November 19, 2010 Palomar Observatory Hike

There were four of us, M.J. Karen, Sandy and Richard. We met at 79 Pala/Oceanside Exit at 9:00a.m. and then started out up the mountain toward Palomar. The ride was quite easy, hardly no traffic. We arrived around 10:00.  First, we explored the Observatory area and then we found the hike trail at the front entrance of the parking lot. Very nice trail with awesome views of the Pauma Valley. Trees are definitely becoming very fall like as seen in our pictures. The trail is beautiful and very easy to follow. Acorns were dropping from the trees, and a few slippery spots due to the leaves on the ground, but overall very easy trail. The way back up hill was perhaps the most challenging part of hike, but not a problem at all for us. We started on the trail around 10:20 and returned around 1:00 p.m. It is a total of about 4 miles, 2 in and 2 out. The air was warm (around 60 degrees) perfect for hiking and the sky was blue. We were surprised to see cloudy conditions as we were leaving the mountain. After the hike, we ate at Mother's Kitchen (the only restaurant in Palomar). Very good vegetarian burger, and the pea soup tasted very homemade. Great hike.