Deceptively Short Trail

We started off this hike in very high spirits, thinking we had gotten an early start. We were all so excited, especially about half a mile in when a ginormous red hill (or mountain) appeared right in front of us. We stayed there for a while to take photos and eat snacks, thinking that since it was a short trail, we’d finish early—ha! The red rocks just completely captivated us, since we barely have anything like that in SoCal.

This trail is the shortest in the challenge, logging a little over 5 miles, but that’s where the deception started. The ultimate climb and scrambling for about a mile was quite questionable, but as long as you pay close attention to the white trailblazes, you should be able to find your way up or down.

Most of the hike offered gorgeous views, but the heat soon started to creep up. The constant ups and downs, a few false peaks, and a bit of scrambling here and there began to dwindle my spirits, especially with no end to the trail in sight. When we finally made it, the trail literally ended with an “End” sign. Talk about anti-climactic! Still, beyond that sign was a beautiful panoramic view, and it looked like the trail might actually continue past a tree on the right—though I’m not sure if that’s still part of Bear Mountain.

By the time we headed back down to the parking lot, it felt brutally hot, even though it was only in the mid-80s. The trail was completely exposed with very little shade. I was just incredibly glad we had parked under a tree!