Since we’ve been living in Arizona, we travel to San Diego, California every Thanksgiving. We have a few extra days off work and I use the time to play golf and drink craft beer. With over 100 breweries in San Diego, we never run out of places to drink! This year Sheryl didn’t go, but my buddy Tom tagged along. He drove, so I guess I dragged along… But you get the picture. This year I played Aviara Golf Club and we visited a couple of new breweries including Half Door Brewing Co. and Council Brewing. On Wednesday I was at Maderas Golf Club for meetings, and shortly thereafter, we met Erick, Dean and a laundry list of other locals for a night hike.
I had never done a night hike before, and asked Erick more about it. Basically they do this every time there is a Full Moon. They start going up as the sun goes down. For this hike we started at 4:30. (It gets dark in California early in the wintertime.) By the time they reach the top, the Moon is high and you barely need lights to see. Oh, and I almost forgot… Everyone brings beer to the top and it is basically a bottle share to celebrate reaching the top. I grabbed a few bottles, but only needed one. Erick was nice enough to share a couple of bottles of Bourbon County Stout, a limited release beer from Goose Island Beer Company. Tom also shared a bottle of Judgement Day, a delicious quad from The Lost Abbey.
The Iron Mountain Summit trail is 5.8 miles, but it never felt like it… The trail was wide, and while there some puddles here and there, it was a fairly easy hike. Good… I mean, we were doing it at night, after all!
I’ve never done a night hike before, but it was a thrill. I enjoyed it so much I want to start doing them in Phoenix. I hiked the Gateway Loop today, and there are signs saying the trail closes at 5:30. So that’s not an option… But I am going to do some digging and see if there are others. How neat would that be to hike every Full Moon, drink beer at the top, and get some good cardio in? Erick has been doing it for several months now, and I don’t see an end in sight. I can’t thank him enough for inviting us, and for showing me the thrills of a night hike.
Check it out… Here is a photo we took at the top. How neat is that?!
Looks like a blast! Will have to try that someday. Love San Diego.
It was SO much fun. So much that I might start them in Phoenix. The next full moon is Christmas Day. Even found a trail that we could use. We shall see. Thanks for reading and for your comments!
Thanks for the cool write up Ricky. Glad that you made it up with us. It’s always a fun time and good for the soul.
Hope that you can make another one soon.