Volcan Mountain Summit 7/30/2011

About 60 miles east of San Diego, the Volcan Mountains rise to a height of a little under 5400 feet above sea level. Their rounded summits are an expanse of grassland mixed with groves of oak and cedar. Rob and I got an early start as the forecast was for very hot monsoonal weather with afternoon thunderstorms brewing. It was a good day for wildlife viewing. We seen two deer, grey mountain squirrels, a horny toad, and a bobcat crossing the road. Beautiful hike.

Cuyamaca, Volcan Mountain and San Diego River

So here it is a day after the Torrey Pines at the beach excursion and were headed for the opposite extreme. The snowy mountains in East San Diego county. This was mostly a driving tour with a small hike included in the afternoon. We drove I8 to 79 N through the Cuyamaca mountains, through Julian, then explored the Volcan mountains and the upper reaches of Santa Ysabel Creek, then we went down in elevation and hiked the Inaja trail near the upper reaches of the San Diego River. Nice!!