Upper Santa Ysabel Creek Trail aka Kanaka Loop Trail near Julian, CA

I remember hiking in this area a few times, but this particular trail was not familiar to me. Supposedly, a short 7 mile round trip hike with just over 1,000 ft elevation gain sounded great to me on a warm day like that. I got to the parking lot around 8 AM, and many of the group members were already there. We chatted while social distancing, waited for a few other people and were on our way by 8.30 AM. The day was starting surprisingly cool, but the sun was shining brightly.

The trail is mostly exposed with tall grass on both sides. Open fields with cattle like on the pictures above are incredible to walk. The perception of distance becomes somewhat distorted, and a mile seems endless.

I enjoyed how few people were there on the trail in the morning. Peace and solitude can easily be found here. On the way back, I was tempted to stop at Julian, but seeing the crowds during the pandemic, it seemed irresponsible to go into the shops or restaurants. Maybe next time... 

Inspiration Point Loop Trail near Altadena, CA

An hour and a half drive to hike? Gosh, sounds so far, and just a year and a half ago when living in Fresno, I drove two and a half hours one way for a day hike or a meetup. Perception changes so rapidly. What seemed reasonable before is now a stretch... Not a good thing to get back into the comfort zone, but such a natural thing to do.

Today, I was going to push the boundaries once again and go for a further located more strenuous hike in Pasadena, CA. Inspiration Point has always been on my radar, but with the selection of local hikes, it was never a priority. Now few groups organize hikes, so when this one was posted, I was in!

The night before the hike, I saw that it might rain, but I figured that the drizzle would not stop me from going. Indeed, I woke up at 4.30 AM to cloudy skies and light misty drizzle. I was hoping that it would clear out soon. The drive to Pasadena was easy, and I arrived at the trailhead right on time. Only 4 people showed up for the hike. Such a usual trend for a Meetup group... That made the group easy to navigate and social distance; the leader was very caring and thoughtful.

We started gaining elevation rapidly, and in the first two miles gained almost 1,000 ft. After the first mile, it started to rain. Not just drizzle, but rain... As we approached the third mile and the start of the loop, the group considered our options, and we decided to proceed. There were no views due to fog, but exercise alone was quite enjoyable. Or not...

As we continued to get soaked, it felt rather nice not to have to sweat going uphill. The last mile to the top was the most strenuous, and as I reached the Inspiration point, I was starving! Luckily, the date and cashew snacks I made were perfect to regain the strength for the way back.

I was so glad I brought that pink vest with me because without as much exertion as on the way up, the way down was very chilly. It continued to rain until we descended to lower elevation to finish the last 2 miles. This is when I finally was able to take a few pictures of what I was supposed to be seeing.

Of course, I wish I had seen something like that...

Photo credit: AllTrails - DJ Goodman

But this gives me another reason to go back. Also, I have not hiked all the way to the Mount Lowe, but I am really hoping to go back this year and hike it all when the conditions are good.

Hellhole Canyon - Paradise Mountain Loop

It has been about 3 years since I hiked in Hellhole Canyon. I lived in Fresno back then and was visiting San Diego over the holidays. For some reason, I thought I remembered the hike, but I guess things change, and Paradise Mountain Loop appeared to be only somewhat familiar.

Firstly, I was hiking in late May when the temperatures were already in the high 70s. It was cool in the morning with a good cloud coverage, but as the day progressed, it warmed up quite a bit. The trail starts out with a decent for the first mile, then flat for a mile or so and the remaining 2 miles straight up.

With the pandemic just starting to wind down, this was probably the second or third weekend the park was open. Several months of no human activity resulted in somewhat overgrown trails, especially if you choose to start the loop clockwise. I was glad to have been wearing pants, that's for sure! There were only a few people starting out with me, the trail did not appear to attract a large crowd. Most people selected the traditional counter-clockwise direction so for most of the hike I was by myself. The wildflowers were still blooming everywhere, even in late spring.

As the climb began around a two-mile mark, the views unfolded. You could see for miles in all directions. The trail's "peak" is Paradise Mountain, but many people stop at the one right before that if you choose the traditional direction. This allowed me to have the peak to myself, so I sat down and had my Kind bar. Most of the time during the hike I was listening to podcasts, but at the peak I simply wanted to observe and listen. The distant sound of traffic, birds chirping, wind gently blowing, an occasional lizard passing by (they were pretty large there!) - total peace. I could see this being a good meditation point.

I continued the hike, reached the second peak where a group of people were having their snacks, passed by and started my decent. The trail became wider and more passable. I guess some people just hike this train in-and-out instead of completing the loop. Again, I saw only a few more people, officially declaring this trail the hidden gem of COVID-19 pandemic!