Lake Hodges Reservoir

Thursday, March 08, 2012 Anya 0 Comments

March is an interesting time in San Diego. Beautiful sunshine and warmth one day and a passing winter storm the next. Although the last few days have been a little chilly here and there, we are still so spoiled by the almost constant sunshine. I actually enjoy that it's not too hot and the breeze is so nice.

During one of those last short storms when it started to rain we actually ran through the house like hens. It's such a rare event, that we actually run around, close windows and look out to marvel at the rain. We both love the rain smell - maybe because it happens so seldom.

The last weekend was amazing weather-wise and we decided to hike around Lake Hodges in Escondido.


I've eyed the new pedestrian and bike bridge that can be seen from the highway for a while and we finally took the time to check out the lake and hiking trails.

It's the David Kreitzer Lake Hodges Bicycle Pedestrian Bridge which was opened in 2009.It's been in the works for a decade and is 990-foot long. It's known to be the longest stress-ribbon bridge in the world and cost the taxpayer $10.5 million dollars. It is constructed of steel, steel cable, concrete and precast concrete panels.


Due to the bridge the mountain bikers don't have to cross the highway any longer to get around the lake. It sounds like a lot of accidents have happened there in the past and it sure makes it convenient to cross the lake.


It was a very hot day - lot's of people mountain biking and fishing in the lake.


I really enjoy walking the trails. We just took the easy walk around the lake - but had to cross some water. The trail up the hill looks very challenging, certainly something for a cooler day. It's amazing how dramatically the climate changes when you move inland in San Diego. The sun was strong!!!


Walking around gave me a very eerie feeling since Chelsea King was murdered about exactly two years ago when running around the lake. A very sad reminder that women in modern day society can't exercise alone and even more sad considering that it could have been prevented through multiple channels. I wasn't able to locate her memorial but believe it's on the other side of the lake.


People share the trails with horses and bikers, but it seems to be mostly for bikers really. Not just once did somebody fly by and it seems rather stressful and dangerous to walk around these trials with so many bikers around. We'll certainly be back to check out the rest of the trails and the dam. All in all a beautiful day at the lake and finally a chance for me to use my camera again.

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