El Cajon Mountain

A wintertime multipitch crag with a steep approach.

If nothing else, I am systematic and thorough. I have a list of all crags within 2 hours drive of my place that have at least X routes of difficulty Y or less, for both sport and trad climbing.

El Cajon Mountain is the second-to-last crag on my list of trad areas (the last being Suicide Rock, but I've climbed at Tahquitz Rock, so it's not a complete unknown). The forecast called for sunny skies (when is it not?) with a high of 82F, which seemed reasonable, so we decided to check it out.

The drive took about 1h30m, but I didn't realize that the hike would be as long as it was, especially carrying a 40 pound pack with double ropes and my full trad rack. 2h30m after leaving the car, we arrived at the base of the cliff, which was quite impressive and reminded us of a mini-Yamnuska.

At the base of El Cajon Mountain.

The temps easily surpassed 82F, and it became obvious that our 3.5 litres of water would not be enough. We still decided to at least do one climb, so I got on a 5.7 sport route. What I didn't realize is that many routes on El Cajon marked as "sport" are a little more sporty than most places. The first 4 bolts were very reasonable, but then I found myself 15 feet above my last bolt, with at least another 20 feet to the next one. The thought of a 70 foot whipper did not appeal to me, so I downclimbed back to my last bolt, lowered down, grabbed my rack, and finished the route.

Rapping off my first route on El Cajon Mountain. Bring your pro!

By this time, we were both suffering from heat exhaustion, so decided to call it a day and head back. The water ran out on the way back down, but fortunately I knew there was a bottle of (probably hot, by that time) water back in the car.

You win, SoCal. You win.

On the way down, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something colourful on the ground. Closer inspection revealed this guy, which we later identified as a potato bug. Looked like an ant, but was the size of a ... grasshopper?

Back at the car, the thermostat read 92F. This is now the second time I've had to turn back due to heat. El Cajon Mountain now joins Poway Crag as places I need to visit when the temps are fit for human consumption.

https://www.endomondo.com/users/3101909/workouts/1218454083