ERNIE COWAN Union-Tribune Outdoors Looking south over San Diego County from the summit of Toro Peak TORO PEAK VIEWS RECALL MEMORABLE ADVENTURES I climbed a mountain last week, not simply for the spectacular view, but to survey the landscape I’ve wandered for most of my life. The highest mountain in San Diego is a little over 6,000 feet, but just a few miles north into Riverside there is a mountain nearly 9,000 feet tall that offers a commanding view of San Diego County. Toro Peak is part of the Santa Rosa Plateau and stands guard over Borrego Springs to the south and Palm Springs to the north. Ona clear day you can stand at the summit and see from the Salton Sea, south into Mexico and west to the Pacific Ocean. Mountains that I have climbed, like Cuyamaca Peak, Stonewall, Hot Springs, Sunset, Black, Sombrero, Whale and Angel, were easy to pick out on this clear day. Gazing out over the vast, curdled landscape, I was not seeing nameless mountains and ...