Hiking San Diego

My sister's copy of Afoot and Afield in San Diego County was an awesome resource for hiking. We managed to do four hikes while on vacation. Toto's performance on the first hike meant she stayed home for the last three. She refuses to be carried in a carrier (or ride in a stroller), preferring to squat on the ground and play with rocks or hunt for flowers. Adorable, yes. Practical, no. And the only way to keep her quiet was to run while carrying her. At least it was a great workout.

The East Rim Trail of Black Mountain was about a 1.5 hour round trip hike. A lot of the trail was steep, and like the other hikes we did in SD the trail was pretty rocky with no tree cover.

Toto the Explorer

Mt. Woodson was a challenging hike of about 6 miles, with huge boulders along the way and the "potato chip rock" near the summit. While pretty to look at, the thin rock should actually be called the "dangerous rock shard." Of course The Shark and my sister's husband insisted on terrifying us by dangling their legs off the edge.

Viejas Mountain was a beautiful 3-mile hike, with great views enjoyed even more so with some Rubicon sandwiches.

Pack your sunscreen.

Unfortunately we did not get any pictures on Iron Mountain because we ran/hiked it. It took my sister and I about 1 hr 24 mins to finish 6 miles, and The Shark did it in about 1 hr.

We also took Toto to Torrey Pines State Reserve and did a short walk hoping to see some whales. No whales, but still beautiful.

San Diego reminded us of New Mexico - moutains, desert, dry climate, but it was surprising that there were so few trees on the trails. On most NM hikes, parts of the mountains were covered in gorgeous pines. But San Diego wins with the ocean.

Back in the olden days. In 2005.