Black #1 (SDC #44, 4045′) • map • directions

Boucher Hill is likely the easiest peak on the SDC peak list, with a paved road right to the summit. Anna and I paid the entrance fee for Palomar State Park, spent a few minutes driving up, walked 20 feet, took a few photos and left just as quickly.  I’m not quite sure why Boucher Hill is on the San Diego Peaks list, maybe for the history and the views. There is a cool lookout tower on the summit, last in service in 1986, a replacement for an older tower first placed in 1921. The views are worth the trip, especially in the northwest direction and now I’m wishing I’d taken more photos.

I had thought about hiking the Boucher trail to experience a little more of the area, but I figured I’ll have plenty of good hiking in store with the next 99 peaks. Boucher was my first peak since discovering the SDC list, though I planned on repeating the 17 peaks I’d hiked previously just for fun.

Palomar recon

On the drive out from Boucher we stopped by the Palomar observatory for two reasons. One – Anna had never seen the observatory, and two – to see if we could hike to Palomar’s true highpoint, another peak on the SDC list. From the observatory, it would have been a short hike, under an hour roundtrip I’m sure but would require trespassing. I hate trespassing though it would save us a long and slow drive up a windy dirt road another day. As we walked to the observatory I kept my eyes on a possible route, it was tempting seeing the summit and iconic lookout tower being so close. No worries, another time…

Black #1

We drove north out of Ramona, catching Pamo Valley Rd for about 5.5 – 6 miles and found the San Ysidro truck trail on the right. Pamo Valley was surprisingly scenic; hidden away from the business of Ramona. According to Schad’s book, I expected to be able to drive 1.5 miles up the truck trail making for a 3100 foot gain hike from there, but when we reached the obvious parking area a gate was open and the road looked clear. Hiking on dirt roads isn’t my favorite so we continued up the road in the truck. The road was in decent shape at this time, moderate clearance was enough without too much difficulty. We kept driving up and up and I chuckled at how easy our day was going to be. Eventually I decided to pull over at a narrow turnout and hike from there, as we’d already shaved 1000 feet off the hike. It was quite hot outside now, less than ideal hiking weather. It wasn’t so bad earlier and higher up on Boucher and Palomar, but it had been just that. Higher, earlier, and without much effort.

We started up the road on foot and marched upwards, admiring sections of black oak and thick brush. We covered the first 1500 feet quickly before reaching a gate with a large parking area and one parked car. We were surprised others were out here with the heat. We went around the gate and continued up the last 500 vertical feet, reaching the end of the road in about 10 minutes. From there it would be an easy off-trail 1/4 mile to the summit, and I started off to have a look while Anna grabbed a snack out of her pack. After a few minutes I stopped to wait when I noticed a man a hundred feet above me, sitting in a chair under an umbrella tucked back into some trees. He seemed to notice me, then slipped away into the trees behind him. How odd. Anna caught up and we finished the last few minutes to the highpoint where a concrete structure now stood, I believe from an old fire lookout. The 360 degree views were great, we could see Lake Sutherland to the east and the views in all directions were only limited by the haze. I’d imagine you could see the ocean on a clear day.

On the way back I pointed out the now empty chair to Anna, which made her a little uneasy. A helicopter swooped in and circled the summit a few times and then split. We hiked back to the road from which it took about an hour and fifteen to get back to the car, where we dealt with the crux of the day. The road and turnout were too narrow and I couldn’t turn the truck around. I didn’t remember a turnout farther up so I decided to reverse down. I couldn’t see the road very well or any obstacles, so took it slow and after a few minutes my neck was killing me. Frustrating and ridiculous. Soon enough we found a large turnout and made the drive out and home. Two peaks down in an easy day.

* – the driving directions for Boucher are incomplete. Continue on Boucher Lookout Rd (not shown on Google Maps) to the summit.