Santiago Peak
April 7th, 2019
3 take aways from this hike; and then some:
- It was hot as heck! There is shady here and there, but there is a lot of incline that you are exposed to the sun 50-60% of the time. Put sunscreen and bring lots of water. I ran out of water on the way back, crazy.
- Flies! Let me tell you, I could of sworn I heard a drone flying for 6 hours, but no it was just flies all over the place. At the summit, since I was taking a break, taking pictures and eating a bit, the flies swarmed on me a bit. They motivated me to keep going because at every stop, they were there waiting for me.
- Incline! When you think it will stop, it won't. This was ridiculously heavy incline. I started from 1700 ft and ended at 5600 ft. Thats 5000 ft! And thats not including some inbetween hills that go up and down. So be prepared for that.
Extra notes:
- No where did I see a sign that said the trail was closed.
- It was confusing as to where to parking for the trailhead, everyone just seems to park on the side of the road away from the main dirt road.
- Santiago peak entrance to the N. Main Divide Road had two gates wide open.
- I saw 6 off-road bikes and 1 hiker the whole trip.
- Pay attention to bikers and let them pass freely, they go 20-30mph, dont wanna cause an accident
- I drove on the Trabuco Creek Rd in a 2004 Toyota Sienna. Pretty much everyone on that road had “big cars”, some obstacles just be careful.
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