New summit completed!

For my friend's birthday, we did an early morning hike. Our original destination, Cowles Mountain, was closed, but the park ranger directed us to a similar hike further down the road. I have hiked Cowles before, but this other set of trails were new to me.

There was a whole section of trails and a campground I never knew about. The campground is called the Kumeyaay Lake Campground, and there is a dam nearby as well. We came for the Kumeyaay Summit trail.

It is actually very similar to Cowles because of the steady, uphill climb, all up one way and all down the other. However, Cowles seemed a little easier to me in comparison because it had longer switch backs than the Kumeyaay trail. Cowles mountain is't an easy hike for me, but this one was even steeper.


I was doing okay, struggling a little, for the first 75% of the uphill trail, but the last section was a set of super intense stairs. Those stairs at the end were conquered only with willpower. My poor legs almost gave out.

Once we got to the summit, the view is very pretty. There is no breathtaking scenery or view, but you can see over the surrounding hills and city. We sat up there for a little, enjoying the open air and pretty scenery before heading back down.

Going back down is almost always easier than going up, but be careful of the strain on your knees. I have knee problems, so going down can pose challenges.

There were a bunch of flowers bloomed out along the trail and very little shade. Water is very important and eat before you go. I would recommend shoes with traction also because the trail is very sandy.

I'm really happy I got to experience another difficult hike. I love challenging myself and getting stronger because of it. I want to go check out more of those trails by the Kumeyaay Lake Campground.

After a small amount of research, this area is part of the Mission Trails Regional Park where there are more than 30 Kumeyaay site. The Kumeyaay was a group of people who occupied a town called Senyaweche around 1,000 years ago. According to the Mission Trails Regional Park website, this village is now underneath a golf course and some housing units. There is more information on this site about the Kumeyaay and the area.

If you are an intermediate hiker, maybe this could be a new destination for you too.