The 2019 Ramona Trail Challenge

This census-designated town in the northeastern part of San Diego county got its name from a novel written by Helen Hunt Jackson titled "Ramona". To this day, Ramona remains as idyllic as it has been described in the novel.

"A short distance off was another ridge or spur of the mountain, widening into a plateau. This was covered with acorn-bearing oaks; and under them were flat stones worn into hollows, where bygone generations of Indians had ground he nuts into meal. (p. 243)"

The Ramona Trail Challenge is an  annual invitation  to see and experience the beauty of Ramona. For 2019, the Ramona Chamber of Commerce  is challenging  outdoor enthusiasts to get outside and explore  six designated Ramona trails on foot, bike or horseback and complete  the six trails by  June 1, 2019. The challenge included trails ranging from 3.3 miles to 10.3 miles to a  difficulty level ranging from easy to strenuous. The total ascent is from an elevation gain of 100 feet to 3,193 feet. 

The six trails include: 1) Ramona Grasslands Preserve; 2) Barnett Ranch Preserve; 3) Santa Ysabel Preserve West; 4) Mount Gower Preserve; 5) Pamo Valley Stage of Coast to Crest Trail; and 6) Ellie Lane Loop to Iron Mountain Trail.  Unlike the Coast to Crest Trail Challenge, there are no designated selfie spots for the Ramona Trail Challenge. 

Ramona is located in between the foothills of the Cleveland National Forest and  the Santa Maria Valley and surrounded by canyons and mountain ranges that lead to Anza Borrego Desert. With the Santa Maria Creek, Ramona is able to sustain sensitive habitats such as the Ramona Grasslands, a biologically diverse preserve that is home to federally threatened such as the kangaroo rat and  other endangered plants and animals.

Just like the Ramona grasslands, the  728-acre Barnett Ranch Preserve is endowed with a biologically diverse ecosystem that helps in the San Diego county's Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP). The MSCP's mission includes preserving San Diego's unique native habitats and wildlife for future generations and protecting the county's watersheds and water quality. The preserve is home to open water and freshwater seep. 

According to an interpretive panel located near an oak tree, the preserve was home to Kumeyaay people before California became part of Mexico. 

"The area contained a wide range of vegetation and animal species that provided a variety of resources, for food, medicine, tools shelter and space of ceremonial activities. The source of water came from the San Vicente and Klondlike creeks located south of the preserve as well as a spring said to have existed to the north."

The Santa Ysabel Open Space Preserves (SYOSP) is basically located  in between Ramona to the west  and Julian to the east.  Rated as  moderate in terms of difficulty level  with  an elevation gain of 1,323 feet, SYOSP was once an open ranch land and now considered an agricultural preserve.

An agricultural preserve is an area devoted to either agricultural or recreational or open space use as established by the California Land Conservation Act of 1965 commonly referred to as the Williamson Act. The Act enables ranchers in restricting specific parcels of their land for hiking trails and cattle grazing. 

Mount Gower Open Space Preserve, pristine as it is, definitely fits to the definition of an open space preserves according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Open Space Preserves are open piece of protected lands that are accessible to the public. Mount Gower Open Space Preserve is to a me a hidden gem.

With a difficulty level of strenuous and the most elevation gain of 3,193 feet, Mount Gower is by far the the most challenging hike in Ramona. Flat terrains gradually turn to switchbacks then  dip  downhill  to the Swartz Canyon creek.  A steep climb from the creek becomes a roller coaster hike on High Ridge Trail.                           
Boulder  rocks that look like fangs   from another angle and   ghost emojis having fun  in another serve as gateway to the rock shelf that feature more  Rorschach art-like rock formations.  It is believed that these granite boulder formations started off on lower elevations.  Tectonic movements  which is   believed to elevate its surrounding areas by 18                                                                                             

inches every thousand years has put these rocks where are right now. These  weather beaten rocks are believed to be 150 million years old, much younger that Planet Earth which is around 4.5 billion years old.

Oh yes, didn't God create the world some thousand of years ago? 
                   

To the Ipai and Tipai people, the indigenous  tribes of Ramona, Pamo Valley (known to them as Pa'mu) was  the largest village in the area before the Spanish colonization.  In spring the verdant rolling hills that sustained Ipai and Tipai people from their crops of buckwheat, acorns, chia  and other nuts and seeds

are like the "glitter of a brilliant lizard in the sun or the iridescent sheen of a peacock's neck (p. 27) "  as described by Helen Hunt Jackson in her novel  Ramona.   Lupines, poppies, peonies are just some of the wildflowers that abound in the valley in spring.

Just like the Santa Ysabel Open Space Preserves and the Ramona Grasslands, Pamo Valley which is the newest segment of the Coast to Crest Trail system is an agricultural preserve. The valley which was once intended for a water storage reservoir is owned by the City of San Diego and is being leased for cattle grazing.

The Ellie Lane Trail on the eastern side of the Iron Mountain is not to be underestimated just because it has a woman's name or  you have hiked Iron Mountain a hundred times since you live around the area or nearby.  It is easy to get lost on washed out trails winding around dips and boulders like the Table Rock.

Compared to the Iron Mountain Trail which is heavily trafficked and with a difficulty level as moderate, Ellie Lane Trail is lightly trafficked and has difficulty level as hard or strenuous. It is best hiked in spring when the wildflowers are in bloom and when it is not close for raptor breeding.