"Road the mtb up East Mesa fire road to the last long switchback. Didn't have the legs (or the water) to make it all the way to the top. Fun, very fast descent back to the car." — edg • Sep 16, 2023

"Even though the morning started out with sprinkles, it turned into a beautiful day for a hike. We hit the trailhead at 3:15pm and took a leisurely climb. Only saw four other people on the trail; one coming down and three who changed their minds. But we did 6.63 mi in 3:05 with an elevation gain of 1,268'. All in all, a good Easter hike." — erinfetters • Apr 17, 2022

"Super windy red-flag warning day! But it was nice and chilly, which was perfect for all the bushwacking. No trail to Sugg peak. Followed various game trails up to the saddle then to the peak. It was tough and slow going. But it was an adventure and lots of fun. " — yosinalissebeck • Nov 27, 2020

"I was eager to get started today due to the upcoming heat. It was expected to exceed 100 degrees east of San Diego, so I was looking to get as many peaks in as I could before mid afternoon. Oakzanita Peak on the southern end of Cuayamaca Rancho State Park, was the one HPS peak that I had missing from my Cuyamaca collection over the years. I arrived before 8AM and in my eagerness to beat the heat, I set out on the wrong trail. It eventually got me to where I wanted to go, but it added some mileage to the hike. Instead of taking the Lower Descanso Creek Trail, I took the East Side Trail. All this trail did was parallel Highway 79 all the way to East Mesa Fire Road. Once on the fire road, I was able to connect with the Upper Descanso Creek Trail, which ultimately led me to Oakzanita Peak. The trail is moderate at most. In fact, at no time did I need to stop and rest on the way up. The heat from the sun was not moderate, though, so I was glad to be going downhill after an hour and a half of climbing. Boulders top the peak, but I found no register anywhere. With a quick return to the parking area, where I had the hike to myself for the morning, I headed off to Sunrise Highwa..." — MikeTeeples • Jul 31, 2020

"With this summit, I accomplished my 2017 hiking goals: 50 HPS peaks and 20 SPS peaks! Peak 4/4 on the day. After getting lost trying to summit nearby Sheephead Mountain, I raced over to the Oakzanita TH and started out at 3:30pm. I set off at a good pace so as to not do to much hiking in the dark on the way down. I was rewarded with a spectacular sunset and twilight hike back. By the time I got back to my car, the stars were out, but I never used my headlamp. " — klotito • Dec 18, 2017

"Hiked with Jordan! First peak in CA. :-) Very hot and dry out. The trail was beautiful and very switchbacky. The views all along the way were gorgeous and we had very blue skies. Near the summit we saw a few hardhats and huge backpacks, and we were looking around alarmed as the gear appeared abandoned, when suddenly one of the bushes spoke to us and both of us jumped out of our skins, haha! Turns out there was a trio of workers doing trail maintenance and they were taking a break in the shade by hiding in the bushes. The summit was small and bouldery with excellent views. We didn’t have a lot of bugs to contend with, just sunburn & dry heat. Great to see new scenery!" — kellieirene • Oct 16, 2017

"Decided to try and tag Oakzanita and Sugg peaks before a rainstorm rolled in. We went for Sugg first (since there was more off-trail routefinding to do) and picked up Oakzanita on the way back. We got wet on the last mile before the car. " — benjineer • Nov 26, 2016