McGinty Mountain

DISTANCE: 5 miles

TIME: 3 hours

ELEVATION: 2,183 ft

DIFFICULTY: Moderate

Located east of the 94 near Jamul and the Sycuan Indian Reservation, the McGinty Mountain Ecological Reserve is most likely the "go-to" hiking spot for Jamul residents. If you're not a resident of Jamul and not a botanist, or geocacher, McGinty may not have anything extraordinary to offer. It's certainly not the highest peak in the area, as it is surrounded by higher peaks almost double in elevation to the southeast in Alpine, Otay Mountain to the southwest, and Viejas mountain to the northeast. Still, despite it's comparatively low elevation, it offers decent views within the county.

Botanists will love it as according to Jerry Schad, it contains many rare plants native to San Diego county (keep in mind that "rare" doesn't necessarily mean aesthetically pleasing - we didn't see anything but dry shrubs on this hike). I say that geocachers will love it because one of San Diego's top geocachers, fisnjack,was the first person to recommend this hike to me, so I am assuming it is laden with caches.

There is a small parking area off the side of the road on Jamul drive near I-94. The trailhead is marked but somehwhat obscure, to the right side of the parking area. It wanders east for about .5 mile before meeting with a narrower switchback trail that ascends for about .5 mile to the first summit in view (not McGinty). This trail emerges onto a wider fire road, which is characteristic of the trail for the remaininder of the hike. Beyond the first summit about 1 mile to the east the peak of McGinty is within view, as is the fire road that leads to it. You'll pass a custom home or two on the left within 50 yards of the trail, which kind of takes away from hiking experience (you wonder why you've already hiked over a mile and you're right by some guy's house).

The final .5 mile to the summit is a bit steep. At the top are several large rocks, none of which clearly stands out as the highest point. To the east is the Sycuan indian reservation at the base of Sycuan Peak. To the south is the town of Jamul, with many scattered custom homes; McGinty separates Jamul somewhat from the rest of San Diego suburbia.