Iron Mountain is just west of Poway at the intersection of Poway Road and Route 67. A nice trail leads from that intersection to the top of Iron Mountain, a little over 2.5 miles away and about 1200 feet higher. At the end of October, the Cedar Fire burned through here and this was my first visit since then. Here are the photos:

In most places almost all the chaparral is gone, but a few areas along the trail were  virtually untouched. Where the land was charred, there is new life everywhere. I'm not a botanist so all I can tell you is that green things are poking up all over. There were birds and bugs too, and on this day, a holiday for most, there were plenty of hikers and their dogs. Everyone seemed happy to be there. Things are growing again. Life goes on.