Iron Mountain
Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2018 11:50 am
Not that one, I hiked the one in Poway.
Returning from one of my bi-monthly trips to TJ, I found a new peak to conquer. I'm doing this because sitting in traffic for more than three hours is not my idea of a good time. I let Siri give me directions to the trailhead, figuring I could stop along the way to change clothes and get some water, but neither happened. The parking lot is on Highway 67, fortunately it has a pit toilet so I got a little privacy while changing. However, I rounded up all the bottles I had with me and it totaled up to maybe 20 ounces of water, kind of pushing things for a warm afternoon on an exposed trail. I figured I could turn around if necessary, but I made the summit while only taking a few sips of precious liquid, which left me plenty on the way down. While descending I did a bit of trail running, felt like halfway so let's call it a mile. The views from up here are much better than from neighboring Mt Woodson, since this peak does not have a bunch of electronic equipment in the way. It also has a sight tube and one of those novelty telescopes, no quarter required for taking a peek. Considering it has a dedicated parking lot, it's a really popular trail and from my reading there are quite a few helicopter evacuations taking place each year. With the total length just three miles each way, I don't see how that would happen - I'm just reporting what I read on the webz.
Time up - 1:01, time down - :42 which makes me question the three miles since that would be a pretty good pace for uphill. Anyway, a fun diversion on the way home.
Trailhead was an Eagle Scout project.
The only shade to be found is right at the beginning.
Markers are posted every half mile along the way. Iron is the tall peak here.
Just about halfway is the helicopter landing area.
Getting closer, Woodson coming into view.
Summit area. I looked in vain for a benchmark.
Parking area center, intersection of Hwy 67 and Poway Road.
Viewing tube has lots of landmarks, few were visible on this day.
Posing with Woodson in the background.
AllTrails data for the route.
Returning from one of my bi-monthly trips to TJ, I found a new peak to conquer. I'm doing this because sitting in traffic for more than three hours is not my idea of a good time. I let Siri give me directions to the trailhead, figuring I could stop along the way to change clothes and get some water, but neither happened. The parking lot is on Highway 67, fortunately it has a pit toilet so I got a little privacy while changing. However, I rounded up all the bottles I had with me and it totaled up to maybe 20 ounces of water, kind of pushing things for a warm afternoon on an exposed trail. I figured I could turn around if necessary, but I made the summit while only taking a few sips of precious liquid, which left me plenty on the way down. While descending I did a bit of trail running, felt like halfway so let's call it a mile. The views from up here are much better than from neighboring Mt Woodson, since this peak does not have a bunch of electronic equipment in the way. It also has a sight tube and one of those novelty telescopes, no quarter required for taking a peek. Considering it has a dedicated parking lot, it's a really popular trail and from my reading there are quite a few helicopter evacuations taking place each year. With the total length just three miles each way, I don't see how that would happen - I'm just reporting what I read on the webz.
Time up - 1:01, time down - :42 which makes me question the three miles since that would be a pretty good pace for uphill. Anyway, a fun diversion on the way home.