Back to the Camels Back

This is one of the harder hikes to find again when you are not with the wonderful hiking staff at Fitness Ridge.  I had googled and found someone who gave directions to where to go and it did get us to the general area of where to start our hike.

Alumni, Teresa and her husband Tom joined us on this hike, and it was interesting trying to find the beginning.  Its easy enough to find the vicinity, which is Bluff towards Veyo, and turning on the dirt road just before Veyo volcano, then following the road 4.8 miles, just passed the electric station to the trail mark.  We missed the directions beyond the electric station, but after about 30 minutes we found the trail mark.  It was disturbing when we tried a road that was a graveyard for cattle.  They must dispose of their sick cattle down this one road and there were many carcasses and shot gun shells.
So you want to be sure you hit the right road for parking.

The trail is pretty steep from where you park to the creek, but as soon as I got to the creek I remembered the trail.  I was grateful that the creek was low it made crossing much easier than my last hike there with Fitness Ridge.  We followed the trail markers, but as we went up the mountain it seemed that the markers were gone.  Tom is an excellent hiker and he found our way to the vortex even though he had never been there before.  Unfortunately the knees were not great so I knew the vortex was out of the question. Alan was very excited about going in and followed Teresa down inside.  It was too late in the day for the shadow pictures (sob) but at least the vortex was dry.
That vortex was once again intimidating for me, and once again I stayed above.  It was around 1PM when we were up there and the winds were fierce making me wish I brought a jacket....burrr.....



The camels back was something I didn't do when I was at Fitness Ridge, but I was determined, bad knees or not I was going to the top.  It was great getting to the top of that hump and having my husband with me made it only the better.








With focus on health, the 4 of us went to Carl's Jr for lunch where we all had turkey burgers.  We followed it up with wheat grass shots at the local juice establishment.  It was awesome seeing Teresa, who was only in town for 2 days, and awesome meeting her husband, Tom.  Fitness Ridge makes new friends, old friends as we plan to stay in touch and get together again.

Before my trip to Fitness Ridge, I never would have thought I would be climbing mountains, and pushing myself harder and higher, but you gain confidence and want to keep moving.  I am so grateful for my time there, and look forward to going back and also want to try Malibu's BL Resort.

Never underestimate the power of YOU!