If you live near San Diego County, you must do this hike!

Ok, so maybe it's not lions and tigers (or bears).  But coyotes and owls and hawks, oh my!  This is the story of our recent hike out to the Eagle Rock formation near Warner Springs, CA.  We'd actually been once before on an extremely hot summer day and it wasn't pleasant.  We decided that this time, we'd go in the winter and try to get to the trailhead for sunrise.  Well the plan worked out great this time, because we got to see quite a bit of wildlife and an amazing sunrise over the rolling hills that surround the rock formation!

For those of you who don't know about Eagle Rock, it is a a group of boulders sitting right in the middle of an open field that really does remarkably resemble it's namesake.  It's a bit of a drive from coastal San Diego, but well worth it.  It's also close enough to Julian for a post-hike slice of apple pie.

The back side of Eagle Rock

To get to the trail head from San Diego, take the 78 east past Ramona and take a left in Santa Ysabel onto the 79 north.  Continue until you reach Warner Springs.  The trailhead is right next to the small bridge you'll go over as you approach the fire station on the south end of the town.  There is a small dirt lot under a tree to park in just past the fire station on the right.  When you reach the trail head, make sure you go east off the road.  The trail goes in both directions off the road as this trail is actually a section of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) that travels from the border with Mexico all the way to Canada!

The hike to Eagle Rock is about 6.5 miles roundtrip (out and back).  It's an easy hike with only a few rolling hills to deal with that are not difficult.  It starts off along a creek bed surrounded by dense trees.  Later it opens up into rolling hills with desert chaparral.  Eventually you'll come across a large group of boulders on the crest of a hill.  Take the side trail here to the left to circle around the boulders and there you'll see it.  Pretty much exactly what it's supposed to be with a name like Eagle Rock!

My crudely drawn map of the trail to Eagle Rock

Our adventure began just after sunrise when we arrived at the trailhead.  It was cold - around 29°F!  We concluded that we are very extreme people, as the last time we'd done this trail it was over 100°F.  But we came prepared and after adding an extra layer of clothing, we were off.  The orange glow of the sun still lingering behind the hills and spilling through the trees branches allowed us a glimpse of our first animal friend of the day - a Great Horned Owl.  Unfortunately he was pretty shy and kept far enough away in the branches to prevent a good photo.  This is all we could manage:

Great Horned Owl

We continued along the creek as the sun rose allowing for some nice photo opportunities.

Morning Glow

More Morning Glow

The trail then opened up into meadows, hills, and some desert brush.  One tree stood alone on the edge of this transition from tree cover to open hills.  

Lone Tree

After about another mile, we crested a hill and saw our destination: 

As we climbed and photographed the boulders, the sun began to warm the valley.  One of us still needed their puffy down jacket though...

Still cold even with the sun

The squirrels woke up and joined us in climbing all over Eagle Rock.  I think they were looking for a hand out.

Squirrel Looking for Food

After enjoying a snack and relaxing for a while, we set off for home.  Just a few hundred yards from the rock formation we came across a dead ground vine that we had missed on the hike in.  Although the vine looked dead, it had some very much alive looking fruit spread around.  We thought it might be wild watermelon, but since we weren't sure, we took some photos for later identification.

Buffalo Gourd

Well, it turns out these things aren't watermelons at all.  They are something called Buffalo Gourds.  They are apparently pretty gross to eat and potentially poisonous.  But native peoples used them for everything from soap to food storage (after cleaning out and drying the outer shell).  Hopefully animals like to eat them because we left a nice plump gourd cut in two!

Perhaps a Tasty Treat for a Squirrel?

On our way back we took some more photos of the trees.

Branches as art

As we approached the road to end our hike, Katie spotted some movement off to her right.  That movement turned out to be a rather large coyote on the opposite side of the dry creek bed.  Of course, just like Mr. Owl, he didn't cooperate for a photo.  There was just too much distance and foliage in the way.

This coyote has been eating well

It didn't take him long to lose interest in us and tramp off into the brush.  As we continued to the end of the trail and I congratulated Katie on her excellent eye, I noticed one more animal friend high in the tree above.  A hawk was keeping watch over our car to make sure no one broke into it.  (at least I think that's what she was doing)  Although when she realized we wouldn't make a a good meal, she took to the wind and flapped her wings in a goodbye wave signaling the end of a fantastic morning hike!

The Guardian of the Car!

This is a great easy hike and we highly recommend doing it at dawn or dusk to increase your chances of wildlife encounters.  If you have any questions about this trail, please leave a comment.  And please remember to pack all of your trash out and leave no trace of your presence on this amazing hike!

-Bluescape Jay-