Mount Gower

Getting further away from Los Angeles proved to be a good idea!

I'm always somewhat depressed by the crowds that exist at most of the hikes in the Angeles and San Bernardino National Forests, so when Charlene suggested we try something in San Diego County, that sounded like a great idea.

Mount Gower lies amidst an area that's full of farms, ranches, and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. While civilization could be seen in all directions, it was not overwhelming.

Mount Gower off in the distance

Not knowing any better, we parked at a dirt parking lot before the park gates and left the road behind. After hiking for about 15 minutes, it became apparent that we had not actually started at the official trailhead parking lot, but rather had taken a shortcut that allowed us to avoid some relatively uninteresting sections of the trail. Bonus!

I'm going to call this a Spider Hole

Both times we had been to this area (the previous time to go to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park), it was overcast with a bit of rain. I'm not sure if that's usual, or just coincidence, but the vegetation in the area seemed much greener than in Orange County.

The last section of the trail up to the summit was quite interesting, with slabby sections and some loose bits. I don't know if any of it reached class 2 terrain, but I did have to use my hands in spots.

The view from the summit

We had the summit to ourselves the entire time we were there. In fact, of the 3 other groups that might have been heading to the summit, I doubt any of them actually did. The fact that we had found a nice hike, about 90 minutes from home, with no one else at the summit, was a welcome change.

Taking the gryphon back home

I think we will need to look into more hikes away from Los Angeles. Even the drive back was less stressful!

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