Hiked the paved road up and down. Road is very steep so I took my time going up and stopped to enjoy the views of the lake and Stonewall Peak along with the surrounding area. Had the trail pretty much all to myself on an early Friday morning. Trail is mostly exposed with some shade patches from the trees but wanted to go early to avoid the sun and the rattlers. Even though I started early, I could feel that sun on this cloudless day.

Only saw the California Conservation Corps doing maintenance and one other hiker with a dog the entire time so it was very peaceful. Myself and the other hiker had to wait for a rattler to get off the road before I could continue down and he on his way up to the summit.

There were a few sections where I had to put my bug net on as there were so many bugs and the bug spray didn't really seem to deter them.

The only bummer part of the hike was I couldn't find the summit sign! I wandered around up top for a while and checked out the tower area as well but alas could not find it so I took a picture with the challenge flag instead.

With this hike I am halfway through the San Diego Challenge!