Sat, Nov 6, 2021
|
![]() |
Etymology |
Story | Photos / Slideshow | Maps: 1 2 | GPX | Profile |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
I started
from the locked gate on Indian Rd just after 9:30a, using the bike for
the first mile and change on the roadway. It would have been easy enough to
walk this since the distance was short, but I still had the bike in the Jeep
from the previous outing, so why not? It took less than 15min to get myself to
my starting point along the road, halfway to the Escondido campground. I locked
the bike to a large bush and
started up.
I found the terrain to be pretty much what the satellite suggested -
open, with little in the way of charred sticks and brush. Some of
the slopes are quite steep, but the footing was decent in most places,
though a few required care. All class 2.
Views open nicely during the
ascent, looking south and west. The ground was damp from prior rains, the
tarantulas out looking for mates in their usual manner during the fall.
I reached the main
E-W ridgeline by 11a, after which the slopes relent
and the going
more undulating. The fire appears to have burned right
up to
the ridgeline in most places, leaving the northside intact, but
not limiting travel along the ridge. About half an hour from the summit, I found
one place along the ridge that had not burned, but I didn't have to
drop more than about 100ft on the sunny south side to get around it. I reached
the summit at noon, finding the very top had not burned, but a
convenient path through the short distance obviated the need for any
bushwhacking. I enjoyed
the views, noting a dozen summits I had climbed
recently. I could just make out the tower atop Junipero Serra to
the east,
a summit I haven't been to since 2009. Maybe time for a return visit?
I left a register
under a small cairn I built before leaving the summit. I
thought the ascent route had worked so well that I planned to
follow it back
down as well. Curiosity and adventure got the best of me, however, and I
ended up deviating in the lower half by taking
an alternate ridge
to the east.
I liked this even better, as it avoided the steepest slopes I had ascended, and
took me down to
a small creek
that had some water in it, a fun little scramble
with no bushwhacking. It
emptied out
onto Indian Rd a short distance below
where I had parked the bike. After
retrieving it, I
rode back
to
Santa Lucia Park,
finishing by 2p.
After loading the bike in the back, I drove to the
campground where I took a quick shower, changed, and then headed for home.
This was one of the easier days I spent in the area, and quite enjoyable.
This page last updated: Wed Feb 2 17:24:18 2022
For corrections or comments, please send feedback to: snwbord@hotmail.com