Use AllTrails route to avoid a 150 ft struggle through a thicket of brush and trees

Saturday morning, August 9, 2025. We parked at the Trout Pond, then crossed the road to the trailhead. Much of this route was along a wide fire road. Although there were bicycle tire markings in the dirt, I would not want to take this on a bike more than half-way up, due to rocks. Early in the hike there were nice views of a beautiful meadow and Stonewall Peak. (We hiked Stonewall and Cuyamaca Peaks the previous day.) The route became challenging once it was time to leave the road and bushwhack to the summit. There is one, poorly marked trail, that will minimize the struggle pushing through the dense thicket. You leave the road at 32.98299, -116.60060. From here the path is marked by a series of rocks on fallen log stumps. This route to the summit is found on AllTrails.com, however we did not take the loop, but backtracked after our activation. We followed this route into the Activation Zone (AZ), but stopped short of reaching the summit because there seemed to be no way forward. Instead we found a rock to perch on, and with our HT made many 2m/FM contacts using a 4-element Yagi. In the summer this hike is best done early in the morning.

• Carol KE6SRN and Tom KE6SRO