Before I moved to San Diego, I had visited the charming little town of Julian and heard that it was a mining town. I had also visited Lake Cuyamaca and enjoyed the area. Once I moved here and started hiking in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, I was curious about where some of the names came from. I then purchased San Diego County Place Names, A To Z, by Leland Fetzer and really enjoyed reading the short descriptions of the places I was hiking.
Recently I saw his book The Cuyamacas: The Story of San Diego's High Country and had to pick it up.
I wasn't disappointed. Starting from the Kumeyaay Nation, to the Spanish Colonists and to the American Settlers from the east, this book really goes in depth at how the Cuyamaca Mountains fall into the history of the area and how their natural resources were both exploited and loved throughout the years.
Included are old photographs, old plat maps and descriptions of how and why certain areas were named, such as Airplane Ridge and Stonewall Peak. It is a great read, although, at points, it gets a little cumbersome, as Fetzer's tremendous research bogs down the pace a little at points. The books covers the history of the area through the era of the Cedar Fire of 2003.
The only weaknesses of the book are the sheer number of people detailed (as I mentioned above, which can also be a strength, depending how you look at it), and the lack of maps that truly illustrate the various historical routes through the Cuyamacas that he describes.
When reading in bed, I would sometimes pop open the map on my cell phone or have my Cuyamaca Rancho SP Trail Map open up to follow along. Sometimes I would be at my desk with Google Earth open. But place names have changed, so it was, at times, difficult to keep track of where Fetzer was indicating.
After every chapter, however, I wanted to go back to Cuyamaca and roam around, with a new perspective. I recommend it.