Spring time riding the Cuyamaca and the Laguna Mountains is quite a treat. I set out on a very early morning start from the San Diego River Staging area. My truck read 42 degrees when I stepped out of it. I did not dally around much and got to moving. I made my way south along the west side trail to East Mesa fire road. Most of the climb was in shade of the mountain with the occasional spot of early morning sunshine hitting me to take a bit of the briskness out of the bones.
By the time I got up onto East Mesa there was plenty of sunshine and temps had become comfortable. I have been on this mesa before when wildflowers were in bloom and it is an amazing sight. There were some flowers but things had not kicked off yet. I connected up with the Deer Park Trail and took along the mesa’s and then eastward out of state park back into Cleveland National Forest to Deer Park Road and the junction of Indian Creek trail. The descent down from the mesa to the road was every bit as good as I remember it.
All of my previous outing in this area involved climbing up Indian Creek trail. Today I wanted to check out a different route so I turned north of Deer Park Road. This is a forest service double track that climbs with intention for about 1.2 miles before you get to Pine Mountain Road where took it to continue my climbing. Pine Mountain Road (another forest service double track) gains a little under 700 feet over two miles to its high point so most will find it not steep, but also not mild. (Your grunting milage may vary). I really appreciated the different views I was able to get along this first for me route. Near the top you will get back into a lovely stand of pine trees.
Once over the top I continued on for about half a mile until the Pine Mountain Trail crossed the road. From here I turned north (left) on the trail and enjoyed the slightly downhill singletrack for a little over a mile to Sunrise Highway and the Pioneer Mail Trailhead just across the road.
The Pioneer Mail Trailhead has pit toilets and some picnic tables. The Perfect Cycling Trail Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) runs right through here as it makes it was northward loosely following just east of Sunrise highway. The PCT is off-limits to mountain bikes. It has been since 1988 when a order that some MTB advocates believe to be of questionable legal standing was promulgated. Yes, back in the day folks could and did ride their bikes on the PCT. It is my understanding that no one has ever been issued a ticket for riding their MTB on the PCT. Folks have been issued warnings. Folks have gotten ticketed while riding the PCT in wilderness, but the ticket was for riding in wilderness not specifically the PCT. To the best of my knowledge no one has ever been ticketed for riding a MTB on the PCT. I wonder why that is. Some think it is because getting a ticket would provide standing in challenge it in a court of law. That could be interesting in light of Chevron deference doctrine being overturned by the Supreme Court in 2024. A friend of mine just a few weeks ago was issued a warning for riding his MTB on the PCT. He was told it was $50 bucks for the first offense and $100 for the second offense. So $50 for a ticket that is believed to have never been issued in 38 years, shoot take my money….please. For reference, while generally decriminalized by the state’s Freedom to Walk Act (AB2147), if you were to get a ticket for jaywalking in the city of San Diego the ticket $196 plus state-mandated fees.
Enough on legalities, your options from here are to commit the mala prohibita crime of putting down some tire tracks on the PCT for a wonderful 5.4 miles to the junction of the Lucky 5 trail or you could proceed legally on the Sunrise Highway for 4.3 miles to the same Lucky 5 trail. Either option involves maybe a mile of climbing at the start and mostly downhill after that. You will have to make your own personal accountability choices at this point.
I was questioning how much gas I had in the tank at this point so Sunrise Highway was selection for the day. Once on the Lucky 5 trail it was more great springtime single track in the mostly downhill direction. From Lucky 5, I connected to the Upper La Cima trail which was in great shape. At the junction of the Upper Green Valley singletrack is an option to take that trail and cut out some mileage and climbing to finish off the loop. I assessed I had enough in legs left to do some a longer option so stuck to the La Cima trail for some more smiles on springtime singletrack back down into Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and the California Riding and Hiking Trail (CRHT).
I am a huge fan of this section of the CRHT. It is pretty singletrack all year long but springtime is particularly nice. There is some mild climbing to be had up to the highpoint of this section overlooking the greater Cuyamaca Lake watershed. The mild climbing did not feel mild at his point in the ride (22ish miles and 2,500’+ elevation gain at this point). After a snack break under an oak tree overlooking a large meadow, I continued along the CRHT to the Soapstone Grade doubletrack where I continued along the perimeter of the meadow. I then turned south at the junction of the Stonewall Creek fire road for a rather zippy descent to the Cold Spring Trail.
The Cold Spring Trail is fantastic singletrack completed in 2015 that the San Diego Mountain Biking Association (SDMBA) played a crucial role making happen. It is a fun trail in both directions that makes the climbs feel less than they actually are. The west side of the park could use some trails like this versus all of the fire road action they currently have.
After some miles of smiles along the Cold Spring trail I cross over Highway 79 and took the west side single south. I was ready to be done at this point. When I pulled back up to my truck the legs were empty and my soul was full. The stats were 31.53 miles with 3,248 feet of elevation gain and more smiles that I could count.
