Distance: 0.5 miles round trip cross country
Summit Elevation: 5640'
Elevation Gain: 100'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.08
Round trip time: 15 minutes
Recommended water: 0 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass
Difficulty: Easy
Pine Mountain, #15 on the Sierra Club San Diego County list, was a bonus on the way back from Oakzanita and Sugg. I didn't have a lot of time, so I followed Greg Gerlach's GPS track up Indian Potrero Road to the east side of Pine Mountain for an easy walk up. The drive turned out to be more difficult than the hike. To follow Indian Potrero Road, take the road where the Pine Mountain trail starts from Sunrise Highway (S1) if the gate is open, then right at the first junction and right at the second junction. The road is rough in spots and I drove in 4WD, bottoming out a couple of times in my 4Runner. There were plenty of tall, healthy pines and waist high grass. The summit was indistinct and I wandered around looking for any sign of human activity without luck. No mark, no register, and even the faint trails around the summit looked as much animal as human. Well, it was a pleasant area even though the trees blocked all views.
Driving toward Pine Mountain
Starting point
The dead and the living
Wandering around the large summit area
More pines around the summit
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