In reverse order:

The Ugly

I left Oceanside on Friday afternoon and drove almost 3 hours to stay the night near Lebec. Then, I got up at 3am Saturday and drove another 2.5 hours to what should have been the Caliente Mountain Trailhead. My Google directions took me to the Visitor’s Center and entrance to Painted Rock.  From there I had another 30 minutes or so to drive up to the trailhead. Unfortunately, at 6am on a Saturday the Visitor’s Center along with the dirt road I need to use were closed. I walked around looking to see if anyone was around and saw no one. I was not happy after driving so far to have to turn back and skip this hike.

The Bad

I thought to myself, there must be another way. I checked out my map, and sure enough there was a road less than a mile away that turned off Soda Lake Road onto Shelby Road. This road was open, and I was excited again! Shelby Road, after a few miles forked into Caliente Mountain Road. The dirt road I needed to get to my trailhead. Unfortunately, this gate was also closed, and my enthusiasm was deflated again.

The Good

The road to the left at the fork was Shelby Road which led to Shelby Camp about a mile in. I knew after looking at the map there was no road at the campground that would connect back to Caliente Mountain Road.  I decided to drive down there anyway just to check it out. As I drove around the campground (which was full), I headed up and around to the back of the campground. I parked and walked around for a minute. Then, I found it! A single-track trail that followed a spur up from the campground for about 1.2 miles and 1017 feet in elevation gain.

Once on Caliente Mountain Road, it was another mile and 460 feet in elevation gain to get to the Caliente Mountain Ridge Trailhead. This made for a long 21.5-mile day with 3891 feet in total elevation gain. With just under 1500 feet coming in the first 2.2 miles. Once on the ridgeline, it was easy going. About 8.4 miles each way with various ups and downs along the way. I didn’t see a single person along the trail or at the summit. 😊

The trail/single track road was in great condition. There was no evidence that it had rained just two days prior. There were lots of flowers and wildlife along the way. Knowing this was going to be a long day on the trail I decided to take a good break at the 7-mile mark. I ate a mini lunch and rested up for about 20 minutes before pushing on to the summit another 3.7 miles away. Lucky for me, when I was packing my food in the morning I (for whatever reason) decided to pack two of everything. Two sandwiches, two cheese blocks, two apples, two cuties, two That’s It pressed fruit bars, two Simple Mills Spiced Carrot Cake Bars and several other mini snacks. This worked out well since I was doing 21+ miles and decided to have lunch twice. 😊

I spent a good 30 minutes at the summit before heading back down. After descending about a half mile, I ran into three mountain bikers on their way up. I didn’t see anyone else until I had descended another 4 miles or so where I ran into two ladies hiking up. I chatted with one of them for a few minutes. She had also started her hike from Shelby Camp because the gate to Caliente Mountain Road was locked. However, she said that once she made it up to the road there were vehicles driving by her. Indicating the gate was now open. I didn’t see anyone else until just before hitting the actual trailhead. There were several vehicles that had driven up and dozens of people around doing what looked like short walks to catch the views and the blooms.

I ended the hike with a total of 21.5 miles and just under 3900 feet in elevation gain versus the planned 16.9 miles and 2437 feet in elevation gain. The gate at the fork in the road was open and cars were coming and going. I’m not sure what time it opens, but it wasn’t open when I got there at about 7am. I had read that high profile vehicles with AWD or 4WD were needed to make it up that portion of the road to the trailhead. I didn’t drive it, so I cannot confirm if it is necessary.

That said, if not having a high-profile vehicle is holding you back from getting to the trailhead, there is an alternative! Drive to Shelby Campground, park there and hike the additional 2.2 miles to the trailhead. It is so worth the extra miles and elevation gain to start at the campground. You can easily drive a small car, like a Prius, to Shelby Camp.

All in all, it turned into a very good long day of hiking! I had perfect weather ranging from the 40’s to the 60’s throughout the day. Very light wind and some partial sun blockage from the partly cloudy sky.