As expected, still lots of overgrowth with some light bushwhacking as we contoured our way through Water Canyon. There was small bouts of poison oak. My main concern was ticks and sure enough as soon as we were in the clear, I found two ticks on my clothing.
Ascending the firebreaks wasn't too bad. The paths were narrow but clear with tall grass on each side. Once we crossed Silver Fish Road it was evident that the Bobcat Fire burned through the last section of the firebreak up to the saddle and the entire ridge. On a positive note, it was completely free of brush. (Not exactly how I remembered it last time I was there.) And it was nice to see lots of re-growth with an abundance of wild flowers.
Once we reached the ridge we could see that it was completely scorched. It looked like the Silver Mtn Trail didn't have any damage, but the surrounding bumps around Sentinel were charred. After climbing the first steep bump to the left of the saddle, I was amused to see all that thick brush was completley eliminated. Last time I was there, I remembered it was hard to navigate through all that shrubbery. Now it no longer exists which makes a clear path all the way to the summit. Whooohooo!!!
Unfortunately, the new register I placed back in 2017 also burnt to a crisp.
On the way down, I decided to descend the steep firebreak which is a shortcut back to the main road to bypass the canyon. Well, it was worse than it was before. Too many deep ruts and very slippery. I've descended this firebreak many times without poles but not on that day.
Anyways, we had some excitement as we headed back to our cars. Just a few yards before the gate, my friend who was not paying attention stepped on a huge rattlesnake. I was ahead of her on the opposite side of the trail so I didn't see it. But all of a sudden, she started screaming and ran past me. I have to admit it was pretty funny because it looked like a scene from the Three Stooges. Seriously, she scared the crap out of me because I didn't know what the hell was going on. At first I thought she saw a mountain lion or something.
After she calmed down we both went back to look at it. It was very still for a couple of minutes but we could see its head facing us. Surprisingly, it did not rattle and I thought she badly injured the rattlesnake. She said she stepped on its head. So, we patiently waited for it to move. Finally, very, very slowly it found its way across the road down into the brush. It looked as if it was in a daze or something. I videotaped it and will try to upload it.
Overall, it was a nice day, we were surrounded by clouds and the only ones on the trail.
Sentinel Peak
