It’s getting close to the end of Poway’s ski week and the return of my spouse. The kids and I are getting along fair enough with only a few bumps here and there. Today was a great day. We decided to go for a little walk in the San Diego backcountry.
If you have lived here for any amount of time then the words Cedar Fire means a lot to you. It was because of this that I discovered the falls. They are a very well know San Diego treasure. It is frequented by a fair amount of people even though the location is quite remote.
I tossed some necessities together, got the kids in the truck, and headed for Julian. Cedar Falls can be accessed through Ramona but the trail is an unimproved fall line trail not suitable for kids. The Eagle Peak road trail is much better but as we discovered, not easy by any measure. You follow Eagle Peak road out to the end and then start the walk down the hill (HA, more like a fricken big ass mountain!).
The area is due north of Anderson TT and the road is a nearly carbon copy of ATT. A couple of differences lead to some substantial challenges.
1. You start at the top and walk down about 2 miles and drop about 1500 – 2000 ft. 2. I was walking and not riding so the going was not so fast. 3. I had the kids (see #2)
Almost immediately you see a waterfall to the north of the trail. I have no idea what the name is but it was over 200 ft tall. This pic does not do it justice.
As we hiked down, the valley floor finally came into view.
It was then we realized this might be a bit much for the youngest but he wanted to press on. The little man was a trooper!
Down, down, down, down and down we went. Finally, the trail turned east on the Cedar Creek and we followed it. Here is where we ran into our first trees. At least it was not too hot today.
The falls were truly impressive.
There is a swimming hole at the base of the falls that, in warmer weather, must be quite inviting. Right now it is mostly fresh snowmelt the there was no way the kids were getting in. Instead we played around on the rocks and waded the stream a bit.
After a dad-approved lunch of PB&J, Wheat thins, M&M’s, and juice boxes, we dried off, packed it up, and retraced our steps back to the truck.
We went up,
and up, and up, and up.
I am in fine shape. I climb ATT, Bernardo Peak, Black Mtn, and others on a fairly regular basis. Hiking this hill was a BITCH! I can’t imagine how the 5 year old must have felt. We took it slow, rested a lot, drank a lot, and powered up on the Costco 56 oz bag of M&Ms. The trip up took about 1 ½ hours with a few lengthy rests. As we rounded the last corner, we took in the most impressive view of the whole trip.
Our air-conditioned, mechanized transportation to the nearest 7/11 in Ramona. Can you say SLURPEE TIME!!!!
Needless to say, they are all sleeping quite soundly and I will let them sleep in as late as they need tomorrow.
I haven’t touched my bike at all this week and I am whipped.
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