Week 9: Stelzer Park

We had originally intended to boat our way up El Captian this week, however upon arriving at the lake we experienced temperatures in the low 50's and a bit of a biting wind.  So like good San Diegans we decided against going out in such inclement weather and instead explored a part of the river park, that we may have passed to quickly.  It seems this sort of revisiting is happening quite a bit on our journey.  I might call it a metaphor for the river itself: While there is one main channel, there are many tributaries.  If you do not explore at least a few of these, then you do not really know the river.

Stelzer Park: where it starts

 Louis A. Stelzer County Park is situated just off Wildcat Canyon Road less than 2 miles past where you would cross the San Diego River en route to Barona Valley or the back way to Julian.  An article in the San Diego Reader provides a nice overview of the park's history and a summation of the difficulty level of the trails.  For $3 a car it's certainly a lot of bang for your buck.  There's extensive playgrounds and picnic facilities and also some of the most accessible nature trails in this part of the county.  The shade of the riparian habitat provides some respite from the otherwise oppressive heat that can build in this part of the county.   Today however it is nice and cool and while the low to mid 50s may be a bit nippy for sitting in a boat, it's perfect for going up a little mountain.

So far an easy climb.

3-D of our surroundings.

Due in part to the trail climbing in the downstream direction, the climb out of the canyon turns out to be surprisingly mellow, especially after the El Monte Park Trail.   Seriously, this is where one brings their children to get them into hiking in nature.  You still work for your reward, just not hard enough to discourage a young nature enthusiast.   And there is plenty of nature out here.  We finally got some rains and the resulting wildflowers are absolutely lovely.  There's caterpillars, butterflies flying around.  Above the hawks and crows search for rodents and reptiles and other yummy treats.

Caterpillar

Wildflowers

The valley

Looking out around us.

 In what seems like a very short time we are at the ridge line.  Here one has the option of going to Kumeyaay Point or Stelzer Peak.  We ended up doing both and while the view is nice enough on Stelzer peak to warrant the extra climb, you would not be disappointed by Kumeyaay Point.  And the trail does get quite steep from here on up.  Uphill it is not so bad, but downhill was outright frightening.  This seems to be a problem with steep dirt roads:  the gravel has a way of turning into ball bearings when you start going down.  We took plenty of rest breaks and enjoyed our climb up to the second saddle.  From here it was a short rollercoaster walk up to the summit.

Steep road, loose gravel.

Almost there!

Endless trails.

Storms over El Capitan and El Cajon Mountain.

This was the perfect day to be out here. The recent passage of a cold front kept things cool and visibility high.  We got some absolutely stunning shots of the San Diego River as winds out of the El Monte Valley, through Lakeside, and the across Santee toward Mission Gorge. The summits of Mission Trails were almost visible, and I would rate this as the best place to see the back side of that ridge in its full splendor:  Cowles, Pyles, Kwaay Paay, South and North Fortunas.  Many other summits in the county were also in clear view.  Mt Miguel, Lyons, Corte Madera, and Viejas to name a few.  I am lucky to know the summits I do and hope only see more.  Anita and I blissed for a bit up here just taking in the sun and air on granite boulders, and then later scrambling through the caves.  One feels a bit like a conduit between sky and earth up here (probably not a good place to be in a lightning storm)

Panorama of the river.

Anita Contemplates the river below.

loved the geometry of this rock.

Anita perched between earth and sky.

Looking down river toward Mission Trails.

3-D inside the cave.

Looking out toward Mission Trails from the Sacred Cave.  This looks oddly like the cover
of Six Gateways to Love, except without the Jaguar.

This is us!

Selfie among the pinkish rocks.  I love the way her sunglasses reflect the landscape before us.

 We made our way back down the loose gravel road, Anita using her trekking poles to stabilize her descent.  The contrast between this road and the trail that leads up to it is most pronounced.  It borders on unsafe and the hiker's would benefit greatly from some switchbacks, even if it meant blazing a trail away from the road.

Sky high!

 Finally back at the saddle we then decided to check out Kumeyaay Point.   Although lower and directly under the powerlines, this spot provides a more intimate view of the nearby surroundings, most importantly the San Diego River through Cactus Park.  We seem to be spending a lot of time in the greater Lakeside area as part of our journey and I sometimes wonder if anyone in Lakeside has thought of trying to drum up business in the town by making it the gateway to all the exciting River Park destinations.  While most outdoors minded visitors to the county usually go for either the coast or the desert, this area really does have potential to be an outstanding destination.  The infrastructure is already here, though the lodging options in Lakeside could use some upgrades.  Maybe I'll start a B&B here.  I think it needs to stay low key if it's to work with the community here.  Leave the high rises for the Barona Valley casinos.

A little window between sky and earth.

The crow flies over the countryside.  Cactus Park in the background.

Lots of little wildflowers.

Platform on the Wooten Trail.

 Knowing the time has come to head home, we make our way down the easy switchbacks, and then the slightly steeper (but still mellow) Wooten Trail.  This takes us down to the canyon bottoms, which supports a rather lush forest and small stream.  Here the flowers and chirping birds are most abundant.  The shade of live oaks and willows form a tunnel for our last 0.7 miles.  I notice there are number of signs posts that once had placards describing the nature around them.  It is a shame that so many of them are no longer in good repair.  On one of them however I spot a lizard, nature telling the story for itself.

Bleeding hearts in the valley.

A tree tunnel up Wildcat Canyon.

Lizard on an old signpost.