We went to Cuyamaca over the weekend of February 13-15. My boyfriend and I were trying to make an effort to wake up and watch the sunrise at the top of Stonewall Peak or Cuyamaca Peak. I had only watched the sunrise one other time in my life when I was 14 in Mexico. We had just got done building houses for some of the families from the local churches- it was one of most memorable experiences I’ve had.

Stonewall Peak is a 4 mile hike that has short switchbacks running along the backside of the mountain. Its a fairly easy hike with a huge reward at the top. Once you come to the base of the peak, you climb up about 2 flights of stairs with a handrail. At the top, 3 views will have a viewpoint description of what you’re looking at. Anza-borrego desert, Point Loma, and Mexico are all visible on a clear day.

My boyfriend and I woke up around 5:30am Saturday morning. With a few beers and some water in hand, we power walked all the way up to the top. We didn’t manage to see the sunrise at the top but we were the first ones up there for the day and the view was absolutely amazing. As I cracked open my celebratory beer at the top and looked at the young sky, I remembered it was Valentines Day which made the moment even better!

Later that day, my friends that came with us wanted to hike Stonewall since they didn’t quite make it out to the sunrise hike so I jumped at the opportunity again. We headed up right before sunset and walked the same trial I did hours earlier. With the same beautiful view, I thought to myself, “I’ve already seen the sunrise and sunset today. My life is good!”

During the night, while hanging out with friends, we discussed going on another sunrise hike to Cuyamaca peak which is a little over a mile further than Stonewall and has longer switchbacks. Its about 500 feet higher in elevation but I had never hike Cuyamaca Peak so I was definitely in! We left around 6:15am and started the trek up the peak. The views were stunning! There are lookout points along the way with benches that make for a great rest point. There was only shade about ¼ of the trail but the tall trees will make you fall in love with nature.

I hiked over 12 miles that weekend. Saw 2 sunrises (well sort of) and 1 sunset. Made great memories and had tons of laughs.

Happy Camping and Hiking 🙂