A Taste of Cheese and Beef on Mount Gower in San Diego County – August 17, 2009

I woke up at 5:15AM for my early morning workout group. We did some upper body routines and by 7AM, I was driving from Del Mar to Ramona in San Diego County. On the way, I stopped by a Jack in the Box and bought a tasty cheeseburger. Ignoring the wonderful smell from the bag, I drove to the trailhead. I was the only car there.

I got packed up with my hip belt and started at about 8:15, walking the long trail to the top. I went north along one ridge, crossed over a small (now dry) seasonal stream and hiked up to another ridge. This one went south. Seeing Mount Gower behind me, I started to see a trend. A couple of miles later, I dropped into a steep canyon and began climbing the other side and started heading north. I started seeing young horned lizards scurrying off the trail.

Thus started the traverse of yet another ridge. This one had humps along it, so there seemed to be as much downhill as uphill. After a couple of more miles and a hefty elevation gain, I sank into a shallow meadow, where I imagine there would be a small creek running in the spring. I topped one more ridge and sank down into another valley and encountered a Hello Kitty balloon, snagged on some sage brush.

I grabbed the balloon and carried it through several miles of bushwhacking, all the way to the summit of Mount Gower, where it kept me company while I ate my cheeseburger.

I then popped the balloon and placed it in my pack, so I could dispose of it properly. Hello Kitty, like the cheeseburger, was fun while it lasted.

I ran out of water on the way down and couldn’t help wondering if the cheeseburger was in a large part responsible for my dehydration. I stole some water from a garden hose and hiked the whole way back, which felt like it was just as much uphill as the way to the summit.

Oh, cheeseburger, do you intentionally sap my strength? I cannot know until I eat another one on top of a summit.

Derek
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