This was the first time we hiked Mount Umunhum. The most difficult part of this hike turned out to be finding a parking space at the trailhead! We lived far away, and when we arrived at the trailhead around 9:30am, there was absolutely no parking space. We ended up parking our car in the big parking lot near the peak and did the reverse hike!

The trail was dry and there were many switchbacks, so the hike down was pretty easy. We reached the trailhead around 11:30am and immediately started the ascent. It was sunny and bright. Fortunately, the trail was partially shaded and was not steep. We could see the tall Mount Umunhum radar tower a few minutes into the climb. On our way down we already scouted a potential lunch spot at the Guadalupe Creek Overlook, and that's where we had our lunch stop. The view from the overlook was splendid. However, there was no shade so we continued the climb shortly. On our way up to the peak we saw many varieties of wildflowers — orange California poppy, purple Nightshade, red Larkspur, off-white Douglas iris, pink Pacific starflower, red Indian Paintbrush, yellow Buttercup, white Star Lily, Blue Dick among others! It was a pleasant hike in the spring.