Loveland Reservoir (#51)

March 2, 2011 - Today Wilson and I were excited about checking out Loveland Reservoir out in Dehesa. The name is just so inviting, right? From the trailhead we caught a glimpse of the shimmering water off in the distance as well as a few welcoming signs which we stopped to peruse. "Hey, check it out Wilson. Mountain lions, rattlesnakes, poison oak and disease-ridden ticks. Looks like an adventure, huh Wilson?  Wilson? Hey, where did you go?" "Okay, I know that making you poke that rattlesnake out at Otay wasn't cool, and I appreciate the fact that you don't dig it when I make you push the poison oak away from the trail...  but hiding in the trunk of my car? Really??" With a little coaxing I gathered my Bolivian walking buddy and hit the trail. Hey, steps! Now that's convenient. Wow, must be high tide. Either that, or all the rain we've been getting this season is finally beginning to bring our reservoirs back up to capacity. While that's good, very good, for Southern Cal's drought situation, not so sure how great that's going to be for today's hike. There appeared to be a tad more shoreline on the east side of the lake so that's the direction we headed. We immediately ran into Tim, a local fisherman. Tim proudly introduced us to April, (using his precise words) his16 year old, one-eyed, biker b****.  Indeed, April was a beautiful blond (albeit arthritic and half-blind) hound who often rides along with Tim on his Harley. I tried to relate with Tim by sharing how I, too, once had a dog who had lost an eye. Wilson, in his wisdom, quickly interrupted by mumbling under his breath, "Yeah  Boss, but you drive a Malibu and your dog's name was Itty Bitty." Good point Wilson; back to the trail. Wishing I hadn't teased Wilson earlier, we ran into a problem; for me, anyway. There was no other way around and... 1) It was deeper than it looked 2) I have balance issues 3) I didn't want to get my camera wet That's all I have to say about that. So we turned around and went back to try the west side. Oh brother! I don't even want to talk about it. Let's just tromp around here in this nearby spooky oak grove to see if we can find any mountain lions, rattlesnakes, poison oak or ticks. Okay, we found some poison oak. That's enough. "Was that a real growl or are you just playing games with my head Wilson? Hey, wait for me!" Loveland Reservoir, a Great Place for... ...Fishing! MAP

The Trailhead The Warning Sign Wilson in a state of trepidation High tide The Bridge