"Even though I was able to follow the ducks up the summit trail to the register, it is so over grown that the bushwacking is extreme and right now the ticks are everywhere! Yuk! Lucky I had prepared, but I was still shaking them off my pants and shirt quite often. Not a peak I will ever do again! " — yosinalissebeck • Apr 11, 2021

"I needed to escape from Santa Barbara and the Thomas Fire so I headed down to SD county for some hiking. I haven't done much hiking this far south, so I started my trip in the Cuyamaca Rancho SP to hike Stonewall, Middle, and Cuyamaca in a big loop from the campground. I dropped off the north side of stonewall, following a trail to the Los Caballos Campground. A short road-walk brought me to the Middle Peak Fire Road. I was kinda planning for a laid-back weekend, so I was caught off guard by the intense bushwhack that was required to get to the summit. I followed carins and very faint use-trails through dense chaparral and downed trees to the brushy summit. Bushwhack took about 25 mins both up and down, moving carefully to stay on track. " — klotito • Dec 17, 2017

"Cold wind-driven rain, up the sticky clay Middle Peak Fire Road, followed by a difficult bushwhacking to the summit while intermittently using Cal Forestry tree seedling trails from 2-3 years ago and climbing over fallen trees. This last part is going to be really tough after this years rains as the undergrowth is probably going to double in size and looks much thicker now than in prior posts. Someone who lives nearby should take the initiative and bushwhack a proper trail from the North ridge near the water tank." — srphilip • Mar 6, 2016

"Our quest to complete the San Diego 100 continues! We expected this to be a pretty simple hike, and then the bushwhacking happened. Before the fires (maybe 10 years ago) there were pine trees with an open forest floor on the top of this mountain. Now it's an impassable tangle of bushes, shrubs, brambles and burned-out stumps...in other words, lots of fun. Just raise your arms and lean forward like you're walking into a river current! The summit registry is full of comments like "How do I get out of here?" "Remind me to bring a machete next time." and other more..."colorful" phrases about the undergrowth. Also...there are dozens of deer on this mountain." — benjineer • Nov 22, 2015

"This was an HPS hike led by the Doggetts. We approached Middle Peak from Cuyamaca Peak. The bushwhacking at the top wasn't quite as bad as I had expected; we found a relatively straightforward (not easy, but apparently easier than was previously the case) way up from the top of the most recently burned section (where bright green new growth has begun) on the south face of Middle. It's kind of tricky to figure out exactly where the summit is among all that bushy growth; just get yourself up to what looks like the highest point, climb up on some rocks, see if anywhere else looks higher....if not, than you're there! There is a register hidden in a small metal box among the rocks at the highest point. (It's probably hard to spot in the photo that I've posted here.) As of April 2015, it's not too hard to push through all that growth at the top, but it may eventually get harder to do as the branches grow longer and begin to intertwine more." — HikerMark • Apr 18, 2015