Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve (Five Oaks Trail)

DISTANCE: 3.2 MILES
TIME: 2 HOURS
DIFFICULTY: MODERATE
ELEVATION: 5,353 FT

What was once private land just north of the town of Julian in the Wynola area is slowly being bought back and made available to the public in what is known as the Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve. Volcan mountain is a long range that runs north/south between two geologic faults, and was given this name by early spanish travelers becaus of its volcano like appearance when viewed from certain directions.

The entrance to the preserve is on a dirt road just off Farmer Road north of Wynola Road, across from a Julian apple orchard. After walking a past a sign a few hundred yards up the road, you come to the gateway of the preserve, a large wooden structure designed by a Julian local.

From there, the dirt road heads uphill. After about a half mile, you meet with the trailhead of the Five Oaks Trail. This trail was formed in 2003, and according to the trailhead sign was designed as a "hikers only trail" to provide a "more intimate hike experience." The five oaks trail winds through manzanita brush, oak groves, and grassy meadows.

After several steep switchbacks, we came to a lookout point where there is a bench for resting and enjoying the view. The view looks south, where you can see banner grade, Cuyamaca peak and the Laguna Mountains, and many cabins nestled in the Julian woods.

You also have the option of continuing on the main road instead of following the Five Oaks Trail, but I have not yet explored this path, though my understanding is that it ends at a gate where further access to the peak of Volcan Mountain is restricted.

Cedar Creek Falls (Devil's Punchbowl)

DISTANCE: 5 MILES
TIME: 4 HOURS
DIFFICULTY: MODERATE

All of the rumors you have heard are true. A section of the San Diego river east of Ramona spills over a 90 foot cliff into a large, deep pool below, that is suitable for swimming and cliff-jumping. Note that both of these activities are best done when sober; over 30 people had to be rescued from this location during 2005, and many of the rescues were alchohol related.

There may be a few different ways to access Cedar Creek Falls. My brother and I followed the directions in Jerry Schad's books, which access the trailhead via Eagle Peak Road. The road starts out paved, but quickly turns to a windy, bumpy dirt road that leads to the trailhead after about 8 miles. Although not essential, I would recommend a vehicle suitable for off roading. Parts of the road can be treacherous after recent rains. The last few hundred yards are a very steep, narrow section of the road right along the edge of the mountain. There is a dirt parking area below where the gated trailhead starts.

Before starting the hike, look to the north to see a large cliff. If you are lucky, there will be water pouring over this cliff in a manner somewhat reminiscent of Yosemite - Mildred Falls - at over 100 feet, this is the highest waterfall in San Diego County. Although taller than Cedar Creek, Mildred Falls is much more narrow, and is almost always dry, although we have been lucky in recent years.

The 2.5 mile hike to the Cedar Creek Falls is almost all downhill. This of course means the 2.5 mile hike back to the car is all uphill, and the San Diego River Valley can get VERY HOT. We did this hike in April and although it was probably 75 degrees, it felt much hotter because there is no shade. Be sure to notice the towering back side of El Capitan to the southwest.


After about 2 miles, there is a fork in the trail. Take note of the warning sign on the left. The left fork (the path described by Schad) takes you up over a saddle and then splits into three more paths. The path to the left is the longest but the safest. The path to the right is the quickest but the steepest. Once we got to the top of the falls, we really couldn't see a good way to get to the bottom, other than a very steep trail that required the use of all fours to prevent slipping.

As we approached the bottom, we saw a few other parties approaching the falls who apparently chose the right side of the fork rather than coming up and over the saddle. The right side is a longer route that winds around the base of the mountain and leads directly to the bottom of the falls. I might recommend this route over the approach from the top of the falls. However, there are also some nice pools and sunbathing rocks at the top of the falls, which is where my brother and I ended up testing out the water.

The Cedar Creek Falls are spectacular. The pool below is very large and apparently pretty deep. We were tempted to test our cliff-jumping skills but were a bit timid to do so in front of the other parties who were enjoying a look at the falls. There are several nice cliffs of varying heights that drop straight into the pool below. Needless to say, there are also some very high cliffs that have robbed more than a few lives. Just do a google search of "Cedar Creek Falls San Diego" if you want to read a few stories. Have fun, be safe, and bring a swimsuit!

Silverdome

ELEVATION: 2,362 FT
DISTANCE: 3.5 MILES
TIME: 2.5 hours
DIFFICULTY: MODERATE

"The largest granite monolith in San Diego County," Silverdome begs to be climbed. That is why my brother and I could not resist to scale it when we were exlporing the El Capitan Open Space Preserve . Technically Silverdome is part of the Audobon Society Silverwood Wildlife Sanctuary, which is said to only be open on Sundays, but since the 2003 wildfires, the status of this Sanctuary is in question (as of the date of this post).

We started at the trailhead of the Preserve, at mile marker 4 on Wildcat Canyon Road (turn on Blue Sky Ranch Road). A first segment of the road is an uphill climb up what appears to be someone's driveway. After walking right by the entrance to Blue Sky ranch (and noticing the white caged peacocks), the trail begins to ascend up in a series of switchbacks. It soon comes around the north face of a smaller peak, were suddenly Silverdome and the massive El Cajon Mountain ("El Capitan") are in view.

Our intentions were merely to explore the trail leading to El Capitan (we weren't quite prepared to hike the rigorous 11-mile trail), and after we got to our turnaround point we agreed to do a little peakbagging up Silverdome. The only problem was that there really isn't a trail. We scoped out the dome and soon determined that the south face appeared to be the least treacherous. The dome is a solid granite mountain, though patches of grassy earth cover most of it. We soon found the earthy spots to be extremely soft and laden with squirrel holes, which didn't make for very sure footing (our feet found sinkholes a few times), not to mention the steepness of the climb (we went straight up).

After reaching the top, and being out of breath, we were rewarded with a nice panoramic view. We wandered toward the west edge, and peered over the steep granite dropoff. The top of the El Capitan plateau was buried in a thick storm cloud, which added to the mountain's ominous look.

After resting and taking a few pictures, we wandered back to the south face, and were surprised by how it looked even steeper coming down. With extreme caution, we shuffled down back to the trail. Note to those reading this post, rumor has it to climb Silverdome the ranger's permission is needed, although we did not see any indications that would confirm this.

Del Poniente Trail (Twin Peaks)

DISTANCE: 4 MILES
ELEVATION: 1,234 FT
TIME: 2 HOURS
DIFFICULTY: EASY

This little known trail lies on the border of Rancho Bernardo and Poway. The mountain itself is known as Twin Peaks. The two peaks appear to be 1,170 and 1,234 ft according to google earth. I approached this trail from the west side. The trailhead has a sign that says "Pomerado Trail," appropriately named because it begins right at the T intersection of Pomerado Road and Bernardo Heights Parkway.

At first the trail doesn't seem like a trail at all. It runs parallel with a retirement complex, and even meets up with the paved road around the backside of the complex. However, eventually it leads to another obvious trailhead, where you began to hike into the chaparral. After about a half mile, a trail marker designates the beginning of the Del Poniente Trail.

The Del Poniente trail runs east/west, toward the saddle between the twin peaks. It crosses a small creek, then ascends to the top of the saddle, where the city of poway and the Mt. Woodson range can be viewed. This is where my daughter Audrey and I took a break, sat on some boulders, and shared a Tiger's Milk bar. Then we turned around and headed back. Had we continued eastward, it appears we would have met up with the paved Del Poniente Road into a Poway neighborhood. A few mountain biking websites indicated that you can hike a steep trail to the top of one of the peaks, but I did not notice this trail.

Rock Climber's Loop Trail - MTRP

DISTANCE: 1.2 MILES
TIME: 45 MINUTES
ELEVATION: 617 FT
DIFFICULTY: MODERATE






The Rock Climber's Loop Trail is one of the shorter hikes in Mission Trails Regional Park, one of my favorite places to hike. I parked at the Old Mission Dam off of Father Junipero Serra Trail, and walked westward along the paved road for about 20 minutes until I reached the trailhead, which is on the north face of what is known as Kwaay Paay peak (one of the five peaks in the park, and another good hike). The trailhead is actually closer visitor center (right), so I recommend starting there, where you can get a free trail map of all the trails in the park.

Though this is a short hike, it ascends 407 feet very quickly through a series of switchbacks. I would imagine that the rock climbers get pretty tired making the climb with all of their gear. At the top is a rock climber's playground. I don't rock climb, but I would guess that this is a good place to learn. Although the rocks were very large and plentiful, I would not put them in the "enormous" category. They also looked like they had many gripping spots.

The trail meanders along the base of the boulders, then begins the descent through another series of switchbacks down to the bottom where it meets up again with Father Junipero Serra Trail. This is a short fun hike for anyone in decent shape.