We are pleased it was our editor who chose this Sunday morning hike. Why do we mention this? Later. It puzzles us that we did not come across this extremely steep hike earlier—it’s a stunner. Nevertheless, better late than never. The hike comprises three very steep elements, the rest being mostly inclines and and two big dips. The dips add to the elevation gain resulting in an accumulated total of better than 2,000 feet. It seemed very much more than that though. Because our editor chose the hike, it precluded her from whining. However, had you kept an eye on her face, you would have discovered the concept of the 'silent whine'. We think she is close to perfecting it. Perhaps a little more work and a patent could be in the ‘works’.
We read somewhere that aircraft heading for San Diego use this mountain as a beacon, that is, they make the turn for the final approach into San Diego International Airport. (We have a bit of a complex about our airport in this part of the world so we like to include ‘International’—it makes people feel better.) Being upstanding citizens, if we may add with a tinge of modesty, we decided to do our bit. As planes flew overhead, we gave signals, mostly pointing our arms in the direction of the airport. From our observation, we believe each plane followed the indication of our outstretched arms. As we mentioned, if we can do our bit, why not. What happens when we are not on that peak?—we shudder to think how many pilots might lose their way.
Our views of the manicured suburbs below, Sweetwater Reservoir, surrounding mountains and a personal favorite, the clouds and mist filling the gaps, provided a treat. We viewed downtown San Diego to our west with the Pacific Ocean further back, Mexico to the south, Lower Otay Lake to the fore and many mountains in the east. At times the scene was surreal, particularly because of the low lying clouds and mist. We omitted mention of the golf course below which is a green oasis in a dry San Diego.
Although the hike was a little more than 7 miles, the steepness compensated for perceived lack of length. An embarrassing moment occurred when we were overtaken by a runner. We hate it when people show off like that—who runs up a mountain that steep? Today, we were humbled and refrained from trying to match him. Instead, we offered a salute to such power.
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
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