Volcan Mountain Foundation

San Diego's new Trails & Ales series is all about discovering new trails, friends and great local craft brew…all to support nature! The Volcan Mountain Foundation (VMF) is excited to be partnering with three other regional conservation organizations on this fun and 'heady' recreation opportunity, and locally, with Nickel Beer Company for the Volcan Mountain hike.

Held seasonally (for now in the spring and fall) on the first Saturday of the month, the spring series sold out very quickly and kicked off in April with the San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy, followed with a visit in May to the Escondido Creek Conservancy. The inaugural series will finish off in July with the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy.

The June participants met at VMF's Volcan Mountain Nature Center before caravanning up Volcan Road to explore the mature pine, oak and cedar forests of the Sky Island Trail, and take in the sunny, panoramic vistas. Looking across the rolling meadows and oak woodlands of the San Dieguito and San Diego River watersheds from the view-scope, Cuyamaca's Three Peaks, El Capitan and Mount Woodson prominently stood out, while the coast was blanketed in an early-June marine layer.

Pausing at Ironside Spring on the drive back down, the abundant water gushing from the rocks and lush riparian plants and flowers added an air of refreshment on the warm day. Ironside is one of several springs that form the headwaters of Santa Ysabel Creek, which is the main tributary of the San Dieguito River.

Even more refreshment came at the Nickel Beer Company in historic Julian! Within moments of arriving, owner and brewmaster, Tom Nickel appeared with a crate of chilled sampler glasses ready for pouring and tasting. One of the iconic figures in San Diego brewing and co-owner of O'Brien's Pub in Kearney Mesa, Tom gave a little background about his beer-making experience and the start of the Nickel Beer Company, while getting everyone started with a taste of their Apple Pie Ale. They only brew this beer with local apples and it's only available at the Julian location. They're near the end of last year's harvest, which included mostly apples from the orchard at VMF's Volcan Mountain Nature Center. One hiker rushed in to make sure that she got  a growler to go!

Named for Tom's great-grandfather, C.C. O'Neill's Irish Red--beautiful color with medium-body--followed as an all-around crowd-pleaser. Tom saved the Volcan IPA for last. The house IPA echoes the namesake mountain's forests with big pine flavors paired with crisp citrus notes. Everyone gave a big round of applause to thank Tom for contributing his time and fantastic brews…good beers for a good cause!

The planning has just begun for the fall Trails & Ales series. The series of four hikes will continue on the first Saturday of the month starting again on September 3rd. Julian Hard Cider, at Julian Station in Wynola, has signed on to host the post-hike 'ale' sampling for the Volcan Mountain Sky Island Hike on Saturday, October 1st. Registration for the series will be available on July 1st…make sure you're ready to reserve your spot! 

In the meantime, join VMF and Nickel Beer Company on Saturday, July 9th for summer refreshment for a VIP Release Party and the tapping of the 2016 VMF-Nickel Beer charity brew. Get your tickets at www.volcanmt.org/releaseparty