Daley Ranch - Boulder Loop Trail, Sage Trail, Burnt Mountain Loop and Stanley Peak

There are so many beautiful hikes in Southern California, I have only 2 local trails that I have hiked more than once, and only because they both are within 10 minutes from where I currently live. Some parks have so many trails that you don't even remember which ones you hiked.

Apparently, this happened with Daley Ranch. It is my fourth time hiking there on different trails, and I figured it out only after I saw the sign for Stanley Peak. The first time I visited Daley Ranch was in mid-December where my friend and I hiked 13.5 miles from northern side of the park reaching Stanley Peak. The weather was pretty dreary that day... The second time I was there after a volunteer shift at the local animal shelter. I remember it was a sunny day and I could not just go back home, so I did a shorter afternoon hike along Boulder Loop Trail. I loved it so much that I had to come back, this time planning to do an easy hike around Jack Creek meadow, but that was not meant to be as I quickly discovered, "I've been there!"

The hike I ended up completing was primarily along Sage Trail with a few detours.

I went up to Stanley Peak again, this time observing beautiful views on this perfect day.

And the flowers are finally blooming!

I love this park! You can get some isolation in spots and also hike with other people. And there are coyotes howling right in the middle of the day! Amazing!

And finally, on a different day, I completed Burnt Mountain Loop. Well, almost completed, as I skipped the last loop cutting about 0.8 miles from the total distance. This was probably one of the most isolated hikes in Daley Ranch, so it's certainly worth it if you need solitude.

Hot Springs Mountain Trail is Los Coyotes Indian Reservation

Hot Springs Mountain Trail is not a very well-known or heavily-trafficked hiking path possibly because of its further location from San Diego or maybe it is due to the $10 entrance fee per person. Regardless, my hiking partners mentioned they saw a mountain lion just a quarter a mile from the trail head, so I was really excited to have a glimpse of a possibility to see this beautiful animal in the wild (spoiler alert: I did not).

In the beginning of March, the weather was certainly less conducive of hiking this trail or maybe it was just our luck. We started out wearing layers of warm clothes as we gained elevation through dense fog. There were no views, nothing to see but the hill ahead of us. The bonus is that we finally warmed up. It was really windy, and the fog was blowing back and forth. It reminded me of "The Mist", an older movie from the 2000's about a small town that was engulfed in fog with monsters.

As we continued with elevation gain, the sun was successful in burning through some of the fog, and I finally saw somewhat of a peak ahead of us.

There was hope...

Landscape changed quite a bit as we continued the hike, and all of a sudden I was in the middle of pine forest, something that I missed since I left Fresno hiking in Yosemite.

I found myself surrounded by pine cones, literally...

The peak consisted of an old fire tower that was not sturdy enough to climb onto and a large rock formation with ladders and ropes to climb. I did attempt the ladder, but my fear of heights got the best of me, and I promptly decided by adventure is over by simply giving it a shot!

On the way back, the fog was almost fully gone, and I realized that this truly is a magnificent place.