I’m new to Southern California so I signed up for the SoCal Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge as a way to learn about the trails in the area. I recruited my son, who lives in LA, as my partner.

Because it seems that the trails to a couple of the traditional peaks are closed for the year, we selected Sitton Peak as an alternative. The distance and elevation gain seemed like a good “shake down” hike for the coming season.

The morning was cool and cloudy, nice conditions for the hike, actually. The weather cleared as we neared the peak. Manzanita were blooming and we spotted quail as we hoofed it up hill.

We meet several parties that were coming down the mountain, but once we reached the peak, we had the views to ourselves. Like many others, we pair this Six-Pack Peak with a local brew — a Japanese lager from Harland Brewing Company of San Diego (hey, we could see San Diego County from the peak).

We lingered at the top for nearly an hour with the mountain top all to ourselves. It was swell.