Mount Woodson Climb

October 16, 2004

On October 16, Petra, Janet and I decided to hike up Mt. Woodson.  AKA "the mountain you can see from the kitchen window."   You can see Woodson from a lot of places, so that's what makes it so nice to go up there.  Great views from there, and later you can look up and point and say "I was right there!"

I thought it was 6 miles round trip, but the hiking bible Afoot and Afield in San Diego County says it's 7.6 miles round trip, and that's about what my pedometer said too.  elevation gain/loss 2300'.  Not a "mountain" by some standards, but one of the better ones around here.

The path goes past the peaceful lake Poway, and up and up.  The trail is shady in some places, but it can get hot up there.  We picked a perfect day.  It was cool and cloudy all day.  In fact, Janet and I were actually cold at times. 

I have a few favorite land marks along the way.   One is "butt rock" that is shaped just like a womans behind.  It reminds me of a Man-Ray photograph.  (See attractive photo below). My other favorite is the Potato Chip Rock.  (Also in photos below).  And of course my favorite landmark is a huge boulder that I sit on when I get to the top.  The pictures of us at the summit are on the prize boulder.  It would seat a dozen people easily, but luckily, I've never had to share it with anyone other than the friends I hiked up with.   There is always a wonderful breeze up there, even on a really hot day.   Sometimes there are crows at eye level, playing with the winds.

We ate grapes and took pictures on the boulder, and then headed back down.