Fire Ravaged Hill Trip Report
unnamed (2,703 ft)
Date: January 4, 2004
Located in San Diego County at (32.9932° N, 116.9596° W) using the NAD27 datum,
this unnamed summit has some 850 feet of prominence. It is located just across the highway from
Mount Woodson to the north. Iron Mountain lies south, all of seven feet lower.
Edward Earl decided on this one because, in addition to having nearly a thousand feet of prominence,
the area was completely burned by the recent Cedar Fire. As such, a nasty bushwack was transformed
into a hike through eerie, scorched land with nothing but black stumps for foliage.
We parked at the same carpark as if to hike up Iron Mountain. A trail leads east over a saddle,
whence the summit is a few hundred feet higher and one-quarter mile north (left).
After an hour of hiking (including a five minute break just beyond the saddle),
a pair of immense boulders contended for the glory of highest natural point.
Fig Newtons with Irish Dubliner cheese for me - and a large,
soft oatmeal and walnut cookie for Edward.
A highway crosses over the prominence saddle which leads
towards Mount Woodson - some 191 feet higher still and the most "prominent" object on the horizon.
Nearly the entire hike reminded me of Hawaiian lava fields in Volcanoes National Park -
both the dominant colors, as grays and black, and the absence of flora supported this sensation.
The descent took some 43 minutes and I was back home in time for lunch.