Stonewall Peak Hike (Cuyamaca Rancho State Park)

After we left Sacramento, we started working our way south, first to San Diego for two weeks (and later, moving on to Tucson, Arizona, for the Winter). While in San Diego, my sister Jennifer and her friend Mike took us on a hike in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, located 40-miles east of San Diego in the Laguna Mountains of the Peninsular Ranges. We hiked the second highest peak in the park, Stonewall Peak, which is part of the Cuyamaca Mountains, and rises to 5700 feet. (Our hike began at an elevation of 4800 feet, so our elevation gain was around 900 feet only.) The park was closed for several months due to massive damage incurred in the 2003 Cedar fire, and there was still lots of evidence of this fire along our hiking trail among the pine, fir, and oak forests. We hiked two miles of switchback trails, sometimes through patches of snow from an early season storm, to arrive at the peak to take in the incredible views from the top. To the south is the drainage area for the Sweetwater River and glimpses of northern Mexico; west is the main ramparts of the Cuyamaca Mountains, and glimpses of San Diego County’s interior; north is Palomar Mountain (home to the Palomar Observatory), Lake Cuyamaca, North Peak, and parts of the nearby town of Julian; to the east is Anza Borrego’s high country, including Granite Mountain and Whale Peak. We were there on a crystal clear day and took in the view for a while before making our way back down. Being December, the day was short, and the sun was beginning to set rather quickly – bringing both long shadows and a discernible chill to the air.