The Julian hike two weeks ago wasn’t very long, so I came back and still needed exercise, if just to counteract the calories eaten at lunch. Plus the weather improved (no more hail or rain), and I had a bunch of dogs and a lazy teenager, and a pile of grading staring at me, so I hustled them all into a car.
Yes, that means I did two hikes in one day. I am approaching crazy. See the bird at the top of the photo? Mt. McGinty overlooks Jamul, Rancho San Diego, etc., and you can see for miles on a clear day…
The clouds made it a cool hike, which is good, because this isn’t an easy hike…
There’s switchbacks, then hills, and it’s dry with no trees.
Even the dogs were tired at the end…
Lots of desert plants…
Long stretches of dirt with clouds filling up the sky.
A long 2-hour conversation with an 18-year-old who is going off to college soon.
A shot-up sign.
The last time I did this, it was pure mud…even though it rained in the morning, it was mostly dry by the time we got up there.
You can see the path stretching out…the rocks make it harder. You have to pay attention. I did actually fall at some point on the way down. Landed on my knee.
There’s a few mines out there…not sure where the access point to this one is…
The view makes this hike totally worthwhile. I could have done it the next morning with my hiking group too, but I had somewhere I had to be.
There’s a couple of nasty climbs on this hike…I think they are all called Heartbreak Hill.
and the ubiquitous yucca…
This is looking east, toward Cuyamaca.
I believe this was looking west…
One of the kids my daughter went to middle school with was recently killed in a car crash. Apparently this was a hike he enjoyed…so the sign had been put up recently.
Boychild and dogs resting at the top.
And leaning on each other for support on the way down (looking south towards Chula Vista and the Jamul Mountain Range).
5 miles and a bit, 2 hours. Definitely a workout. The dogs slept well. Perhaps we did as well.
Kathy Nida 