It’s amazing how even just a few yards off the road / freeway / beaten path, we are in wilderness. We have left level ground and are climbing. My friend, Jeane Meehan, has joined me when she can and has been a good sport as we have been required to morph into mountain goats! Up hillsides, down canyons, up ravines and down again. All along we are following the San Dieguito River which consists of golf course run-off as our rivers are only as such when it rains. We appreciate our walking sticks as we use them to dig in and pull ourselves up as well as slow us down on the steeper parts. The trail is very well marked with lots of signs describing what we should be taking time to notice. We have come up to the Lake Hodges Dam as our stopping point and the next stretch will take us over and around Lake Hodges. (only a lake when it rains A LOT)