I left San Diego about 2:30am to attempt this challenge for my 58th birthday in a few days. I can’t believe no female is on the board for this route yet.
I hit the trail at Black Mountain in cool fog. I’m sure the view from the summit is beautiful but I’ll need to confirm that another day! Took a wrong turn on the return which added some distance and elevation, and I parked in the golf course parking lot which wasn’t efficient.
The Quarry Trail to Cerro Cabrillo was straightforward and quiet with only two other people on the trail. I got glimpses of the quarry through the fog. The final scramble to the summit was made prettier with the red leaves of poison oak - it will match my red poison oak rash in a few days I’m sure! The summit was above the fog and gave a view of the distant mountaintops.
Bishop Peak was busy and there was no parking near the trailhead which added extra time. By now the sun was out in full force and the heat was fierce. Friendly folks on the trail but I had the trail summit block to myself. The previous attempts of this route did not go to the true summit block of Bishop Peak but rather to the easterly block past the benches at the end of the main trail so I also used this point as my turnaround point (see Caltopo screenshot). The view from here was spectacular and it was great being able to see the next two peaks.
Cerro San Luis Obispo was an uninspiring dirt road in full sun for much of the route but the views were great. The descent was fun with plenty of dogs (and cows) to say hi to.
Islay Hill was peaceful with no other hikers. It was fun to see the cow at the top - I’d read about it but it still gave me a surprise when it came into view.
My watch auto-paused on some of the ascents (was I going that slow??!) making the Strava track appear as if I turned back early. I’ve added screenshots of the Cal-Topo tracks to show my actual turn around points.
Black Hill elapsed time: 38:14
Cerro Cabrillo elapsed time: 53:54
Bishop Peak elapsed time: 1:17:12
Cerro San Luis Obispo elapsed time: 1:13:31
Islay Hill elapsed time: 36:52
Total Trail Time: 4:39:43
Total Driving Time: 55:17
Total time: 5:35