, with spectacular views. It was also a great way to warm up our legs for the Half Dome hike we took 2 days later.
https://www.ihikesandiego.com/yosemite-falls/
by sdpacatc | May 22, 2014 | Hikes
Looking back at Cowles Mountain from Pyles Peak
The Trail up to Pyles Peak from the Big Rock Trailhead
Distance: 8.55 miles. Elevation Gain: 1940 feet . Time to complete: 3-4 hours.
To get to the Big Rock Trail Head, take 52 east or west depending on where you are coming from and get off on the Mission Gorge Road exit. Head west and take a left at the first stop light onto Mesa Road. As soon as you pass the mobile home park on your right you should see a public park (Big Rock Park). Park at the end of the park on the street and the trail head should be right there.
I decided to take advantage of the cloudy day today and get my cardio in with a hike rather then a machine. This hike is easy to get to and gives you a great place for a workout. It is a moderate hike, but on a hot day you may want to bring a little extra water and a little snack for some energy. Once you find the trail head head out, don’t worry when you immediately see the trail split, it come back together soon. Just keep heading up and you should be fine, keep an ear open for bikers with bear bells on this trail, this seems to be the only trail I’ve hiked on where I hear the bikers coming down the trail because of the bear bell, I thank them for that courtesy. Once the trail hooks up with the dirt service road, head right and continue on up towards the top of Cowles Mountain. Once you get to the top, take a breather, take in the views and then head on back to the dirt road, just as it heads slightly down and to the right where the antennas are you should see the start to the Pyles Peak trail. One thing you will notice on this trail if you are used to hiking on Cowles Mountain is how empty it is. The front trail can be packed going up to Cowles Mountain and I’ll hardly see a soul on this trail, by going up the backside of Cowles Mountain and then connecting to this trail its a nice way of keeping away from the crowds. Follow this trail until you see a squared off area to the left of the trail for “trail habitat restoration” at that point take a right and head up the mountain until the trail ends. Have fun and enjoy the solitude.
by sdpacatc | May 19, 2014 | Hikes
Looking at Corte Madera on the way down from Los Pinos
Hiking to Corte Madera and then to the top of Los Pinos and back to the trail head
Distance: 11 miles out and back. Elevation Gain and loss : 2,097 feet. Time to complete: 5 hours round-trip
I was worried about the air quality after all the fires that where raging this past week in San Diego, but Sunday turned out to be a perfect day for this hike. If you head out to this hike remember that truck or suv would be a much better choice for the dirt road that you will start out on. The way we set up this hike was to hike up to Corte Madera first and then on the way back down to hike up to the top of Los Pinos Mountain where the fire lookout is. There are two different ways you can head up Los Pinos Mountain from the trail that you use to get to Corte Madera, one is to head along the dirt fire road to the top, the other option looks more straight forward, it was obviously a fire break that was cut on the mountain at one time and its pretty much a straight line, unless you have something to prove take the fire road.
Looking at the fire break going up Los Pinos
When you get to the top of Los Pinos Mountain, if its open head up into the fire lookout tower. The guy who was manning the tower that day was Ron, Ron was nice enough to talk to us for about 20 min or so explaining everything that they looked out for from the tower, fires, illegal immigrants, drug running, its was a interesting conversation and the view from the tower is awesome.
