Absolutely beautiful hike! Upper lot still not open, so round trip, this trek is about 19 miles. After three months of quarantine and trails only opening up this last month, it did not leave me much training time. Probably was not the smartest choice for me to pick one of the harder peaks to start back within the challenge but it was one that I had really wanted to do. Considering the steepness of this trail, the fact I drove up from sea level San Diego the same day, I was still happy with my time. As most mention, lot fills up fast. Get there early. I was so glad we started off just before 6am. It was really cool our entire way up – what a blessing! On our way down, it really heated up – I could not imagine going up that in heat. Brutal. Never needed polls for up buy definitely appreciated them for the down. Since the trail is a lot of gravel and shale (and steep!) – they help the knees tremendously! Trail is super easy to follow.
This trail surprised me with its beauty! It is a tough one with most miles having elevation gains between 400+ to close to 800 feet/mile. but its so worth the effort!
Train well and one will enjoy it even more! 🙂
Responses
First off, Congratulations! This is my last hike to do and I will be going Thursday. Where exactly did you park? There is a parking lot just past the Big Falls Parking area that is labeled Vivian Creek Parking (looks like 3 or 4 separate parking areas clustered together) or did you have to park at the Big Falls Parking area? I’m driving up from Ramona, so I have about the same drive and am planning to start at 6:30. Thanks!