Decided to do the trail in reverse. So, instead of walking the fire road all the way up and down, we took the trail around and up the mountain and walked down the fire road after reaching the summit. The trail itself was actually kept very well with only a few spots with some low overgrowth. My buddy and I did this in running shorts and tee-shirts and didn't really have any issues. The trail is pretty easy and takes you all the way around the mountain before climbing a bit to the top. Very moderate switchbacks. It's long, but we wanted an actual hike to the summit, so it was worth it. The fire road is obviously the fastest way up but 100% paved and very steep. Like most summer hikes in SD County, bring plenty of water. I brought 2.5L and finished the last of it once we got back to the parking lot. Bugs were not terrible, but a mesh net hat or bug spray is recommended.