Potato Chip Rock via Mt. Woodson
Local San Diego tour guide’s blog about hiking Mt. Woodson.
View of San Diego and the Pacific Ocean from the trail
From Lake Poway
Moderate
7.6 miles, heavily trafficked, out and back trail
2112 ft. Elevation gain
1/17/21
Our son, Bo has been trying to get us to hike to the Mt. Woodson summit for a long time but somehow we kept putting it off. However, we found ourselves with a long weekend and a beautiful January day, so Lori and I decided it was time to take on his challenge.
There are two Alltrails hikes to the Mt. Woodson summit. From the east, you can take the “Woodson Mountain and Potato Chip Rock via Hwy 67” which is 4.1 miles with a 1220 foot elevation gain.
We chose to come from the west for the bigger challenge of 7.6 miles and 2112 ft. Elevation gain. The trailhead is at Lake Poway. This is a popular park offering boating, archery, ball fields and fishing in addition to multiple hiking trails. We arrived a bit after 10 am and it was already very busy but there was plenty of parking. For non-Poway residents, there is a $10 parking fee on the weekend. The ranger at the gate took our money and cheerfully gave us directions to the trailhead. This is a beautiful park and the bathrooms near the trailhead were clean and well maintained.
Lake Poway
The first part of the trail is fairly easy hiking. At 1.8 miles you will come to a picnic area with tables and trash receptacles. From here you get a nice view of San Diego to the southwest but keep going, the view gets better!
At the picnic area
After the picnic area the trail really starts to climb but it is made easier with rock steps. However, going up and up and up is hot and tiring work. Make sure you take frequent breaks and drink lots of water. With the temperature in the 80’s on this day, it was suggested to have at least 2 liters of water per person. Personally, this is not a hike I would want to do in temperatures any warmer than the low 80’s.
Up and up and up
The views to the south and west from the trail as you climb will include El Cajon, Cowles Mountain, downtown San Diego, Point Loma, Pacific Ocean, Mount Soledad, Black Mountain and Del Mar Heights. At about 2.8 miles you will start to see the views to the north including Lake Romona.
Resting in the shade near the summit looking northward
Just when I was growing weary of the constant climb, there it was! Potato Chip Rock. Well, it wasn’t the famous rock I saw first. It was the crowd of people lined up to get their photo taken on the rock. This sliver of a rock outcropping was made famous via Instagram posts and, in Bo’s opinion, “ruined a great hiking trail”. After watching a young blonde woman in a hot pink outfit carefully climb out onto the “chip” and strike her pose to be captured by a camera below, we continued past the long line of people to the summit. Don’t get me wrong, I too would love to get a photo of myself in some silly pose on the chip. However, I hate lines more. And the word was that this particular line was almost an hour wait.
Just part of the line for Potato Chip Rock
Out on a chip
The peek of Mt Woodson is covered with communication towers so it is not as pretty as I had hoped. We walked a bit past the peek to the eastern side and found a shady spot for a break. From here we could see the San Pasqual Valley, Ramona and the mountains beyond.
View to the east from the summit
Exploring on the trail
We made our way back down the trail. This time discovering things we missed while we had huffed and puffed our way up. There was a triangular tunnel between rocks off the trail and a large rock that to my inner 8 year old thought looked like a giant butt. We got a bit lost taking the wrong trail as we neared Lake Poway. That trail took us closer the the lake but got us back to the park. It was just a gentle lesson to pay more attention on the way up next time and follow the app!
Attempt on Hot Springs Mountain
A snowy Hot Springs Mountain Trail
Hot Springs Mountain at 6535’ is the highest point in San Diego County. It is within the boundaries of the Los Coyotes Reservation and has recently been opened to the public. It is located about 80 miles northeast of Downtown San Diego near Warner Springs off of the 79 Highway.
I had recently heard about the trail’s opening and Bo and I decided to hike it to celebrate his birthday. With a beautiful clear day forecasted after a few stormy days, we hit the road in the Blue Bomber around 8:30 am. We stopped at Dudley’s Bakery in Santa Ysabel for sandwiches and arrived at the Ranger Station around 10:30 and paid the $10 per person fee. The Ranger informed us that there was snow at the campground around the trailhead. “Snow? Why didn’t I think about snow? I have lived in San Diego too long when I expect to go on a hike at the end of December, at elevation, right after a storm and not expect snow! I was prepared for cold with extra clothes but no snow boots. Oh well, let’s see what it’s like! The campground was closed for the winter but there were several vehicles parked throughout. It looked like one of them might be stuck. (Hmmm) We found a nice patch of snowless ground near the trailhead to park the Bomber and started our trek. The Los Coyotes website has very clear directions with a lot of helpful pictures to guide you to the trailhead and the peak. Of Coarse, we were also had our Alltrails apps out. Once you find the trailhead, the trail is easy to maneuver. My guess is that it is a fire road that goes up to an old fire lookout near the top of the mountain. The trail was covered with 4”-6” of snow, so we weren’t able to judge the condition of the trail other than an occasional peek of gravel. Luckily several people had beaten us to the trail that morning and they had cut a path through the snow.
For the first mile or so there was only 4”-6” of snow. But it was all up
We had read on Alltrails that the first two miles of the trail were difficult due to the elevation gain. They weren’t kidding! Up and up we trekked. Around every bend was more “up”. The snow gradually got deeper until it averaged around 12 inches making the climb more difficult. Luckily the temperature was in the 50’s so other than wet feet, we were comfortable. Just after the two mile mark the trail eased up to a gradual hilly climb. We passed one young woman who looked like she was an off-duty Ranger coming down the trail. She told us she had only gone as far as the junction as she wasn’t prepared for this much snow. But she told us that others were ahead and had continued on to the peak. We passed the junction the woman had told us about and kept going. It was beautiful! The sky a brilliant blue against the untouched white snow. It was breathtaking…literally, as the snow was now averaging around 18” and we were plowing ahead. We made it within 1.1 miles from the peak when common sense took ahold and we decided to head back.
The trail junction. Should we turn around? Heck no!
On the trek down, I was trying to remember the last time I had been in snow this deep. I really couldn’t remember. Maybe in my teen years in Nebraska. Good Lord, that was ages ago. We found a nice log in the sun a short way off of the trail and enjoyed our sandwiches from Dudleys. I had the Chipotle Chicken and Bo had the Baja. They tasted good and were a nice reward for our efforts. I changed into my wool socks and we continued down the trail, now with wet but warm toes. The snow was becoming soft and more slippery as I tried my best to keep up with Bo. We saw someone coming behind us on the trail and I decided I was going to keep in front of him. But every time I looked back, he was closer. Finally I stepped off the trail to let him pass. No wonder! He was wearing snow shoes! He told me he had been the first one up the mountain and had cut the trail. “Thank you kind Sir!” I watched him tear down the trail ahead and wondered where I could buy snowshoes.
The Snowshoe Man flies on by me. Thank you Kind Sir!
As we got closer to the end of the trail the snow was very slushy and I was getting concerned. The road into the campground had been slushy and muddy when we came in. How bad would it be now? I had visions of us stuck in deep muddy slush trying to push the Bomber out and having to call the Rangers. I was so in my head about getting stuck I didn’t even realize we were approaching the end of the until Bo pointed at the gate. That was fast! We climbed into the Bomber and I said a silent prayer. Yep, the road was much more slushy and muddy but the Blue Bomber plowed through it and we were on our way home with a vow to return and conquer the peak, but maybe we will wait for the snow to melt.
Happy Birthday Bo! I hope you enjoyed your birthday adventure.
Sequoia & Kings Canyon
So 2020 has been one hell of a ride and there is still four months to go! However, there is always a silver linings to be found and one of these for me is my purchase of a National Parks Pass.
So 2020 has been one hell of a ride and there is still four months to go! However, there is always a silver linings to be found and one of these for me is my purchase of a National Parks Pass.
Like everyone else, we had grown weary of being cooped up in quarantine and we started looking for ways to safely get out in the world. This is where we are very lucky, because we live in beautiful San Diego where outdoor recreation opportunities are plentiful. In June we decided to hike out to the Cabrillo National Monument which overlooks San Diego’s downtown. We hiked in to find out that admission to walk in was $20 per person but an Annual National Parks Pass was only $80. Well, that was a no-brainer, especially this year.
Fast forward to the end of July when the other members of the family started getting particularly restless and itching to travel. Where to go, where to go? What would be reasonably safe? Well, I just happen to have a brand new national parks pass and California has nine national parks, more than any other state. ( By the way, the pass is accepted at all national recreation land which extends California’s list to over 100 sites!)
We decided to make a trip to Sequoia National Park and it’s neighbor to the north, Kings Canyon National Park to do some hiking.
Lodging
Lodging near and in Sequoia is available but more than we really wanted to pay on this trip. Camping is an option but for Lori roughing it is a motel without a jacuzzi. We opted for an Airbnb in Tulare. It was about an hour drive from the Sequoia Park entrance and about an hour and a half from the Kings Canyon entrance.
This home was clean and comfortable and served us well. It was also set up for families with small children with changing table, high chair, toys, etc.
However, in hindsight, I would spend the extra money to stay nearer to the park. From the park gates you need to drive up the mountain and to your destinations and that takes almost an hour on the winding roads.
Fuel
Gas is going to be more expensive nearer the park with few options within the park (or close to it). I’m a “be prepared” kind of gal so I just filled up every morning after our Starbucks run in Tulare. Besides, you’ll want to clean your windshield so you can enjoy all the scenery in the park.
Food
We arrived at Tulare in the early afternoon on Friday and decided to go to Sequoia and see some of the main attractions like General Sherman, the most massive tree on earth. This also gave us a chance to check out the food options for the next day. My wife, Lori spotted this gem, Sierra Subs in Three Rivers. http://www.sierrasubsandsalads.com/. Saturday we stopped to pick up some sandwiches to eat on our hike. Our son, Daniel and I had the Gourmet Green sandwich, mine with Turkey on a gluten free bun, and his with the grilled chicken on the kaiser roll. Lori chose the Tom sandwich. We all raved about our choices. While we were waiting for our sandwiches we picked up some drinks at Sage Roots next door. https://www.sageroots3r.com/#/. I tried the Jasmine Bliss draft kombucha, Lori the Coco Chaser Smoothie and Dan the Almond Vanilla Coffee Smoothie. All were delicious!
In our preparation for our trip to Kings Canyon we searched Yelp and other sources to locate another great local sandwich shop near the park entrance but found nothing. We opted for trusty Subway in Tulare. Subway does make a good sandwich but still does not have a good gluten free bread option. As we got closer to Kings Canyon I was quite surprised that there were very few businesses to support the park visitors with lodging or food. I hope that Sierra Subs puts another location up there!
Sequoia National Park
We arrived at the gate to Sequoia mid-afternoon on Friday. The drive up the mountain was very winding but the scenery was beautiful even though the air was hazy with the smoke from distant fires up north. We headed straight to the General Sherman Tree. I had seen the General once before when I was about 8. Things around the tree have changed a bit but General Sherman is still HUGE. We enjoyed a very nice walk through Giant Forest Grove admiring the immense and beautiful Sequoias. This is the most visited portion of the park so it was more crowded and only about half of the people were wearing masks. It was still pretty easy to keep social distance except around the informational signage. You know I love me some informational signs!
Tokopah Falls Via Tokopah Valley Trail, 4 miles moderate
The next day we arrived around noon ready to hike. We headed to the Tokopah Falls trailhead. It was a nice trail following the Kaweah River, rated moderate for lots of uneven, rocky portions of trail but it was fairly easy even with the altitude and temps in the mid-eighties. We were only about a half mile down the trail when we spotted a mama bear with her cub on the opposite bank of the river. Unfortunately, the falls were down to a trickle and there is zero shade available there so we took our backpack picnic about a quarter mile back down to the path. There are plenty of nicely shaded rock croppings just off the trail to rest and rejuvenate. If you look up the canyon wall you will see sequoias high on the ridge above and some somehow clinging to the wall itself. This trail is located adjacent to the Lodgepole Campground and Visitor Center so it is highly trafficked. A lot of campers were making their way down the trail to frolic at several pools along the river. Because it is so trafficked you do see a lot of people who are not familiar with the protocol of open space hiking so be prepared for some incidental litter, unruly children, dogs and dog poop. Take a deep breath, “we’re all on a Journey and they just don’t know better yet”. One big bonus of this hike is that if you do enjoy rock climbing/bouldering you’ll find the rocks around the falls to be a playground. Just make sure you’re careful and wear shoes with solid traction. (Looking at you, Daniel Peters.)
On a final note, the bathroom in the campground at the trailhead was quite nice.
Moro Rock Trail, .4 miles moderate
From Tokopah we headed to Moro Rock. This is the bald rock outcropping you see dominating the canyon your way up the road into the park. There are several trail options of varying length to Moro Rock but because of the sinking sun we chose to drive right to the parking area at the bottom and start our way to the top. The summit is 187 feet up a paved path with over 300 stair steps (I lost my count almost at the top, dang it.) You really feel the altitude here. Not just because of your heaving lungs as you climb but because of that view down…..way, Way, Down. This can be seriously difficult for some people with a fear of heights. I have a fear of heights but I felt fine with the solid path and guard rails. Lori, not so much. She chose to head back down and wait for us at the base. The trail can be tight in spots and social distancing is an issue. However, more people were wearing masks and everyone was trying to give each other some space. There was some litter and dog poop on the trail and you may need patience with those moving more slowly but there are areas to pass. The view at the top was breathtaking even with the haze from the smoke. I was grateful for a bit of haze when looking down. It’s seriously high and scary. God Bless the workmen who put I the nice, solid railings!
Kings Canyon National Park
Big Stump Loop Trail, 1.8 miles easy
Hitchcock Meadow, 1.2 miles easy
On Sunday got to Kings Canyon around noon. We chose to combine the Big Stump Loop Trail and the Hitchcock Meadow Trail which both start from the same picnic area. There is a large parking lot with bathrooms and tables where we enjoyed our Subway lunch before heading out on the hike. The trails are not far from the road so you do hear some car noise but that was the only downside. A family with rambunctious children started down the trail not far behind us but we lost them after the first big stump. The trail was well maintained, unlittered and full of surprises. I was happy to see wildflowers so late in the season. We also saw manzanita berries and what looked like wild mulberries and blueberries. Nearby we found some bear scat…full of berry seeds! I also found a wild mushroom with and interesting geometric pattern. So far, I have been unable to identify it. On the Hitchcock Meadows portion we actually went about a quarter of a mile further than what Alltrails showed and that is where we found the big berry patch. Though it was sad to see all the stumps of giant sequoias cut down in the late 1800’s when logging was permitted in the area, it gave you some great perspective to climb up and see how tiny you are compared to these giants. At the end of this hike I was proclaiming that it was probably my favorite hike ever. Well, it was for about 4 hours.
General Grant Loop Trail, .5 miles easy
Just a bit up the road and past the Visitors Center we stopped at one of Kings Canyons main attractions, General Grant Grove. This isn’t much of a “hike” but if your going to come all this way you might as well see the highlights. This is a lovely saunter among some big ass trees with a lot of informational signs. Love me some signs! As soon as we parked I spotted a Ranger on the trail and left the family in the dust so I could pepper her with questions. Though I initially lost sight of her, we did find her near the end of the trail. She was very sweet to answer a couple of questions for me. She would probably of answered a lot more questions but I restrained myself, which wasn’t easy after she informed us her specialty was geology. Anyway, this trail is worth the stop.
Kings Canyon
We had decided to do our big hike of the day at the end of highway 180 so we could see more of the park on the drive. From the main area around the Visitor’s Center the road took us up and over the mountains and we dropped into Kings Canyon. The terrain initially turned into high desert shrub once we were over the crest. The view into the canyon was beautiful and a bit scary. It’s almost a mile high! As we made our way down into Kings Canyon the scenery changed back into the same type of pine forest as the other side of the mountain. It really is quite a drive. Once we neared the bottom the road followed the Kings River and it was beautiful!
Grizzly Falls
We stopped to check out Grizzly Falls and were glad for it. We got some nice pictures. There were some people cooling themselves and playing in the water near the falls. It looked like fun and I was surprised that the water wasn’t too terribly cold. Not warm enough for me, but not cold.
Zumwalt Meadow and Roaring River Falls Trail, 5.4 miles easy
This trail follows the south fork of the Kings River and the 180. We weren’t quite sure if we would have time to complete the whole trail so we parked near the middle so we could shorten it if needed. We headed west to the first footbridge across the river and then headed east on the trail. Much like the Tokopah Trail, this one is well maintained but there are some rocky portions where you need to watch your step. The scenery is stunning. We still had that smoke haze in the air which dampened the view but it was still gorgeous. Zumwalt Meadow was like a postcard. We did pass an area where they did a controlled burn in May. We didn’t go quite all the way to the end as there were some people enjoying the picnic area, so we headed back the way we came. Dan was usually the lead of our group and as we made our way through some rock falls he suddenly came back towards us waving. There was a bear on the trail! We scampered up the rocks so we could keep an eye on the bear and figure out what we should do. The bear was only about 40 feet away eating something on the ground. He knew we were close but didn’t seem to care very much. We could see other hikers on the other side of the trail also waiting and trying to figure out what to do. One family on the other side decided to make their way around on the rocks above us. It wasn’t easy going and it took them about 15 minutes. I knew my knee would not care for that journey. We were just going to wait until Mr. Bear was done with his meal and moved on. Mr Bear had other plans. He was thoroughly enjoying his snack and had no intention of getting out of our way. I suggested (several times and with increasing vigor) that we backtrack and take the closed section of trail through the meadow. They’d have to forgive us, right? I mean there was a bear on our path! More hikers were making their way through the rocks above around the bear. One told us he had been watching the bear in the tree above us for an hour before the bear came down and started snacking. An hour? OMG, that means we walked right under the bear and didn’t even see him! A young man named Maxwell had joined us on our rock watching and waiting. So, these other three knuckleheads I’m with on this rock decide that we need to just walk right past Mr. Bear. Are you kidding me? This is not a good idea! Seriously, what are they thinking?! But here they go. Crud, I am not going to be by myself! Ok, ok I’m coming. I got out my phone to record our journey so that the Ranger’s would know what happened. They could play it on a loop in the Visitor Center as a warning to other park visitors. We started down the trail and around the rocks blocking our view of the bear. Dan who bravely took the lead, hesitated and backtracked when the bear looked up at him. The four of us clustered, started talking loudly to Mr. Bear and went for it. We got by just fine. Mr Bear didn’t care at all. Now I know Mr. Bear is actually ER8, that’s what the tag on his ear said. If you happen to see ER8, tell him I said Hello. Though I am pretty sure that being close enough to a bear to read his ear tag in not advisable. After that the trail seemed to fly as we relived our daring deed over and over again. Next thing we knew we were back at our car and the sun was starting to fall. Even without the bear, this was my favorite hike and we didn’t even get to Roaring Falls.
We headed back up and over the mountain. We stopped at the Visitor Center where they were serving food with patio seating, social distanced. The fare was better than expected. I had chicken salad in a spinach wrap (no gluten free option). Lori and Dan had the grilled chicken sandwich. The hot chocolate was good but not very hot. The cookies were really good!
Notes For The Next Trip
I do want to go back, especially to Kings Canyon. Next time I would definitely spend the money to get lodging near or even in the park. I would even be willing to camp, though I doubt I could get Lori on board with that idea. I will want to get a much earlier start on our hikes so we can do longer trails further away from the more congested areas. Ideally I would do at least 5 days so that we would have time to adjust to the altitude and be able to do longer and more difficult trails. Also, remember to drink a lot of water!! More than you think you need, it really helps with adjusting to the altitude.
View of the Tokopah Valley from the falls, smokey from the fires
Sequoias in the setting sun
General Sherman, the most massive tree on Earth
Bo on the rocks, near Tokopah Falls
Thats one big-ass tree!
Stumped
At Grizzly Falls
Zumwalt Meadow
South Fork of the Kings River
ER8 munching on some pine cones just off the trail