I thought I would go for a hike near my house today. I had been in the El Capitan Open Preserve before at a wilderness medicinal plants workshop and thought the hike looked interesting. However I did not read much about it except to find out it was an 11 mile round trip.
Arriving at 9:00 a.m. for a morning hike I started up the first rise. As it turns out there are four ridges to cross to get to the mountain and each has s steep up and a steep down. You finally end up at a side trail -- okay trail is loosely defined -- up to el Cajon. This is poorly maintained to not maintained at all and I spent about 1/2 hour bushwhacking through chaparral to get to the peak.
The views were spectacular and well worth the effort.
On the way back you have to climb the four ridges once again.
Distance 12 miles
Elevation gain 4,000'
Time 5 hr 20 m (40 of which were bushwhacking which would be reduced if your eyes are better than mine in spotting the non-trail.
This is a strenuous hike, but a really good one. I have finally found a hike in San Diego that is not overly easy and over-run with people. I saw one person on the way out and four on the way back.
