The Kumeyaay Sky Ride
Part 1: Approximately 3000+ feet of climbing/32 miles
The Kumeyaay people are from here, the land in and around the foothills and mountainous region of San Diego and Baja California. Their name (koo-me-eye, a phonetic spelling attempt of my own) translates to “people of the west” and their word meyaay takes on the meaning of “steep” or “cliff.” The Kumeyaay believe they have been living here, as a people, since 10,000 B.C.
With these understandings in my mind’s pocket, I climbed up East Mesa Fire Road in the direction of Granite Springs Campground. The mid-morning sky was moody, the way it can be when the seasons change.
It wasn’t too much longer, as I continued the long climb, before the sunny blue skies came out.
Up top, the cross-country two-track riding back to the big tree was a welcomed rest for my climbing legs.
Turning on to Deer Park, I knew that what was ahead was going to be spectacular. It’s one of my favorite stretches of singletrack any time of year, but when it’s mid-50s temps and the fall colors of mile-high Cuyamaca meadows, it always makes me feel good to be amidst it all.
Down Deer Park to Indian Creek, the thought of climbing up to Champagne Pass put a smile on my face. It’s a grind-of-a-climb, but the views on the way up remind me of the notion of climbing into the sky.
The trail is cobbles and loose fish scales made of rock that slide around, with chunky softballs and racquetballs tossed everywhere.
Breathing is labored, muscles are tightened, and it was as I was pushing up to Champagne Pass that I thought: The Kumeyaay Sky Ride.
Part 2, coming up next.
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