52 Hike Challenge 2016 Adventure Series
5 miles | +840'
Ever since hiking Sycuan Peak a few weeks ago I've been
eager to get back out and experience some of the rugged beauty of the nearby
canyons. The California Riding and Hiking Trail, a designated, regional
multi-use (hiking/biking/equestrian) trail that strikes a
southwest-to-northeast course through the middle of San Diego County, is still
a work in progress. Here, a particularly pleasant stretch of the trail takes
you two miles downhill, with a loss of 800 feet of elevation, into beautiful
Sloan Canyon, where a riparian strip of vegetation accompanies the winding
Sweetwater River. This hike presents a fine look into the backcountry where the
Sweetwater River carves its way through some lofty mountains.
The terrain here is largely undeveloped, save for a small
enclave of trailer homes near the bottom of the canyon. From the beginning of
the trail at an elevation of about 1,575 feet, you can see all the way down to
the riparian ribbons of cottonwoods, oaks and willows that line both sides of
the Sweetwater River. At the trail head looking towards the west and you can
also spy Point Loma and Cabrillo National Monument behind downtown’s skyline.
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