Weekend Backpacking Trip in Southern California?

[midwestgirl]

My husband and I are hoping to complete a 2-3 day hike in February somewhere in the vicinity of San Diego/ Escondido after visiting family nearby. Any suggestions on a 20-30 mile hike? We're from the flatlands and are hoping to get in some slightly more mountainous terrain to test equipment before our JMT hike this summer. We found this 20 mile loop through Long Canyon along part of the PCT.
http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/6958
Does anyone have any information about this area and what we can expect in February or know a good source of information for shorter hikes in this area? Thanks for your help! :)

[Traveler]

In that part of CA, you have a few options depending how tough you want the walk to be. You can go into Cuyamaca State Park and make an orbit of the park or take individual trails for day hikes. The Cleveland NF is also close by, providing a few access points to the PCT. Difficulty ratings differ both in the forest and along the PCT. The northern part of the Forest has some tough climbs on Saddleback and other good sized mountains.

In February you will find snow in the area, depending on the precipitation rate during the winter. I have been into Cleveland NF via the Sunset Highway and run into snow at the 4,000 foot level before. I would plan on cold nights certainly. You can get NF information at www.fs.usda.gov/cleveland.