El Cajon

We started from the trailhead just before 5am, the parking lot was locked so we parked off the main road. Headlights on and coffee in hand, we were feeling good for the first couple miles. There were class 1.8 scrambles (no hands necessary for ups, but you’re sliding on your butt the way down) through the middle of the roller coaster trail and then we hit the solid class 2 scramble to the summit. Belted out the first cuss word of the trail when I finally reached what I thought was the summit only to see the trail veer left with a “where the eff is the summit!” 

We hit the summit before 8am and quickly took our summit pics and skedaddled back down the class 2. As the sun got higher and the temp started creeping up, the legs began to tire and the energy stores depleted. We were about 3 miles from the trailhead when dehydration hit hard with nausea and a throbbing head taking hold. The steep incline and slippery decline didn’t help. Shade was scarce until the last mile and guzzling the last bit of water helped boost the energy to walk briskly down the switchbacks. 

This was challenging. It wasn’t the summiting as in most peaks, but the sheer amount of stamina to finish with the severe inclines and declines on the way back. I don’t know how those who started after 8am fared, but hopefully they were safe. The thermostat in the car read 91 at 10:55am.