Hiking Cedar Falls
Julian is a major san diego day trip destination. I’ve made the journey many times to enjoy a folksy afternoon gently shopping and enjoying bucolic imagery. This time I did it in what I consider to be the new Maria way by camping in William Heise Park and attempting the Cedar Creek Falls Hike.
Wiliam Heise Park was a beautifully developed camp ground and it was completely empty when we visited. It rained in San Diego the Night before and we enjoyed a little sprinkle that evening as well. The temperatures were in the low 40’s, but we managed to survive by doubling up our sleeping bags. I am so happy I bought that thermareset sleeping pad a few weeks ago. I have only used it three times since but I feel like its paid off in spades. I don’t know if it helped stave off freezing to death, but I would say its about a hundred times more comfortable then sleeping on the ground. I also enjoyed my new headlamp. I had a 5 dollar beater from target that worked well at first but slowly but surely lost luminosity over time. I replaced it with the 8 times more expensive black diamond spot which affords both options and street cred. Camping equipment brands are still brands.
The next morning we headed to Julian to do some light antiquing to buy souvenirs such as metal signs and lithographic prints of California back when the Spanish thought it was an island. We bought some bumbleberry pie and hot apple cider. Robin even bought a 1986 copy of the Joy of Cooking from the book seller across from the Julian Pie company. I have been visiting this bookstore for years and have always find the propriety a hoot. He is a retired teacher you know. And being a retired teacher with an antique book store certainly sounds glamorous. He travels the united states in search for books, pawing through estate sales and swap meets. Robin was particularly excited about that because many people say that this particular cook book gets worse with age. I suspect it is because many foods fall out of fashion, like aspic.
After that we headed to the other side of Ramona where we hiked the infamous cedar creek falls. We didn’tknow you needed permits, and that there were only so many permits that were sold a day. By the time we strolled up to the Volunteer ranger all the permits for the day were sold out. We hiked all the way up to the permit area and turned around. At least we got to see the beautiful falls in the background. I think the hike was not too much trouble, so I think I will be returning.
