OAKZANITA PEAK HIKE

My hiking buddies, Myrna and Chris, and I try to get out every week for a hike. Last week it was actually a Patrol for Mission Trails Regional Park where we volunteer. Then there was a Patrol to assist with the running of a Generic Run, 15 kilometers, in Mission Trails Park which is always fun.

This past Friday we went East to Cuyamaca State Park for our hike. My two friends had never hiked Oakzanita Peak so that was our destination. I had not hiked it in probably 30 years!! It is not a strenuous undertaking and we took a long loop to get home so that we hiked about 8 miles total. The peak is about 5000 feet in elevation. As it was Valentine's Day, I packed some truffles for us as our reward. The temperature on the hike probably reached 90˚F, unseasonably warm for this time of year.  Shorts were the order of the afternoon. I kept the goodies chilled in a ziplock bag which was then sitting in another bag containing a blue-ice cube. We thoroughly enjoyed the treat just before we finished our hike.

Lion and Fox Scat

Granite Pile

Closer View of Granite Pile

Stonewall Peak, Left of Center

East Mesa

Looking South toward Descanso

Lone Checkerbloom