Lake Ramona
We set out this morning to explore the east end of Blue Sky Trail. We found several spurs at the end and investigated most of them which are ultimately blocked by Ramona Municipal Water District “No Trespassing” signs. One trail petered out by what appeared to be the remnants of small stone buildings, perhaps houses, and we didn’t try to extend the trail. We met a runner on one of the trails, stopped briefly and discussed the extent of the various trails. We were all on these trails for the first time.
We returned to the junction that leads to Lake Ramona and decided that we would attempt that. I’d been on it before with Goldie, but never with Brandy. It was a pleasant hike up with Brandy once leaping toward an almost vertical dropoff while presumably chasing a lizard. I quickly pressed the thumblock on the leash and caught her in midair bringing her back to the shoulder of the road. Otherwise, she would have stopped at 26 feet, the leash length, and I would have had to drag her back up the hill.
We finally got to the top of the dam and explored a bit. To the right (south?) was a private road obscured by a hill and we went as far as we could. We went across the dam, taking a few pictures of the view, and then decided to explore a bit more. I knew from the trail map that there was a proposed trail that was to connect to Old Coach Road and was trying to find the Lake Ramona end. There were several trails and trail branches and we randomly took one of them. We quickly reached the top of a hill and could see parts of Old Coach Road and a couple of roads or trails nearby to the north that might be viable. We’ll plan to explore those next time. We understand that a new trail map is in the works. (Here’s a temporary link to the current trail map.)
We then returned to Blue Sky Reserve and about half-way back I saw a small snake stretched out on the road. Brandy either didn’t see it or just ignored (not likely!) it. It was about three-eights inch in diameter and almost three (est) feet in length– a very skinny snake. I stepped around it and then it occurred to me that there might still be rattlesnakes around. I had expected that the snakes would not be active and felt comfortable hiking close to the brush along the trails. I’ll rethink that!
The trail that was damp and firm earlier in the day was dry with the ball-bearing-like DG making descent a challenge, especially when Brandy would extend the leash to the end and give me a tug to help me along.
I offered Brandy water numerous times but she refused all but once and drank very little. It seems strange that she drinks so little water on our hikes.