MISSION TRAILS REGIONAL PARK

Activity: Hiking, Peak Bagging

5.5 Miles, 1778’ elevation change, >3 hours duration, rated: Moderate

Date: April 2, 2021

It seemed everyone in San Diego is getting their workouts Friday morning by climbing Cowles Mountain.   The trail is certainly buzzing.  Maybe it is because it is Good Friday of Easter Weekend.  The trail is deliciously rocky and rugged with good incline, but way too many people for my taste.   The second portion of the hike continuing beyond Cowles Mountain to Pyle’s Peak was much more enjoyable with only a few hikers.  I guess that Cowles Mountain being the San Diego High Point is the draw.  

The park calls the hike Difficult rather than Moderate, and I will also add that my personal tracker seems to have added almost another mile and a half in contrast to the information that I had from my app.  I must admit, I took a side excursion to Cowles/Plye’s View Point and with all the cars at the trailhead it was a bit of a hike to the trailhead, which addresses some of the extra mileage.  

Purple wild flowers adorn the mountainside, add a sprinkle of yellow and red here and there and you get the feeling that Spring has definitely sprung.

Besides being such a popular hike the other issue I had is the sights are very urbanish looking down from Cowles Mountain unlike the Fortuna Mountain Trail, that I had taken a few weeks earlier in this same park.  That trail had a more natural and thus Zen like feel, but still Pyle’s Peak Trail is an excellent hike.

Fun hike in San Diego, however if you can go mid week do it. It was pretty busy going up Cowles Mt, but it thinned out dramatically from there which is not unusual for hikes. The farther you find yourself ‘Pursuing Balance Through Adventure’ the more trail that you will have to yourself. I do want people to be able to experience the things that I experience, to have time to themselves to ponder, to unload some of that stress, and stretch the legs, clear the mind, take a deep breath and smell the sweet wildflowers… just not necessarily at the same time and place that I am, lol. It’s all good and to find more of that good then here is what you need to do: LIKE, COMMENT, FOLLOW and SHARE. Go to the menu above and find a location that you want to find that good at, to get inspired, and live life. Each location is a separate website and thus needs to be FOLLOWED independently. While you are soaking up all that good you will need a hat and a shirt with the mantra that will set you free: ‘Pursing Balance Through Adventure’. You can find first rate, high quality adventure wear at SHOP APPAREL.

Happy Trails-

Roger Jenkins

Pursuing Balance Through Adventure