San Diego Trans-County Trail

Getting there

I crawled out of bed threw on my pack and stepped outside into the frigid six degree morning in Mammoth Lakes. A monster storm had just deposited over six feet of snow. I put on every layer I had, and walked the mile to the bus stop. As we headed south out of town, I noticed a mile long line of cars snaking down 395, waiting to turn into Mammoth. Wrong way, suckers, it is the time of year to go to the desert!

Soon, I was gliding through the desert, the cold morning but a distant memory. I was leaving Mammoth for the first time in two months. The Metrolink wound through Soledad Canyon, and then rocketed south through Santa Clarita, and into the sprawling megalopolis of Los Angeles. It is always odd to see so many people and buildings in one place after being in the Eastern Sierra for a while.

South to Orange County I went, industrial areas gave way to endless suburbia. The sunset as I arrived in Irvine, and traferred to a bus to San Diego. Trackwork closed the tracks south of there for the weekend, necessitating the return to a non-rail mode. As I got off the bus in San Diego, I was shocked at the warm air so late at night. Finally I hopped on the San Diego Trolley to head towards my friend Max’s house. My seventh transit vehicle that day. Max picked me up, I arrived to his house tired, but excited for the trip to come.

Day 1: 20 miles

Matt and Lexi arrived the next morning. While we waited for them, Max put on a large pot of gu, which would surely propel me through the long days ahead. He generously served me a few cups of gu, and we double bagged it and placed it in my backpack with my other provisions. Soon, we were snaking through beautiful eastern San Diego County. Conversation flowed, and the drive passed all too quickly. We set two caches by the side of the highway as we passed by. Just before noon, we arrived at the start of the trail. The easy sitting was over, it was time to hike.

We began at the old shore of the Salton Sea. Max joined us for the first mile or so, but then had to retreat back to civilization. Max did not hold the trail in high regard at all, despite being practically married to San Diego County, and vowing never to leave. “Give me a call when you quit and want to come home” he said as we said goodbye and walked off into the desert.

The miles passed quickly. I was not heat adjusted at all, so we had to stop once an hour or so to cool off in the shade. I slurped down a healthy dose of gu, and we kept going again. We went on in this fashion for a few hours. Finally, the sun mercifully ducked behind the mountains. The desert shimmered beautifully in the last light. We marveled at the seemingly infinite open space all around us. The mountains we had been walking towards all day were only slightly closer.

We walked into the night, reenergized by the sun’s retreat. After retrieving, our first water cache, we set up camp in a dry wash just off the trail.

Day 2: 27 miles

We set out early towards Borrego Springs. A sleepy town at the base of the mountains. The miles passed quickly in the more moderate morning temperatures. Reaching a town so soon on the trail felt almost undeserved, but I enjoyed having so many towns on our short hike. Reaching each town put me back in a thru-hiking headspace I hadn’t been in since the CDT, a headspace full of memories and nostalgia. We sat in the park in Borrego Springs, filled up our water, at burritos and organized our resupply for the next 28ish miles. Another massive food carry. This was beginning to feel like the AT

Reality set in as we climbed out of town in the heat of the day, and again I needed to stop every hour or so. Matt, no doubt, could have bounded up the hill in no time at all. In fact, he even considered attempting a massive peak, completely perpendicular to our route. I subtly encouraged this idea, the prolonged rest I would get sounded very appealing. Nausea began to set in, and breaks became more frequent. Just as on the day prior, the shadows grew longer and the sun finally ducked behind the mountains. Now we were practically bounding up the hill.

Those are the moments that stick with you from a thru-hike. Waltzing down the trail at golden hour. A light pack. A few miles to go to camp. Oh how easy it would be to walk across the country again. I dreamt of trails that night.

Day 3: 27 miles

We set out early once again. The heat came quickly this time though. “It’s got the makings of a scorcher”, Matt said, and I agreed.

As we neared our second and final cache, my knee began to flare up in pain. What had started as a dull throb, slowly picked up in intensity, until it became concerning. “Would this only get worse and worse as I hiked on, I thought to myself?”. The answer would be revealed one step at a time over the next few days. I got this injury on the CDT, and I hiked 800 miles on it then. A very mysterious plica injury that comes and goes. I hiked on nervously.

We got to the Stagecoach Trails RV Resort right as they were scheduled to open. Unfortunately a power outage kept the store closed. After weighing our options, we ultimately decided to wait it out. We laid down on the picnic tables and tried to sleep between interruptions. Turns out the Stagecoach Trails RV store is quite the social hub.

Luckily at 2:30, the store reopened and we purchased a resupply to get over the mountains to Alpine. By this point, we had made it through most of the heat of the day. Clouds began to appear in the western sky and partially blocked the sun for the afternoon. We continued on. Along the way, we passed a few people camping out in the their RV’s enjoying the peaceful solitude of the desert. It is incredible how close to San Diego this expansive public land is. Somehow my knee felt completely better. In fact, my whole body was feeling much better, after absorbing the mileage shock of the first few days. We hiked an hour or so into the night. Our steps guided by the waxing moon. The trail had us on another large climb, and we were grateful to have avoided it in the heat of the day.

Day 4: 25 miles

We woke up and walked a few miles to the PCT. We were now atop the mountains that we squinted at on the horizon a few days earlier. Temperatures were heating up throughout the state, but our elevation would give us a one day reprieve from the heat. We wound our way around Lake Cuyamaca.

At this point, we decided to take an alternate to avoid all of the private property and sketchy sections of the SDTCT. We planned to follow the California Riding and Hiking Trail to Alpine, and then do a more urban alt to rejoin the trail. At the last minute we summited Cuyamaca Peak — the second highest peak in San Diego County at 6512′. The whole route unfurled beneath us. The ocean and the Salton Sea were both visible on the horizon. Patches of snow remained on the ground from the last storm.

Down, down, down we went. We stopped for the afternoon in Descanso and sat under a tree for a bit to avoid the heat. I filled up a few liters in a dirty sink at the back of the gas station there, and got a lecture from the proprietor on respect. I offered to pay him a few dollars for the water, but he said it was more about asking permission before filling up water. I was always taught it was better to beg for forgiveness than to ask permission, oh well. I apoligized profusely, and we continued on. The riding trail followed a dirt road towards Viejas. Technically, we were on forest service land, but our camp spot for the night was awfully close to some houses. We stayed very stealthy, and set our alarms for an early morning departure the next day.

Day 5: 31 miles

We woke up at 4:40am, and started hiking within 10 minutes. The first few miles flew by in the pre-morning dawn. We resupplied at Albertsons in Alpine. The large grocery store was overwhelming compared to the small establishments we had seen so far. We walked on frontage roads for miles as the day began to heat up. We wound our way through neighborhoods, and finally found the flume trail. The last ten miles were the most urban of our alternate, and we were both glad to have them behind us. We sat under a tree for a while. We descended the flume trail, greeted with incredible views of El Cayon Mountain. Matt remarked that it was like a desert Yosemite, and I agreed. We walked along the valley floor and soon sat under another tree.

We basked in the sweet relief of shade. The temperature was approaching 90 degrees. Quite hot for late February. Morale was low. It felt like we had covered very little ground, but I did some calculations and we were almost 20 miles into the day. It wasn’t even one o’clock. We resolved to get a few miles in per hour, and then launch into dusk at a quicker pace.

A few miles later, we sat out in front of Rocket Gas. A rather urban location to be sitting outside a gas station. Matt was even bold enough to take a nap, but the cashier didn’t seem to mind. This time, Matt did the talking, asking for permission to fill up water in the sink. Our respectful approach paid off, and permission was granted.

We continued on through an industrial district, and soon climbed back up into a nature preserve. Already, temperatures began to cool, and our pace quickened. We walked along ridgelines, the coast faintly visible in the distance. After an hour or so of night hiking, we found a suitable campsite, and were lulled to sleep by the motorists passing on the freeway below.

Day 6: 24 miles

The end of the SDTCT is notorious for being urban — bisecting the suburbs of California’s second biggest city. We were both pleasantly surprised at how remote parts of the day felt. We woke up at 4:40am again, and tried to bank as many miles as possible before the heat of the day.

Somehow even on the sixth day the conversation still flowed readily with Matt. It is always a joy to hike with him and ramble on for hours. After ten years of many trips together, the frequency and intensity of our trips will likely have to subside a bit. I’m sure we will have many more adventures to come though.

We took our first break at nine miles to fill water in a park. Soon, we were following the Los Penisquitos Creek, passing right through the heart of the metropolis, but at times not in sight of a single building. A few miles from the end, we entered a truly dystopian landscape. A mess of multiple freeways and suburban office parks greeted us. War planes flew over head incessantly. We sat under the shade of an office building for a few minutes to cool off for the final miles. My aspirations to move to San Diego County dimmed, as I was brought back to reality.

Overall, I really enjoyed the San Diego Trans-County Trail. The highs and lows of a thru-hike were all encapsulated in a bite-sized form. Other than a short stretch of our alternate through Alpine, the proximity to civilization did not dampen my enjoyment of the hike at all. On the contrary, much of eastern county felt incredible peaceful and remote.

Luckily, the last few miles of trail passed along wetlands, through a much more peaceful part of the county. We reached the beach, and triumphantly dove in the Pacific. Salton Sea to the Pacific Ocean.

pictures to come