Middle Peak ©
May 6, 2012, Joel Hawk
On my 4th Peak of the day attempt, I was rushed for daylight hours. Using the parking pass I had purchased earlier in the day, I parked at the Southwest corner of Lake Cuyamaca and 79. Before I go too far, if you wanted a copy of the Cuyamaca Rancho State Park brochure to browse around and peak your interests, press here:
This is the parking area in a turn of 79 looking back from the "trail". Cuyamaca Lake is just on the other side to the left. You'll walk along this road for a couple of hundred yards before exiting onto a fire road.
Being in a hurry, I crossed the street and headed up the trail (this is the dirt road I’m taking the pictures from). I really had no idea how long this was going to take me since I had not planned the hike. In looking at the maps the Ranger supplied me with, it looked easy and it was for the most part. The part that wasn’t easy, really wasn’t easy, but I'll get to that.
Having a last name of Hawk, I am always interested in reading about the Birds of Prey and thought this pictorial was perfect. If you can enlarge the picture, you can read the text pretty easy.
After only a few short yards, I came upon the Middle Peak Fire Road and opted to do that vs. the longer way around since I was short on time. This was a good choice and took me in the most direct route to the top.
Traveling along this road at a quicker pace than normal, I soon found myself short on breath and then I saw something that made me even shorter of breath. Very clear and well preserved mountain lion prints in the dried mud. I could just imagine the gait this cat was doing when leaving these prints. These were not as large as the paw prints I had seen on Sugg Peak earlier on the day, but just the same, it caused my senses to become a bit more alert. Yes, they are out there, but one has to remember, this is the wild and we are walking through their home. For the most part, big cats are more scared of you than you are of them. Adult humans walking appear to large for them. Smaller humans and those on bikes look more like lunch size. If you see a mountain lion (which would be a rare thing in the wild), never run and never attack them. If for any reason they charge, I've heard to growl, scream, get as large as you can, but don't run - and good luck. This is not a blog about intentional encounters with wildlife that can harm you, but it's exhilarating to hear about chance encounters with animals and it's really important to know how to react when you do. Do your research about actions to take if you travel outside your comfort zone and always keep safety paramount.
The road was kind of rough going up but I preferred that over bushwhacking at this point and after my long day.
After only 2 ½ miles, I realized I had spoken too soon. I met up with Black Oak Road but there was no trail or road headed up to the peak. One not to be deterred at this point, I kept looking for some sign of a way up and then I saw it; an orange ribbon tied to a branch and then another one farther up. Well, we’ve come this far so a little more bushwhacking isn’t going to hurt – or is it? The second picture are the logs and rocks I had to climb over in order to make it to the top, but I’m a determined man and I had my destination in mind.
Not knowing what to expect once I reached the top and as I broke through the brush and saw the upper portion of Middle Peak, I became instantly sad. The Cedar fire of October 2003 had destroyed the entire crown of Middle Peak and only now after the hard efforts of many are there beginning signs of new life on the summit. The fire was started by a lost hunter and destroyed over 280,000 acres of natural habitat and several hundred homes. It's a stunning reminder how much damage we as humans can cause with such a small, careless, thoughtless act like intentionally starting a fire in the wild.
There are a few signs of new growth so being very careful not to step on anything growing, I carefully made my way to the peak. The top has been mowed down giving the peak a true "crew cut" so it was really easy to see the highest point of the mountain and after pushing through brush for most of the day, it was a relief to just walk around a bit.
Finding the register and after looking around a bit I started my descent eventually taking the same way down as I did coming up.
Dusk was setting and remembering the mountain lion tracks I saw earlier really motivated me toward a quick step. I was making as much noise as I could not to surprise anything, but the rabbits didn’t seem to mind. They stayed on the side of the road as I passed. I thought how brave of those little bunnies while inside big 'ole me was a bit nervous about the fading sunlight. Needless to say, my downward trek was much faster than my up and I felt a huge sense of relief when I saw my truck in the parking lot. Sadly, a full, fun day bagging four peaks of prominence in San Diego County was coming to an end. On the San Diego list of the top 100 peaks, I had bagged numbers 8, 13, 25 and 27. A good day, a very good day.
Be safe, enjoy living and appreciate our lands. ~ Joel
Directions and the numbers:
Travel East on I-8 and exit on 79 North going to Julian (be watching for the 90 degree turn to stay on 79). You’ll drive for what seems forever, but you cannot pass Paso Picacho Campground without seeing it. Talk to the nice Ranger and pay for your parking pass and then proceed to the parking lot about two miles away. This is in the Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, so displaying an adventure pass is a good idea or you risk getting ticketed. An annual pass is only $35 or so and the monies go toward trail maintenance and other things. The daily pass is only $8. For the joy we get in return, it’s a worthwhile investment. Total round trip is 5.6 miles with a 973 ft total ascent with a max elevation of 5900 ft. Overall this took me about 1 hr and 19 minutes up and 59 minutes down.
Lat/Long:
32° 58' 50'' N; 116° 36' 1'' W
32.980433, -116.600377 (Dec Deg)
537339E 3649189N Zone 11 (UTM)
32.980433, -116.600377 (Dec Deg)
537339E 3649189N Zone 11 (UTM)
