Perfect morning to complete my 6th Peak of the San Diego Six Pack of Peaks and my 9th Overall Peak of the SoCal Six Pack of Peaks (18 peaks) Challenge. It was 23 degrees when I stepped off at 0551 this morning. Not a soul on the trail going up and two groups going up as I was descending. I ended up with 7.94 miles and 2035’ in total elevation gain in 3 hours 17 minutes (total time, including breaks and summit). The weather warmed up to a balmy 40’ as I was descending. ;P ;P

Just a few points to note about this trail. I began my hike going up the Lookout Fire Road. This road is clearly marked, “Lookout Fire Road & All Public Access to Cuyamaca Peak is Closed”. If you take this route to the summit you will be taking a chance of getting caught and fined.
As I approached the summit, I came to the trench in the road (covered by steel). This is about .6 miles from the summit. There are no signs warning the public to keep out, however, this is still on the Lookout Fire Road so default back to my previous comments.

On my decent I decided to take the Conejos and Azalea Springs Fire Road Loop Trails back to the parking area. The Conejos Trail begins right past the where the trench is about .6 miles down from the summit. I saw no warning signs as I began the 2 mile route to Azalea Springs. However, once I got to Azalea Springs the Conejos Trail was block to all traffic going up. The sign posted said, “WARNING Prescribed Fire Ahead, This Route is Temporarily Closed by Superintendent’s Order #940-19-013”. So if you decide to take this route up (instead of the Lookout Fire Road), you will still be taking a chance of getting caught and fined. After finishing my descent on the Azalea Springs Fire Road/Trail, I saw no signs warning or prohibiting hikers from hiking on the Azalea Trail.

Bottom Line, ALL routes to the summit, and technically to the trench on the Lookout Fire Road, are closed. I did not run into any rangers or constructions workers during my hike. I was lucky. If you decide to complete Cuyamaca Peak prior to the conclusion of the superintendent’s order and construction, you will be doing it at your own risk, as I did today. If you go, good luck!