Cuyamaca Peak
Six Pack of Peaks: Cuyamaca Peak
2/20/22
Out & Back
Miles Hiked: 7.7 miles
Elevation gain: 1,850 ft
Total elevation: 6,512 ft
Pairs well with: Three Frogs Beer Company
Elevation map from AllTrails.com
Road walking [verb]: The nature of walking on or alongside a road instead of a trail. Much despised in the hiking community, it beats the feet and numbs the mind.
Next up on the roster was Cuyamaca Peak. Full disclosure, we were rained out on our original attempt at the peak the previous year. This time everyone remembered to pack waterproofs and come prepared. We also decided to pair it up with the next mountain on the list to condense the road trips and elected to hike this late in the day for sunset, and hopefully cooler temps.
I feel the theme of this hike was “Had we …” Had we done this hike without our brave trail doggo blazing the way, we would have been able to do the highly rated dirt loop. Instead we were stuck to the fire road out and back. Had we gone in clear weather instead of the overcast, marine layer sneaking in, we would have seen the much-talked-about views at the summit. Had we, had we, had we. Despite the asphalt chewing up our feet and the misted over summit views, it was enjoyable. Good conversation and easy cruising led to an ego-boosting training peak and a relatively easy excuse for celebratory pints.
More Pack of Peaks posts
Our tramily packed up the Yellow Submarine for some camping and hiking fun at altitude. Our goal: summit our first Colorado 14er, Mount Sherman.