SVLL Loop Hike

This is a simple up-and-down loop hike that I've done a hundred times because it's a quick and easy way to get some exercise and see some nice scenery.  The hike starts at the end of Conduit Road, adjacent to the Sweetwater Valley Little League fields.  The loop is simple:  follow the road that borders the Bonita golf course until in connects with some the switchbacks to the right under the shade of the 125-54 junction.  Take the switchbacks up to the top of the ridge, follow the dirt road to the top of Sweetwater Summit, then make your way back down through the circuitous path that leads to the footbridge that crosses 1-125.  Bear right after the bridge and you'll end up right back down on Conduit Road.

It's a 40 minute walk/hike, but it's also a nice place to:

- ... see Sweetwater Reservoir, which is mostly obscured from view from the local roads and freeways.
- ... trace the path of the 2007 wildfire, which roared over Mount Miguel and down through the valley before being controlled at the reservoir.
- ... watch the jets come out of the hills on their way to the airport.  At certain times of day they leave enormous fast-moving shadows on the hills.
- ... get a sense of the local topography.  From the summit you get a nice view of Mt. Miguel, Mother Miguel (if you look closely you can see the Rockhouse on the summit), Otay Mountain, and Cuyamaca Peak in the distance.
- ... see a bunch of interesting birds.  Over the last few months I have seen a handful of California Gnatcatchers (maybe the same one multiple times), a family of cactus wrens in the cholla on the downslope, thousands and thousands of goldfinches (mostly lessers, but a few Americans as well), enormous hawks (primarily red tails), and several roadrunners.