The hike itself was amazing.  My wife and I had a good time and it was a fun way to kick off the new year.  The trail was pretty busy with New Year resolution(ers) and those that just wanted to get away from their quarantine huts and be out and about.  It was nice to see.  We decided to start off at Lake Poway which was great because we got to walk up and around the lake, taking in the views.  We even decided to stop and have a nice little lunch.  Be warned though, the park closes early and closes the gates so you have to make sure you're off the mount by then.  Also, you do have to pay for parking if you decide to start there.

When we got to the summit we decided to forego the amazing picture on potato chip rock though because the line was too long and I wanted to make sure we were back in time to get the car.  Highly recommend this hike and I plan on going back a few more times.