2018 Hiking Adventures

#52 Limekiln State Park
2.25 miles | +450’

0DC10DDD-35F5-4BBE-A743-7DF8834B9B86.jpeg


E93F68C1-173C-4DB1-BC70-FE099949FE74.jpeg


8F6F8767-2CDB-4590-976A-45E72A862B13.jpeg


6C30D89C-3EF5-46EF-9540-A5A958A25167.jpeg


71950237-8E42-401D-B928-043EFE016B7C.jpeg


Adjoining the Ventana Wilderness area of the Los Padres National Forest, Limekiln State Park sits in a canyon on the legendary Big Sur coastline, where the Santa Lucia Mountains meet the Pacific Ocean. The park’s more than 700 acres offer 24 campsites, three kid-friendly hiking trails, a redwood forest, a rocky beach, a breathtaking 100 foot waterfall, and four enormous historic lime kilns.
 
#53 Shelter Island
2 miles

BA9C0C11-25EF-4489-82CE-8B27F800778B.jpeg


My favorite bayside stroll along San Diego bay. Looking forward to catching some halibut and sand bass out there again.


#54 Balboa Park’s East Mesa
4 miles | +300’

7B7CE702-14D1-40CD-AB36-5AE63132C026.jpeg


An interesting vista of the downtown San Diego skyline from Balboa Park’s less-visited east side, along Trail 22. Many native San Diegans aren’t even aware of the trails on this side of the park.
 
#55 Pinto Canyon
13 miles | +2000’

BC580AC3-DDB4-4DD2-A53C-028638EE2B24.jpeg


CDC47188-CAB6-4E87-9AEE-F2D576B8FA73.jpeg


A61325EA-6D8C-48DA-8CA0-2AE98C40A8DB.jpeg


DE93715A-5A7E-465C-A3B5-6D680E3B5ED5.jpeg


BC4206C3-A38D-4B67-8916-651FF89A78D1.jpeg


4291A2B6-5B9A-46AC-A2BB-00684761C996.jpeg


948A7E54-2857-44DC-A36B-92087E049EAD.jpeg


64528376-4A83-411F-89F6-95D32503336D.jpeg


F6E1EC2A-3567-4AB9-9E51-4E82B038D973.jpeg


1E4B67AC-C965-4612-B8B0-14C6C07C0832.jpeg


There’s an article in the June 2009 San Diego Reader entitled, “Stay Away From Pinto Canyon.” I don’t recall if this was where I first heard of it, but hiking Pinto Canyon had been a goal for some time now. The canyon’s palm oasis, difficult terrain, remoteness, and petroglyphs appealed to my sense of adventure.

The aforementioned article also said that because of the canyon’s proximity to the international border there’s the risk of running into “mules” carrying drugs, or “coyotes” leading groups of migrants into the United States. I feel that there’s some fear-mongering going on when it comes to some of the border areas. I’ve never had a bad run in with anyone or ever felt unsafe. However, it’s still probably good to be cautious and hike in groups. Hikers have occasionally come across the remains of those who perished in this harsh terrain. In 2009 a group came across the body of a 12 year old girl, and in 2012 a solo hiker discovered a human skull partially buried in the sand.

Our 13 mile route was quite challenging, with soft sand slowing our stride, large boulders to scramble up and over, dry waterfalls to bypass, and sharp stabby plants to avoid.

This area also has a rich archeological heritage ands nearly every surface of this arid land yields evidence of past human inhabitants. One of the highlights of this trip are the Native American petroglyphs, one in particular shows a single-mast ship with a striped square-rigged sail. According to the Maritime Museum of San Diego, the ship depicted in the rock carving could be from “the expedition of Francisco Ulloa in 1539, the expedition of Sebastian Vizcaino in 1602, or the expedition of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in 1542.” But who really knows? Perhaps it was some wayward vikings! It’s important to show these sites the respect they deserve... look, but don’t touch.
 
#56 Balboa Park
3 miles | +200’

FD0E6252-F0FF-4E0B-9BA8-F9C8E3A12764.jpeg



#57 Panorama Overlook
1 mile | +300’

6B3A861F-1E7A-4346-A96A-1EE56D039E71.jpeg


This short, well-traveled trail climbs sharply up one of the ridge spurs of San Ysidro Mountain, offering a fantastic view of Borrego Valley and its spectacular backdrop of mountains.
 
#58 Sheep Canyon
3 miles | +900’

15C08B6F-E4A6-4274-B3E3-7C6C834A75C8.jpeg


3FD15A35-C67C-4A2F-8187-EFA3418B5B69.jpeg


D55C65A7-5539-4CF0-BFD5-4852B25F47AA.jpeg


ED5B80E9-B14E-4800-A28E-2532F7D81D99.jpeg


2FB66D66-6B53-46E5-A6E6-FE87563B803E.jpeg


1D7CEB92-E270-4675-8F89-B1C3FF449F3C.jpeg


0736FED2-CDE8-4480-8B49-69AAE1740616.jpeg


“Remote Sheep Canyon, secreted in the middle reaches of Coyote Canyon in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, features some of the most rugged yet beautiful terrain in San Diego County.” -Jerry Schad

Well said! I’ve always enjoyed taking my Jeep up Coyote Canyon into Collins Valley for a day or weekend of camping and hiking. Sheep Canyon is one of my favorite destinations and with the rain we’ve had so far, I figured the stream should be flowing by now.
 
#59 Corte Madera Mountain
7 miles | +1750’

562A0D8F-15AE-4189-9448-2D35FB8C1579.jpeg


Last hike of the year atop one of my favorite peaks in the Cleveland National Forest. On a clear day it seems you can see forever... not so much today. The rain and fog kept the views to a minimum, but it was still fun hiking in conditions that can be somewhat rare in Southern California. Just beyond where I’m standing here is the edge of a 300-foot precipice, hence its nickname, San Diego’s “Half Dome.”
 
Last edited:
Over 2018 I hiked 321 miles with 62000 feet of elevation gain. I’m looking forward to many more miles and adventures in 2019! Happy New Year!
 
Back
Top Bottom