Get Outside and Explore
I paid a visit to Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, located in eastern San Diego County, on the fringe of the Laguna Mountain Wilderness. If you're looking to get away from it all in the wilderness, the trails along Hwy 79 here are some of the least trafficked in the county. My goal was to climb to Cuyamaca Peak (Elev 6512 ft), one of the highest peaks in San Diego County. This peak is listed on the Sierra Club’s Hundred Peaks List, in the San Diego Section.
The month of October is one of my favorite times of year to hike. I would hike up to Josephine Peak (5561 feet) in early October with my two hiking buddies. The weather was a bit on the cool side in the morning, and so it would be just about perfect temps for this hike, hovering between 50 and 70 degrees that day. This peak is located within the San Gabriels, a National Monument and mountain range, located northeast of Los Angeles.
I would be backpacking 30 miles in the Sierra in Yosemite National Park. If you're wanting to backpack in the Sierra, depending on the trailhead you wish to depart from, there can be restrictions. National Parks like Yosemite don't make it that easy to obtain permits. You must reserve them online and pick them up in person. The lines to enter the park can be very long, and it's not as straightforward as one would think. I will explain how I obtained my permit, and some tricks for getting a permit for Half Dome when you're planning on backpacking in Yosemite.
I feel the best time to hike to a place like Pleasants Peak (Elevation 4007 ft), or anywhere in these mountains is between late fall, and early spring, which is from Mid November to Early February. As soon as snow begins to dust the peaks of Mount Baldy, anywhere from Late November to December, is my cue to switch to hiking in the foothills. The weather is always milder in the foothills below 5000 feet, versus up at high altitude.
I recently visited the 2,352 acre Black Mountain Open Space Preserve, one of the gems of San Diego County. I decided I would hike the Black Mountain via Miner’s Ridge trail. It earned its name, since the mountain has a history as an old mining area. I could not help but feel somewhat nostalgic, walking… Continue reading Hiking Black Mountain in San Diego
Serafina Hikes 