I headed up to Mount Laguna (San Diego County) to shoot the snow, but was more fascinated by the clouds. This is a single frame from some timelapse sequences I shot here. This is looking east toward the desert. This was shot from Monument Peak Road - one of the higher vista points in the area.
I headed up to Mount Laguna (San Diego County) to shoot the snow. Mount Laguna got it's first snowstorm of 2018 and it dumped a bit over an inch of snow. Nothing too dramatic here other than the wind blowing the trees around and clouds moving in and out of the forest. I was hoping the snow would cling to the trees, but it was far too dry for that to happen.
I shot this atop a rickety old fire lookout tower atop Hot Springs Mountain in the Los Coyotes Indian Reservation in San Diego County. I want to return to this location and try to get the entire tower in the frame at sunset, but didn't have time to figure out the best way to do so (there are some obstacles in the way). At 6,533 feet, Hot Springs Mountain is the tallest peak in San Diego County, and is twenty one feet taller than the second tallest peak, Cuyamaca Peak (6,512 feet). The forest here includes Coulter, Jeffrey, and sugar pines, white fir, and incense cedar. There are also canyon live oak and black oak trees. The current tower was built in 1928. The roof and walls have caved in in recent years (this is the pile of wood you're looking at here) and the stairs leading to the top are in very bad shape. The tower is located on Los Coyotes Indian Reservation property, but it is currently open to the public every day. Note that you must check in with the guards and there is a $10 day use fee. With an ordinary sedan, you can drive up to the campground, park there, and hike the rest of the way. You will need a high clearance 4WD vehicle to make it the last three miles past the campground - if you want to drive all the way to the top.
