Stats-
2.90 miles
Elevation Gain- 377 feet
Max Slope- 36 degrees
Difficulty- easy
Terrain- bushwack, use trail, trail, paved road
Red Tape- none
Map-here
I found myself alone on the side of the road at 1:35 with two goals: to climb Carmel Mountain and a remote point that I had frequently glimpsed on the 56- Carmel Arête. I knew that Carmel Mountain entailed some bushwhacking, but I only came with a camera, a water bottle, and shorts and a shirt. I would pay for this later. On the other hand, the latter offers great views, a decent trail to the top, and a dramatic"blunt knife" edge ridge. I'm going to bring the family along on my next hike here and place a register.
I started off from the Carmel Mountain Trailhead near the Ocean Air School. I climbed up the gentle slope before it slackened off and I was treated to surprisingly good views of the mountains right from the get-go. I jogged past a first side trail and then got to the turnoff for the trail that would take me to within 0.2 miles of Carmel Mountain. I took this trail and then left it shortly after to get to Carmel Mountain
Carmel Mountain, in entirety, is a worthless waste of energy. I left the trail and started out towards the highest chaparral in view. The brush was very dense and stiff, causing me to have several deep scratches all over my body. I arrived at what I believed was the highpoint about 10 minutes after starting my hike. I bushwhacked back, finding the going significantly easier since I had trampled all the dead brush in my path.
I continued along to my next target, Mesquite Benchmark. After tagging this one, I continued back along the trail towards Carmel Arête. I passed some area closed signs and got onto a wide dirt road leading towards the peak. I had to try many side trails before I got to the one I wanted to take, which headed down the ridge, dropping just below it to avoid a cliff- out in the ridge, before regaining the ridge with spectacular exposure- the ridge cliffed out at a vertical angle with a ~150 foot drop between the Carmel Amphitheater and another cliff to the left. The trail goes up and over the summit of Carmel Arête and continues down into the valley.
The views are some of the best in the area, with views of the highway and the ocean, as well as the mountain ranges such as the Palomar and Poway ranges in the east. I dug out a small carin and snapped a few photos. I went back the same way I came from, but when I reached the trail, I headed left towards the Carmel Mountain Overlook. I got there and located the now destroyed geocache in some bushes. The lid was badly chipped and the notebook was badly weather beaten and torn. There were no other items. I returned the ruined geocache to its original position but took home the notebook, as it is unlikely to survive long exposed to the elements.
At the final stretch, I shortcutted into the Ocean Air parking lot to check out the Vernal Pools. I've probably passed by this 10 times and never have checked it out. I walked back to the trailhead and headed back.
2.90 miles
Elevation Gain- 377 feet
Max Slope- 36 degrees
Difficulty- easy
Terrain- bushwack, use trail, trail, paved road
Red Tape- none
Map-here
I found myself alone on the side of the road at 1:35 with two goals: to climb Carmel Mountain and a remote point that I had frequently glimpsed on the 56- Carmel Arête. I knew that Carmel Mountain entailed some bushwhacking, but I only came with a camera, a water bottle, and shorts and a shirt. I would pay for this later. On the other hand, the latter offers great views, a decent trail to the top, and a dramatic"blunt knife" edge ridge. I'm going to bring the family along on my next hike here and place a register.
 |
| Trailhead |
 |
| Summit views from Carmel Mountain |
 |
| Blood sacrifice |
I started off from the Carmel Mountain Trailhead near the Ocean Air School. I climbed up the gentle slope before it slackened off and I was treated to surprisingly good views of the mountains right from the get-go. I jogged past a first side trail and then got to the turnoff for the trail that would take me to within 0.2 miles of Carmel Mountain. I took this trail and then left it shortly after to get to Carmel Mountain
Carmel Mountain, in entirety, is a worthless waste of energy. I left the trail and started out towards the highest chaparral in view. The brush was very dense and stiff, causing me to have several deep scratches all over my body. I arrived at what I believed was the highpoint about 10 minutes after starting my hike. I bushwhacked back, finding the going significantly easier since I had trampled all the dead brush in my path.
 |
| Mesquite BM |
I continued along to my next target, Mesquite Benchmark. After tagging this one, I continued back along the trail towards Carmel Arête. I passed some area closed signs and got onto a wide dirt road leading towards the peak. I had to try many side trails before I got to the one I wanted to take, which headed down the ridge, dropping just below it to avoid a cliff- out in the ridge, before regaining the ridge with spectacular exposure- the ridge cliffed out at a vertical angle with a ~150 foot drop between the Carmel Amphitheater and another cliff to the left. The trail goes up and over the summit of Carmel Arête and continues down into the valley.
 |
| Carmel Amphitheater |
The views are some of the best in the area, with views of the highway and the ocean, as well as the mountain ranges such as the Palomar and Poway ranges in the east. I dug out a small carin and snapped a few photos. I went back the same way I came from, but when I reached the trail, I headed left towards the Carmel Mountain Overlook. I got there and located the now destroyed geocache in some bushes. The lid was badly chipped and the notebook was badly weather beaten and torn. There were no other items. I returned the ruined geocache to its original position but took home the notebook, as it is unlikely to survive long exposed to the elements.
 |
| Vernal Pool |
At the final stretch, I shortcutted into the Ocean Air parking lot to check out the Vernal Pools. I've probably passed by this 10 times and never have checked it out. I walked back to the trailhead and headed back.
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