This blog will detail 1,000 video hikes in Southern California. By Southern California, I am drawing a line from San Luis Obispo to the Nevada Border. Anything south of that line will be declared "Southern California". In a way, it is a personal challenge to do so many hikes. Mainly, however, it is my way of showcasing how many hiking opportunities there really are right in our own geographic back yard. As a blog, it serves as a companion piece to my Youtube channel "1,000 Hikes in So Cal". It is also a work in progress, as I don't actually have 1,000 edited videos completed. This will take effort for quite some time before it is declared done. Even then, there will still be more out there. Here's to hiking and all the positive effects it has had on my life...and possibly yours!
While heading further east of San Diego, the Cleveland National Forest occupies the mountains before reaching the desert. In this portion of the forest, the trees are mostly scattered oak, with many low lying bushes. To begin the hike, I doubled back down the road from the large parking lot. An unsigned fence gate marks the beginning of the hike. It follows a creek channel northeast of the peak before it makes a sharp left and heads up a gully.
Heading up the ridge.
While starting to level off on the ridge, the trail presses on to the west over false summits before officially reaching the high point of Guatay Mountain. The views don't disappoint from the high vantage point. In my case, I looked out and identified other peaks that I visited in the past, and the ones I had yet to visit.
Approaching the peak.
I came back the same way with a satisfying visit. I had big plans on the day to visit other peaks before heading back home. I continued up Sunrise Highway to go to Manza Benchmark, which was part of the Sunset Trail.
On the summit.
I also wanted to complete the Sunset Trail. However, when the overgrown trail to Manza fizzled out after about 2 miles, my desire to also continue on the Sunset Trail faded. From there, I accepted Guatay as the hike of the day and spent a relaxing late afternoon in Old Town San Diego before wrapping up the day. The next day, I went to Lawson and Gaskill Peaks. I completed the hike but realized that I shot no video on either summits. Can't have much of a video about climbing peaks without the money shots! So somehow, the complete plans did not work out, but that's the way it goes sometimes. Someday I may go back and add a completed video to the 1,000 list.
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