Today's hike was a far cry from my last summit when we started at 00:01 on New Year's morning 2022! We had snow and ice at higher elevations, and 95 percent hike was under headlamps. Descending on Oak Grove Trail on that hike caused me concern and was the deciding factor in not continuing with my group to attempt all six peaks in less than 48 hours (kudos to Phil and Kayla for crushing it!)

The weather at my 6 am start was comfortably cool at 54º, however as I climbed Oak Grove Trail, that quickly changed and by 7 am it was 92º; fortunately, I had my UL Umbrella and temps under the shade of the umbrella were, on average, 7º cooler. I only encountered two other hikers on the trail all day, probably because temperatures were predicted to be in the high 90s, and much of the trail is exposed.

I reached the summit in 4h 35m and spent an hour or so relaxing in the tower's shade, eating lunch, and hydrating. I carried 7 liters of water and drank all but half of a liter! 2 liters were mixed electrolyte powder that I drank with my lunch. A few 4WD vehicles were at the summit, and two motorcyclists passed me as I hiked up Palomar Divide Road. Depending on the time of year and road conditions, you can access the summit via High Point Truck Trail to Palomar Divide Road. I may explore the option with my 2WD truck sometime to see how far I can make it; there are survey marks beyond the High Point that I'd like to look for, and the ability to park at the high point and begin my search on foot from there would save a lot of time.

I did locate the remains of one survey mark at the summit that I had previously been unable to find; it was the iron stem of a survey disc established in 1956; it is in the rocks southeast of the tower. I wasn't looking for it today; I had just gone over to the rocks to take panoramic pictures looking back toward the Palomar Observatory when I spied the stem in a rock.

Just before noon, I put both of my functional ACL braces on, repacked my gear, and headed back down. To my surprise, I maintained a good pace all the way back to the turnoff for the Oak Grove Trail. The first 1.5 miles of the trail would be tough; it's a narrow single-track, rutted, with lots of loose rock and sand to make for a technical descent. I carefully picked my way down the trail, having one or two near-misses where my boots slipped on the loose sand, but thankful, I managed to stay on my feet. Despite the shade offered by my umbrella, it was HOT, and I was mentally ticking off the distance I had remaining on the rocky trail. Just as I experienced last year, my legs were literally shaking as I finally hit level ground for the final half-mile walk back to the parking lot.

After a quick change into clean, dry clothes at the truck, I headed to the Sunshine Summit market to buy some cold drinks and ice cream; I downed a quart of Chocolate Milk in the parking lot before eating my ice cream bar! Cold Chocolate Milk has always been one of my go-to post-hike drinks; high protein and tasty!

Today's hike was #4 on the SD 6POP. El Cajon, Hot Springs, and Corte Madera are my three remaining peaks. El Cajon will wait until the fall as it is currently closed due to high summer temperatures.