John P Anderson with friends at the top of Cowles Mtn. Click on the photos for larger versions. (Most photos by John)
Location: San Carlos, hike starts at the trailhead near the intersection of Golfcrest Drive and Navajo Road
Best For: Restless spirits, insomniacs, hikers, walkers, strollers
Date & Time: Friday, December 21, 6 – 7:30 AM
Website : Here.
Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.
– Helen Keller
This Friday, December 21st is the Winter Solstice – the shortest day of the year and a date held sacred and marked on calendars (both paper and stone) since time immemorial.
To celebrate the date the Canyoneers volunteer hiking group is leading a trek up Cowles Mountain in the pre-dawn stillness to view sunrise from a Kumeyaay solstice observatory about halfway up the mountain. If your friendly writer can rouse himself and his toddler in time to join the group for a 6 AM start he will see you there. If not, his thoughts and dreams will be with those on the journey Friday morning and he will likely follow in their footsteps later in the day.
Author on right with friends.
Included here are a few photos of Cowles Mountain from a previous visit. The peak is the highest point in the city limits of San Diego at 1,593 feet. A round-trip hike to the top is about 3 miles and of moderate difficulty. There are typically quite a few people on the trail so parking at the main starting point can sometimes be an issue but not a major one – there’s plenty of parking but you may have a slightly longer walk to start your hike. But if you’re about to hike a mountain a little walking isn’t a major problem, right?
The views from the top of Cowles Mountain are wonderful, as are those from the peaks of North Fortuna and South Fortuna, just to the north of Cowles Mountain. All three are within the Mission Trails Regional Park (MTRP). MTRP encompasses 5,800 acres and has many opportunities for hiking, climbing, and learning about San Diego nature. If you haven’t been to MTRP before, this Friday or the weekend will be a good time to visit, with the temperatures cool and rain likely out of the area.
The end of the year is a great time for reflecting on the past year and looking forward to flipping the calendar page to a new page. This hike should be a great time and place for thinking and enjoying a crisp morning in the company of others. Provided, of course, that you, dear reader, do not have issues with getting out of bed in the early hours of the morning.
John P. Anderson
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John, I agree that some of the best views and trails are up to South Fortuna. There’s hardly anyone on the trail, and at one point you have to step up the side of the cliff on railroad ties cut into the hill. There are rattlesnakes at the very top, but the views are great.