Cap 'n Baldy here!
We pronounce it KWEE-A-MACK-A...
I always thought Cuyamaca was a Native American word. As in so many instances, I was wrong. According to Wikipedia, Cuyamaca is a Spanish corruption of a native word that means "the place beyond the clouds". Cuyamaca is also the name given to a boulder-strewn mountain range that runs across San Diego County from Riverside County to the Mexican border. This area is known to have the most rainfall in San Diego County...
What all this means to us San Diegans is that, when we are tired of urban scramble, we can head east on Interstate 8 and plunge ourselves into serious rural high country in about 40 minutes! The mountains form a wall separating the populous coastal zone from the vast lonely deserts to the east. Today's treat is a mountain geocaching hike in the Cuyamacas with our friends, Bonnie and Dave Stotler...
The Cuyamaca High Country ...
The Cuyamacas were ravaged by the disastrous Cedar Fire of 2003, which swept from this area to the coast. Along any trail, one can see the "sculptures" left from trees scorched by the fire ... arresting and oddly beautiful...
A Fire Sculpture ...
In a brilliant sunrise, we picked up Bonnie and Dave, then drove east on I-8 and north on California 79 through the tiny mountain town of Descanso. The air was clear and the temperatures was 67 degrees F ... a perfect day for hiking and geocaching! A reminder for those not familiar with geocaching ... the activity is a treasure hunt with a Global Positioning System receiver! There was no "treasure" to be had since each cache was merely a tiny container with a log sheet inside. As these caches were cleverly disguised (sometimes in the bark of a tree or well-hidden in a juniper bush), they posed a worthy challenge to find! The great benefit for us was the hiking of some unfamiliar trails in the company of two of our best friends ...
We traversed the uneven terrain with care, ever mindful of Goldilocks' nasty broken arm incident in Argentina last year ... at each obstacle, we'd call out ROCK ALERT ... or ... HOLE ALERT ( burrowing critters) ... or TURD ALERT (coyote most likely) ... depending on the nature of the obstacle ...
This trail led to a wet high meadow, green and gold from recent rain ... absolutely lovely!
We were looking for deer but didn't see any on this hike. By the way, a bunch of deer is called a "herd" or "mob", depending on where you live! I thought all y'all needed to know this fact!
Here are a few additional "jewels from our journey" ...
A geocacher's moment of TRIUMPH ...
Bonnie and Bob on the trail ... the cache was hidden on this tree!
Dave is in here...keep looking!
Ourselves among fire-sculptures ...
Down the road a piece, between a pair of funky antique shops, sits the Descanso Junction Restaurant ... our "go-to" place to eat after our back-country exertions. This is a rustic good-ole place of motherly waitresses, long beards, suspenders, white socks and awesome home-cooked food! They serve breakfast until 1 p.m. The wood tables are festooned with the stock brands of local ranchers ...
Us ... after lunch!
Succumbing to that feminine need to explore antique stores, the ladies disappeared for a spell ... us good ole boys just parked our arses on the weathered wood bench in front of the restaurant and soaked up the sun!
Lost in a flood of color at the antique store! Time to go home and take a well-earned nap! It has been one sweet day!
Thanks for joining us on the journey today, beloveds! Until next time ... stay happy and stay well! Vaya con Dios!
Affectionately,
Baldy
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