When I got in the car at 3:30am this morning, I didn't know which SoCal Peak I was going to hike but  7 hours in the car gave me plenty of time to make a decision.  I had a few ideas of which peak I wanted to bag next but Strawberry was pretty convenient to where I was headed and I was up for a shorter challenge.

This was my first peak since I finished the JMT 3 weeks ago and I didn't know how I was going to feel.  I knew the weather was going to be warm and had been hydrating a lot more for the few days prior.  This hike didn't have much shade and getting to the trailhead at 10am meant I was hiking in the sun.  It was tough and even tough on my feet.

There was a gradual climb for the first half before a steep and sometimes a good scramble to the top.  It was hot but there was a slight cool breeze that was really nice. Oh, and the fact that I partially froze my CamelBak so it was pretty cold for almost the entire hike.

There were so many great areas with a 360 degree view and I could make out a faint silhouette of downtown in the far distance. Less than a mile from the peak on my decent, I saw a guy wearing nice clothing and dress shoes, pointy ones at that.  I also don't recall him carrying any water.  I have so many questions I didn't get to ask him.

3 SoCal Peaks down, 3 NorCal Peaks down. I think I'm going to wait until it cools down to bag some more.