Much thanks to the Forest Service.

This photo shows the Forest Service installation and personnel near the Observatory area on Palomar Mountain. I was granted permission to use the fire road to access the true highpoint of the mountain with the lookout tower from these rangers. They explained the route pretty good, crossing three gates and about three miles one way. I used my mountain bike, dropping a bit on the road then climbing back up about 600-800 feet to the highpoint. After reading some interesting climbers logs here on SP about the questionable legality of heading out to the highpoint from the Observatory, I decided it wouldn't hurt to ask about the fire road on the north west side after checking out the topo. Happy I did, as that drive up on the dirt road on the east-north side of the mountain would have been crappy. May 5, 2012.