After driving out to the country in the very early morning, I approached Volcan Mountain Trail, next to the apple orchards. It was a peaceful drive out and I knew I was close when I saw fields of golden meadows and the pretty open field mountains.

Our group met at the trailhead and started our trek up. The trail was in good condition and the trees and nature surrounding it were very pleasant. The paths and open fields at some point were a pretty golden color. The history of this trail is very interesting with it being sought out by astronomers for a telescope and how gold was found here years ago. We did pass the telescope building ruins along the way. There were also many viewpoints and even a sign you could see the other peaks labeled in the distance.

Once at the top, there’s no real summit sign, but a marker. We took our photos on the one side with mountains and fields, and then walked to the other and saw even more beautiful mountains in the distance. It was an amazing view!

We headed down via Five Oaks Trail to change it up. It was pretty and mostly covered by trees. Overall, I really enjoyed this hike. The drive out was easy and there’s definitely uphill climbs in this hike, but it wasn’t overbearing. I took my time. The distance was fairly easy of 5 miles. No elevation sickness, and this was the highest peak I’ve done so far- over 5,000 feet.

I made some new hiking friends on this trail and we all stopped for famous Julian Pie after.