On our travels in the west, Derek and I have hiked different sections of the PCT – mostly up in Oregon, but some in California. This time we did a small day out and back hike on the PCT past Lookout Mountain near Anza, CA.
To me, Southern California vegetation is quite distinctive with scrub oak, sage, pine, manzanita, yucca, bear grass and much much more.. As we headed up the initial ascent we were lucky to be on the shade side of the mountain because it was a warmish day. After the initial climb up to around 5100′ , we descended and then rolled up and down. Great views open up of all the surrounding mountains and we took in the views before continuing on. It’s the PCT which stretches from Canada to Mexico so we had to pick a turnaround spot.
We then doubled back and took a break in a little grassy meadow before starting back and finishing the hike. In the summer this could be brutally hot but it was quite pleasant in January. I arrived back at the truck with sand in my shoes. It was nice to break out the hiking poles!
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