I started this hike int eh dark with the goal of Sunrise atop Mt. Woodson. There was a lot of moisture in the air and recent mornings had been spectacular colors. Well, in the dark I missed the trail entrance and had to back-track. No biggie. After that I climbed the assent without incident. The path is paved and I was passed by a single mountain biker on my climb up.

Upon reaching the top, I realized that the rain clouds in the distance were going to block the sunrise. Shortly after arriving at Potato Chip Rock the Santa Anna Winds picked up and blew quite briskly. There was no one up there, so I tried to use a tripod to capture myself up on the iconic rock formation. The wind knocked this over 3 times, even after adding weight to try and stabilize it. Not wanting to damage my phone or camera, I decided to wait for another hiker to ascend the trail. After 30 minutes, it appeared that it was too early on a weekday and then the weather was giving me pause. The wind switch was no pushing those distant clouds back at me.

Not wanting to be caught in a rainstorm on the way back, I decided to head back to the car. I was passed by about a dozen hikers headed up. They were in groups of 2-4 and all had the air of being frequent visitors of the trail. They all said, “Good Morning” as they passed at socially distanced opposite sides of the trail. The trip back was uneventful and I go back before the sprinkles began to appear on my windshield. I was just glad I was back in the comfort of my car before the rain started. It didn't seam to last long, but the sky was dark so I headed back to the house.