So, I had planned to hike Cuyamaca back in March. Too much snow. Then I planned to hike it in August. Hurricane Hillary closed the trailhead. The third time wasn’t just the charm, it made for a super fun and inspirational hike!

I got to the Paso Picacho Campground parking lot only to be informed by the gate attendant that there was a 100km ultramarathon race in the Cuyamaca area. Could I still hike? Yes. I’d just have to look out for runners. I’m cool with that. It’s a lot less stressful than looking out for mountain lions. And after my last San Diego Six-Pack hike, a completely isolated and sweltering slog up Corte Madera, this was a nice fun vibe!

AllTrails rates the paved trail up Cuyamaca as “hard” and the non-paved one (which is a bit longer) as “moderate.” I took the paved trail since I was down for shorter but more intense today, and while it was definitely a leg-burner, it wasn’t very difficult in my opinion. The landscape has clearly been scarred by wildfires — the Cedar Fire, almost exactly 20 years ago, completely devastated the area — and seeing the destruction and recovery was fascinating.

I got to the summit in time to see the first runners reach the checkpoint up there, which was 23 miles into the race. This was super inspirational (and humbling because the 6500’ of elevation was definitely doing a number on my lungs). But more importantly, the race volunteers at the top gave me a free beer, even though I had offered them $5 for it initially. So it was a nice leisurely stroll down the trail with an IPA in hand.

I’m attempting Hot Springs tomorrow, but AllTrails reports that the mountain has been closed with no notice as recently as two weeks ago, in the wake of Hurricane Hilary. I guess I’ll get to the trailhead and find out…