Saturday I drove out to Julian to hike with girls from a meetup group. The mountain we were tackling on this beautiful autumn day was Cuyamaca Peak. Part of San Diego Magazine’s 2015 Top 50 Hikes and Bikes, it was rated difficult. The magazine has you take the paved service road up the mountain, which gives you 7 miles round-trip. We, however, took the Azalea Glen trail to the Conejos trail to the summit, then went back down the service road, for close to 10 miles in all! Woof. But taking the trails vs. the service road on the way up resulted in much better scenery.
The summit of Cuyamaca Peak is the highest point in San Diego County!
It was nice to get out and enjoy a hike with the company of wonderful young women. Some I had met before, and some I got to know while hiking. We all took photos like this:
So wilderness. 😉
After, we headed to nearby Julian, a quaint country town that thrives on the sale of delicious apple pies. Before indulging in the pie, we went to Baileys BBQ. I had a pulled pork sandwich with beer-battered onion rings. Yum! They hardly put any sauce on the sandwich, but there’s sauce at the table, so I slathered it on. The onion rings were so good.
I’ve been to Julian maybe 3 times now, so I’ve had pie at the two biggest sellers, Mom’s and Julian Pie Co. This year I tried the pumpkin-apple pie at Julian Café, and that was interesting. Better served warm, even though I normally don’t eat my pumpkin pie warm. The cinnamon ice cream at Julian Pie Co. also can’t be beat.
If you are planning your first trip to Julian, keep in mind that autumn weekends are the busiest time of year, so be ready to wait. For everything. Even lunch at 3:00pm. If you want to get your hands on the best selection of pie and pastries (cider donuts at Julian Pie Co.!), grab them early, as they do sell out.
Last year we did a scavenger hunt around town that was pretty fun, not sure if they still have that. There’s lots of little shops to explore, and of course plenty of places to eat. Baileys is good, I’d skip Apple Alley for lunch, but if I remember correctly the pie is still tasty there. The Julian Grille is good, if you’re looking for something a little fancier. (I mean, they spell grill with an E on the end, so you know it’s classy!)
Happy Fall!
Katie, the NoCo List Chick
Two down, 10 to go!
San Diego Dozen
- Take swing dancing lessons
Go to Vegas- Bike Point Loma
- Walk a 5k for a cause
- School of Hard Locks
- Fun run 5k
- Watch the bike races at the Velodrome in Balboa Park
- Karaoke
- See the Space Shuttle Endeavor in LA
- Try African dancing
- LIPS drag club
Hike Cuyamaca
northcountylistchick 
Beautiful view
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