I had been wanting to hike to the summit of Bernardo Mountain in Escondido for some time. I had driven by this peak 1000 times but never knew it was a hiking destination until recently. First, my doctor, who is into hiking himself, recommended not only hiking to the summit, but hiking the trails of San Dieguito River Valley,
which runs from the mountains near Julian all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Second, a friend of mine hiked to the summit and posted some very nice photos of the surrounding mountains, lakes and communities. My third reason for going on this hike was it gave me a reason to walk across the pedestrian bridge that spans Lake Hodges near interstate 15.
So I woke up late Saturday morning feeling tired, weak and fat. Those are the best reasons to go for a hike. So after breakfast I gathered my hiking equipment and headed out. When I left my house it was still kind of overcast and cool, but by the time I got to the dirt parking lot it was very warm and sunny. I started hiking around 11 AM, and took my time. Since I had never done this hike before I wanted to get plenty of photos with my new camera.
The bridge across the lake was really nice. It was wider, sturdier and shorter than I expected. I stopped several times over the lake to take more photos.
Once on the other side, I followed the hiking/biking trail westward. I'd say there were more mountain bikers than hikers, so I stayed to the right of the trail to keep out of their way. The trail then crosses a small stream where the palm trees and other vegetation keep it cooler. Shortly after this "congested" section, the trail to the summit veers off to the right where the trial gets narrower. However, I still encountered a few more mountain bikers. After another 20 minutes of hiking I saw the last hiker/biker for the next 45 minutes. A woman was hiking down with a small dog.
Finally, the summit was in sight. Once at the top I was happy that there was a very cool breeze. I was also semi-surprised that there was no one else up there, but since I hadn't seen any other hikers for a while I really wasn't that surprised. Before I rested I took advantage of the people-free summit and took many photos. I did some experimenting with the settings on my new camera to see how they would turn out. I also took a short movie, where I found out that the camera really picks up the sound of the wind. You can barely hear my voice over the wind. The biggest challenge was getting a photo of myself. I put the camera down, set the 10 second timer and hurried to get in place before the shot.
It was clear at the summit, but there was still some haze in the air, so far off mountains like Mt. Woodson and Black Mountain appeared very hazy.
After eating a snack, drinking a sports drink and stretching my leg muscles, I put my pack back on and headed back down. Hiking down went much quicker, of course, and after about 20 minutes of hiking I ran across two mountain bikers. I stopped to talk to them. They asked where this trail led, and I told them to the summit. They thought that it connected to the other side, but I told them it did not. As they debated about turning around or not, I continued on my way. In fact I went so fast I missed a turn off and ended up and a dirt road near some houses. I turned around and was only about five minutes away from my missed turn. As I got closer to the main trail there were more people, but not as many as when I started. I think the heat was keeping them away.
I crossed the cool stream again, then back to the bridge and finally my car. I had two devices recording my trip. My Garmin 500 that I use for biking, which gave me this information, and my phone which basically gave me the same statistics. The hike was almost seven miles and took me 2:45, which included lots of stops for picture taking and 20 minutes at the summit. Would I do the hike again? Yes! And I'd recommend it to any hiker, just remember to bring enough water. I drank two liters of fluid. Next time I'd like to get an earlier start, though.
