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.
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.
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