[Bloated Chipmunk]

About a month ago I took my group on a "beginner backpack" trip - just an ez overnighter in the Palomar Mtns. north of SD. One of my members is hoping to get into doing more backpacking & had just completed the Wilderness Basics Course, so I figured this would be a good way to ease into it. I'd been to the valley once several yrs. ago as a day hike, so had some vague memory of the terrain. It was pretty much as I'd remembered.

Tim & Pamela @ the TH

Lots of ceanothus blooming along the trail, which is actually an old rd until you reach the valley floor.

Ceanothus leucodermis (Chaparral Whitethorn)

Ceanothus leucodermis (Chaparral Whitethorn)

3 white balls

After descending several hundred feet, we reached the bottom & turned west & made camp in the upper valley clearing.

Barker Valley

Our campsite in the upper valley

After setting up & taking a rest, we loaded our small day packs & headed downstream to the dam.

Peony

Like before, the trail fizzled out @ the dam...even though further downstream is supposed to be some nice falls.

Saw some frogs/toads there, too.

As the sun was getting low in the sky, we headed back to camp & had dinner. It was a very chilly evening so after some brief stargazing we all turned in early.

Stats for the day

In the morning my companions seemed pretty eager to hike out, plus further up the valley appeared to be too overgrown for more exploration.

Oak grove

Ceanothus leucodermis (Chaparral Whitethorn)

Total stats

Route

We stopped @ our usual place for lunch.

Post-hike margs

Drying out the tent @ home