El Cajon.. El Strenuous!

I started this hike at around 6AM. The parking lot was closed but I was able to park on the side of the road. There were a few others starting around the time I went. The first two miles are deceiving, and at about 2.5mi the trail starts to get more steep. The weather was perfect though, with a nice breeze passing through every now and then. Once I got to the last quarter mile or so of the hike before the green trail signs, it got real strenuous. It was like a stairmaster machine on the maximum settings. I got to the summit in 2 hours and 2 minutes. The view wasn’t bad, and there was only one guy at the summit when I arrived. I attempted to run down on my descent but some areas I had lost footing and some areas were just too steep. At around 9AM or so it began to warm up. With 3L of water and a bunch of snacks I was totally fine. I got back to my car in a little less than two hours. There was only a handful of people going up as I was going down. My quads are definitely sore from this hike, I enjoyed it!