When I hiked Corte Madera last year, it was the third hike of the day, and we reached the summit in the late afternoon, catching the sunset over the peak as we were headed back down. Today I started at 7 a.m. and had the trail and mountain to myself. The weather was much more manageable than it's been in San Diego recently with today's high temperature only hitting 89º.

The trail is well-defined and easy to follow; key points are to make the left turn onto the Espinosa Trail at 0.5 miles (there's a sign on a trash can by the trail, it's hard to miss!). Where the Espinosa Trail intersects Los Pinos Road (1.6 miles), turn right and follow Los Pinos Road for 0.3 miles to an open area where you'll see the Corte Madera (CM) Trail heading into the brush slightly to the left; there are some signs next to the trail, so it's easy to spot. The next 0.5 mile or so is a narrow rocky single track that can be challenging; I've encountered rattlesnakes on this section twice but didn't see any today. Usually, they are in the brush just off the trail which can be disconcerting when you can hear but not see them!

Much of the Manzanita and Catclaw Acacia is encroaching on the trail; I wished I'd brought my clippers to cut some of it back as it was always catching in my bug net. Perhaps I'll go back to do some needed trail maintenance later in the season.

There were four summit signs at the top, along with the ammo can that holds the register. After pulling out all the signs for a “group photo,” I pitched my umbrella on one of my trekking poles and made a shady spot for a late-morning snack. In all of my summit activities, I forgot to sign the register! LOL, unfortunately, this is NOT uncommon! As I was wrapping up my snack and prepping to leave, a nice breeze kicked up, and I enjoyed that all the way back to Los Pinos Road. I toyed with the idea of hiking up to the Los Pinos Fire Lookout to search for a few survey marks I missed when I hiked it in 2020, but it would have added another 4 miles and a couple of hours to my trip, and I really needed to get back home.

My hiking and stopping time was longer than my previous trips, but I expected that. Of note, I did not wear my knee braces on the descent and simply focused more on foot placement on the rocky stretch of the CM Trail. I felt good when I reached the truck and was happy to complete peak number 5 on the San Diego Challenge.