...or the day we had the trail to ourselves.
Trail details
Distance: 13.4 miles
Elevation gain: 1,679 ft
Type: Out & back
Approx. time: 5h 35min
Dogs allowed: Yes
Permit required: Yes, an adventure pass is required
Despite leaving from San Diego North County around 7.45am, we didn't get to the trailhead until 9.00am. Knowing how busy the hikes get in the area, we were worried we might have to share most of the trail. As we started the hike, we passed 5 people within the first mile. But then... crickets.
We had the entire trail to ourselves!
Within the first mile of the trail you have the option to turn downwards onto the 3.4-mile Espinosa trail (where you can find creeks and pools after enough rain), but we kept going as we wanted to hike the full 13.4 miles of Horsethief Canyon.
The first two miles we walked down towards the canyon. Afterwards we walked at a steady incline until it was time to turn back around. The trail is easy to follow and clean, no scrambling over rocks or climbing necessary.
This time of year the views into the canyon and of the surrounding mountains are beautiful, as everything is green and lush. Given the cloudy day, the temperature stayed quite nice - not too cold and not too hot. For summer months I would certainly recommend an extra early start, a lot of water and a lot of sunscreen, as there is no shade the entire hike and no places to turn off the trail to get in the shade or properly rest.
Towards the end of the out-... trail you will see some houses in the distance, which in my opinion is always a bummer, as I like to feel as disconnected from the world as possible... even though I always need to take pictures so I might be a bit of a hypocrite :) I will say that besides a gate, there is nothing at the end of the out-... trail, so don't expect any spectacular views. You will get plenty along the way though. There is also no ideal place to sit and rest besides some rocks, which did the job for us. Lastly keep in mind, there are no trashcans along the way. Please take your trash and poop bags back out with you and leave no trace.
As we had mostly walked uphill on the way out, the way back - of course - we mostly walked back down. I have to admit after about 10 miles our feet and legs started hurting. This has been the longest hike for us yet (almost double the distance from previous hikes). While I was scared of the last couple miles having to go uphill, I will say it felt surprisingly good and we managed to push through faster than expected.
Overall, we really enjoyed the hike, having the trail to ourselves, the difficulty level (which for us was just right), and the ability for our dogs to just run. We are already planning on coming back to explore other trails.
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