Black Mountain from Montebello Rd

We didn’t have the time to do the regular 13ish mile loop from Rancho San Antonio, so I obtained a (free) permit from Midpen Open Space (https://www.openspace.org/visit-a-preserve/permits) to hike at 7am the 4.7 mi out/back from the Waterwheel Creek parking lot on Montebello road. We were the sole hikers on the trails until we got to the summit (we did see 2 others starting out on the same trail when we got back to the lot around 9am). The trail is fire road the entire way and the wildflowers were still on display in late April: Purple owl’s clover, California poppy, Sky lupine, Coast Indian paintbrush, Common fiddleneck, and Snake’s head lily.