Where Have I Been? (At the Halfway Point)

Sawtooth Peak

I’ve been writing for Modern Hiker, that’s where. My own personal blog has slipped off the radar as I’ve focused on a number of different things at once. Fortunately, I’ve been hiking a ton, and will use this post to look back at what I’ve done over the past six months.

Mt. San Jacinto from Cutca Valley

1. Hiked. To date, I’ve hiked 596.3 miles, gaining 107,030′ of elevation. Many of these hikes were done either to cover San Diego for Modern Hiker or to prepare for the High Sierra Trail and John Muir Trail.

These are the hikes I have done. If the hike is in bold, it indicates that it was a particularly awesome hike:

1/2/2014	Daley Ranch	9.2	1100
1/6/2014	Rodriguez Mountain	9	1760
1/9/2014	Soapstone Grade/Green Valley Loop	12.3	1250
1/10/2014	Batiquitos Lagoon	3.2	50
1/13/2014	Chiquito Basin	8.5	900
1/16/2014	Sweetwater River/Green Valley Falls	7.5	850
1/16/2014	Granite Springs Campground	5	1200
1/17/2014	Return	4.4	200
1/20/2014	Nate Harrison Grade	6	1420
1/20/2014	Boucher, Baptist, Doane Valley Loop	7.1	1500
1/23/2014	Eagle Crag via Cutca Trail	18	4200
1/27/2014	Batiquitos Lagoon	3.2	50
1/31/2014	Mt. Gower	8.4	2600
2/4/2014	Batiquitos Lagoon	3.2	50
2/7/2014	Santa Cruz Island	8.5	1800
2/8/2014	Fisherman’s Camp	3.7	600
2/10/2014	Batiquitos Lagoon	3.2	50
2/13/2014	Bluewater to San Mateo Canyon	13.9	2450
2/14/2014	San Mateo Canyon to Ortega Hwy	9.3	2300
2/21/2014	Murray Canyon	6	500
2/22/2014	San Jacinto: Tram to Deer Springs	11	1500
2/23/2014	Batiquitos Lagoon	3.2	50
2/24/2014	Modjeska Peak	18.3	4440
3/1/2014	Engleman Oak Loop	5.1	800
3/2/2014	Palomar	4.5	350
3/2/2014	Eagle Rock	10.2	1000
3/6/2014	Clevenger Canyon North	3	900
3/7/2014	Boden Canyon	11	500
3/9/2014	Middle and Cuyamaca Peaks	16.1	3100
3/11/2014	Clevenger Canyon North	4.5	1200
3/14/2014	Ramona Grasslands	3.2	200
3/15/2014	Torrey Pines Extension	2	200
3/16/2014	Batiquitos Lagoon	3.4	50
3/17/2014	Barnett Ranch	4	400
3/18/2014	Penasquitos Canyon	5	100
3/19/2014	Penasquitos Canyon	6.5	250
3/22/2014	Lower Doane Valley	3.5	250
3/23/2014	Doane Valley Nature Trail	1	100
3/23/2014	Volcan Mountain	5.5	1200
3/26/2014	Clevenger Canyon North	5.3	1400
3/29/2014	Wood Canyon	10.1	900
4/4/2014	Devore Campground	8.4	2355
4/5/2014	Return	8.3	1565
4/9/2014	Iron Mountain	5.4	1000
4/12/2014	Batiquitos Lagoon	3.4	50
4/13/2014	Big Laguna Trail	10.6	1200
4/17/2014	Seattle Urban Hike	5	300
4/18/2014	Ranger Falls	8.4	800
4/19/2014	Green Lake Park	2.9	0
4/20/2014	Cougar Mountain	5.4	600
4/22/2014	Boulder Loop	4	800
4/23/2014	Boden Canyon	6.4	500
4/25/2014	Cedar Creek Falls	5.7	1000
4/26/2014	Cuyamaca Peak	14.3	1750
4/27/2014	Batiquitos Lagoon	3.4	50
5/2/2014	Mt. San Bernadino	10.1	4500
5/3/2014	Return	5.9	500
5/4/2014	Batiquitos Lagoon	3.5	100
5/5/2014	Batiquitos Lagoon	3.2	50
5/6/2014	Piedras Pintadas	5.4	400
5/7/2014	Mt. Woodson	6.8	2030
5/10/2014	MSJ	11.1	5600
5/11/2014	MSJ Return	11.4	1200
5/17/2014	Agoura Local Hike	2.7	560
5/17/2014	Mishe Mokwa	7.1	1800
5/19/2014	Blue Sky	5	925
5/20/2014	Bernardo Mountain	7.3	1100
5/24/2014	Century Lake	4	650
5/24/2014	Santa Rosa Plateau	4.6	500
5/26/2014	Mt. Baldy	11	3900
5/30/2014	Stonewall Peak	3.8	950
5/30/2014	Lake Cuyamaca	2.8	350
6/1/2014	Santa Anita Canyon	9.5	2400
6/6/2014	Trail of the Sequoias	6.3	850
6/6/2014	Moro Rock	0.5	300
6/6/2014	Tokopah Falls	3.8	630
6/6/2014	Little Baldy	3.4	600
6/6/2014	Congress/Circle	6.2	600
6/7/2014	Alta Peak/Meadow	15.8	4200
6/7/2014	Congress Trail	3.3	400
6/7/2014	Round Meadow	2.3	200
6/9/2014	Batiquitos Lagoon	3.2	50
6/12/2014	Palomar	3	500
6/13/2014	Palomar Point-to-point	4.5	350
6/14/2014	Observatory	5.2	1000
6/23/2014	East Mesa	9.1	1370
6/27/2014	Eagle Lake	6.8	2700
6/27/2014	Cold Springs/Farewell Gap	4.5	850
6/28/2014	East Fork Grove	3.5	1175
6/28/2014	Sawtooth Pass	11	4700
6/28/2014	Cold Springs Nature Trail	2.3	650
6/29/2014	Eagle Lake/White Chief Bowl	8.8	2700

Doane Valley Nature Trail

2. Write for Modern Hiker. I’ve started covering San Diego County for Modern Hiker, which is the oldest, most-read, and most thorough blog covering Los Angeles County. Given that there’s a lot that I’ve been re-hiking to get GPS tracks and re-familiarize, I haven’t taken on a ton of new stuff, hence a lack of posts. You can find most of what I’ve written here.

Log Meadow

3. Prepared for the HST/JMT. That’s High Sierra Trail and John Muir Trail. I will combine substantial portions of both trails starting July 20th and finishing on August 5th. All told, I look to hike approximately 190.1 miles and gain around 37,000 feet.

So that’s that. As this is the halfway point, I’ll briefly summarize my favorite hikes of the year so far, counting backwards:

9. Doane Valley: I took this hike following the only major rain storm this winter. Not only was Palomar sopping wet with the creeks running at full force, but I saw a huge herd of deer at least 25 strong. I’ve seen Palomar many times, but this may have been the most beautiful yet.

Lower Doane Valley

8. San Jacinto Tram to Deer Springs Trailhead: This rare point-to-point hike occurred during an exceptionally warm and dry February. I climbed up over Wellmans Divide from the tram and came down to Idyllwild via the Deer Springs Trail. This was a really unique way to get in a little MSJ.

Strawberry Valley from the PCT

7. San Mateo Canyon Backpacking: Also during the exceptionally warm and dry February, I backpacked down into and back out of San Mateo Canyon with my friend Taylor to camp at a large pool beside the creek. It was about as perfect a campsite as I’ve ever found backpacking, and I hope to go back there again when it gets cool.

San Mateo Canyon

6. Sawtooth Pass. The pass itself was absolutely grueling and tortuous, and I’m still not sure I even got to the right spot. The pass also didn’t add a lot to the hike, but the stretch from Badger Meadow to Monarch Lake was absolutely brilliant – minus the mosquitos.

On the way to Monarch Lake

5. Alta Peak/Meadow: I re-covered this for Modern Hiker, and this time I tacked on lovely Alta Meadow. It was a lot harder than I remember, but the views at the top were even more brilliant than I remembered.

The Great Western Divide

4. Santa Cruz Island: Taylor and I took the boat out for Santa Cruz Island and enjoyed a nice hike up to Montanon Ridge. Between the westward views of the island and the eastward view toward the mainland, this had some great vistas. Plus, riding through a pod of dolphins a thousand strong never hurts.

From Montanon Ridge

3. Ranger Falls, Mt. Rainier National Park: I did this with Kelly in April during a trip up to Seattle. The whole place was dripping wet with huge trees and hanging mosses. The waterfall at the end of the hike was sublime, pushing this up to one of the most memorable hikes of the year.

Ranger Falls

2. Eagle Crag/Cutca Valley: This hike was a revelation. It’s probably the best hike in San Diego County, running the gamut of every kind of environment from desert to oak woodland to chaparral to mixed-conifer forest. Factor in some great views, and this is a hike of the highest quality. Bonus points: I got called in to interview for my new job while sitting atop Eagle Crag.

Eagle Crag

1. White Chief Bowl: This hike exceeded my expectations in so many ways and featured so many stunning sights that it has to be number one. Taylor joined me for the first 3/4’s and I walked the rest of the rocky use trail back into the bowl. With gorgeous meadows, mountain views, waterfalls, marble outcrops, and a beautiful glacial bowl, this may have been the richest 9 miles I’ve hiked all year.

A lone juniper

On deck: The High Sierra Trail and John Muir Trail.

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