Day 1 (part 2), 25 miles, 3/21/20
My dad dropped me off where I got off trail two months ago, on the side of sunrise highway, mile 77 of the SDTCT. I started hiking around 930 in the morning. Immediately, I missed an intersection though I was oblivious for 20 minutes. In order to not backtrack I meadow-whacked towards the trail. As I approached, I realized the route I was supposed to be on just followed some faint ruts across the meadow, no wonder I missed it! Another mile or so in the trail entered the forest. Everything felt so alive which was fitting as it was the first day of spring. I saw some deer, heard and saw many birds, and even heard frogs. I was happy strolling through the tall ponderosa pines. 4 miles in I came to the Cuyamaca Store where I filled my water for a long dry stretch. I took off from there walking on the highway until a turn off for a little used trail. I had expansive views to the west while walking on grassy tread. The trail linked up with a road which I walked for miles through cool mountainside cabins all with great westerly views. Folks were friendly too. Eventually the road turned to dirt, I took a left on another road. Miles later I came around a bend to see many parked cars for a popular day hike, three-sisters falls. Without checking my map, I followed the popular trail, however that wasn’t the SDTCT. When I caught my mistake, I chose to take a “trail” my map app illustrated instead of doubling back. This was more of a bushwhack but eventually connected to the dirt road I took down. I had a nice afternoon hiking largely a closed dirt road. The SDTCT crossed paths Cedar Creek Falls, just off trail. I had to check it out in the dusk. I then climbed out of a canyon in the late dusk and walked a couple more miles until I found a spot I could bed down in, a small rivulet. Hope it doesn’t rain! It’s a clear night so I suspect chilly temps.
Day 2, 13 miles, 3/22/20
I slept cold last night. I woke up a bit and at times I felt like I was waiting for the sun to rise so I could get to hiking. It didn’t take long to warm up once the sun rose. The first bit was off trail bushwhacking which was a rough start to the day but set the tone for what most of the day would be like. After scrambling through a few ravines, I decided to reroute to a road that reconnected with the trail. I had a pleasant walk through a neighborhood, though one particular dog wasn’t happy with me walking on HIS street, thankfully a good fence separated us. After I reconnected with the trail, I followed a forest service road for a few miles. The road was nice, not a single vehicle passed me and it meandered through rocky mountains where boulders jutted out of the dense chapparal. I arrived at a gate with a very clear “NO TRESPASSING” sign and cameras. I knew that the next ½ mi of road crossed a corner of the El Capitan Indian Reservation and I needed to take a detour west then south to reconnect with the road. All because I did not have permission to walk the ½ mi of road, not that there were any houses or connecting roads off this section… Seeing no good section to leave the road, I just went for it. The bushwhack was awful. It took over an hour to get less than a mile up a mountain, along a ridgeline and back down. On the descent I had to downclimb some sketchy boulders with one requiring me throwing my pack down then climbing after it. I had to laugh when the last 50ft to the road was the thickest and densest shrubbery I have ever encountered. I pushed through it with brute force, knowing I had no other option. Relieved, I made it back on the road. I had another couple of miles before the next bushwhack up to El Cajon Mtn. I enjoyed the fine trail until it was time to bushwhack west. After the previous ‘whack, I was not looking excited to the next one. A couple of hours later, I was standing on the summit, exhausted. I certainly did not enjoy that bit at all. I hung out up top for awhile, dried my sleeping bag, ate some snacks, then headed down the trail towards the trailhead. As I was walking “down” the El Cajon Mountain trail, I was feeling the burden of the day. I was not enjoying my time hiking and the brutal bushwhacking really took it out of me. The descent off El Cajon Mountain was steep and had some big uphills as well. Upon reaching the bottom, I called my dad and he picked me up. I didn’t want to hike the last ~37 miles to the coast and the day after I was happy I made that decision.
Samuel D. Parks 