A toast! To another hot ass hike!

Southern California has been dealing with a bit of heatwave lately.  For me, in San Diego, this means that the weather feels a lot like Maui.  Humidity shows that it has been hanging out in the 80% range, and temperatures have been somewhere in the low 80's.  What does that mean?  Perfect hike and pool temps!!

Reality is, the warmer tends to fend off some of the crowds, so I decided to load the backpack with a little extra weight, pack a little extra water, and head back to Mt Laguna for quick 12 miler, and for a quick glance at the PCT.

I've been wear my Garmin920 while I am out hiking, and have started tracking my hikes.  If you are interested in seeing any distances, speeds, routes, etc. Go to Garmin Connects (https://connect.garmin.com/)  and look up "Eat. Hike. Drink."  you'll find me there! (Update...here's a direct link to the hike https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1847313783 )

I started my plan for the day was to hike from the parking next to Wooded Hills Camp Ground, head down Agua Dulce until Gatos Ravine, take Gatos Ravine to the Big Laguna trail towards the PCT, then head back to the lake, up Chico's Ravine, and ultimately back to the Agua Dulce to head back to the car.

As I started the trail I quickly realize how much people absolutely hate the heat!  Throughout the entire hike I crossed paths with 3 sets of mountain bikers, 2 other sets of hikers, and 3 equestrians. If you are familiar with this area, you know that is unheard of!

The temp was hot out, but there was a fair amount of cloud coverage, which made for some terrific pictures of the mountain meadows.

 
When I was about 1.5 miles away from the PCT, as I started down the crest of one portion of the trail, I noticed a family of these guys in the trees.  I think they are wild turkeys, but another buddy who commented on my pic said, "Nice pheasants!"  I'm no Zookeeper, but those guys looked like Turkeys to me.

Once I hit the PCT, I sat for a quick garlic naan, then headed back.

On my way back I passed by Big Lake Laguna, which this time of year is starting to smell like an outhouse for bulls, mixture with a light hint of baby shit.  The pictures still look nice, but I would hate to run that water through my filter. 

 
The area was hit pretty hard by fires a few years back, and the remnants of their path it took is still hanging around.  Something really cool about seeing these old trees burned, but still standing.

 And these... Lone wildflowers just hanging out in the bushes.

(PCT 2018!!!)

Later on in the evening we had some company around, so I decided to whip up some delicious toast... two ways!  First toast was a brioche toast with, burrata speck, arugula, and truffle oil.  The other toast was  brioche as well with chive cream cheese, smoked salmon, and truffle honey! WOOO DOGGIE!! Quick easy bites to make after a fun hot hike

If you would like to see a recipe on these, shoot me a line (Or just go buy the stuff and stack them up ;)

As with any of my hikes, if there is anything that interests you, drop me a line!  Would love to here more about any local hikes or any great eats you recommend.