Remembering Bill Witzell
Gina Washington, Senior Park Ranger
Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve lost a dear friend in 2021: Bill Witzell. Bill was a longtime resident of Rancho Peñasquitos and began his volunteer career in 1997 as a founding member of the Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve Volunteer Patrol. He then started using his extensive knowledge as an engineer to design and install most of the bridges that cross Peñasquitos Creek. Bill worked side by side with the City Park Rangers four days per week in the burning heat and pouring rain.
He was involved from day one in the layout, design and construction of the Trans-County Trail east of Black Mountain Rd; he spent countless hours cutting back the brush, replacing the bridges when they washed out and moving boulders weighing over a ton using math and a rock bar. That section of trail is now affectionately called the “Bill Witzell Trail.”
He is greatly missed by all the Ranger staff and the lack of his presence in the Preserves is evident every day. Bill is survived by his legacy of work in the canyon, fellow volunteers he’s trained, his two children, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
