El Cajon Mountain

The fact that the mountain is nearly completely surrounded by either private property or an Indian Reservation, the trailhead is difficult to find, the valley below is often quite hot, and there is little or no vegetation(fires sweep through Bi-annually), all contribute to this being a rarely-if-ever climbed mountain for locals. The wonderful views from the top ( the Ocean to the West, mountains to the East, Mexico to the South) combined with great exposure, make it worthwhile. Don’t underestimate this climb. Though the mountain is only 3675 ft high, there is plenty of elevation gain. The El Cajon Mtn trail has almost 4,000 feet with the ups and downs of the trail. The South Arete climbs 3000 feet in less than 2 miles.

Note: We got lost and ended up at caves, the summit is another mile up, GPX is incomplete, but will be complete soon