Has anyone taken their GZ250 in the mountains?

[GZgirl]

Hello,

I'm a very new noob rider. I'm in the SoCal area so there are lots of mountains I'd love to ride up for camping or views. My question is has anyone here done it? Is it safe, can the bike handle steep climbs? I'm still a little sketched out about even hitting the highways since I'd have to go nearly full throttle to keep up. Is this something I should give up on with this bike or is it safe to do so?

Thank you!