There are two times of year here: one when it is green and the other when it is brown.
The gate is still closed on the USFS road up W6/CT-157 (Black Mountain, the one by Ramona), so it’s moto, boots, or bikes for now. I opted to do the 7 miles and 3,000 ft pedaling. It took hours to get up but only 40 minutes to get down. (Hard tail, so had to rest my legs on the way down, plus kept my speed a bit more reasonable. Time for new brake pads. Again. 
)
One of our favorite green plants that turns a lovely shade of red in the fall. (some hints of that red in the immature leaves) This is the western version with serrated leaves. In the east, they are not and look more like a proper ivy.
Don’t touch!
The bark on this live oak tree is charred. Fire ecology is a thing here. This is just the trunk, but the tree has a full canopy and is in great shape.
Charred oak
I drove up through fog, cloud, drizzle to the base of the mountain. Starting to climb, I finally got some sun and could see the cloudsea. 1/3 from the left hand edge, W6/SC-187 can be seen sticking out.
Cloudsea and valley
Another nice view of the green (for now) Pamo valley. There is a trail that runs along the floor which I imagine is quite nice right now. (On my todo list.) There is another trail that runs along a side valley with the usual local riparian habitat.
Green (this time of year) pastureland in Pamo valley
2m is blocked to the LA metro basin from this summit, so just worked a couple of locals. 10m did well. Found plenty of room in the CW segment to call CQ SOTA in the middle of the contest. Worked a couple of the JA early birds. (Thanks, again!!!) Saw a spot and snagged a first activation in Alberta on 10m ssb.
Drew
n7da