Kwaay Paay Peak (#43)

December 1, 2010 -   Jeez I love San Diego! We hit the trail a 10:15 in the morning and the weather was perfect with a capital "Purr!" 68 degrees and, once again, blue skies! Yesterday we tromped up to the top of Cowles Mountain, basically one peak over from here. Today's hike at Kwaay Paay Peak was another upward ascent, but  this trail took a much more direct approach. The trail soon turns into an uphill grinder but only for a little ways before it... ...flattens out for pleasant little spell. Crowds were definitely not an issue here. I ran into a total of seven different hikers throughout the two hour duration of our trek. Wilson was quick to note how rocky the path was. Humming birds were abundant here and we spied a few road runners crossing our path through the chaparral vegetation. The last leg of the trail was fairly steep and Wilson, my trusty African hiking assistant, certainly earned his keep on this section of the trail. When we made it to the top the views were breathless. That is to say, we were breathless and the views were awesome. Fortuna Mountain is one of the few remaining hikes that we will still have on our Mission Trails Regional Park checklist after today. On the way down we caught a view of Kumeyaay Lake where we walked not long ago (#41). At the bottom we ran into another trail heading east that had a certain appeal to it. It probably only goes into a nearby neighborhood but we'll check it out sometime in the future to find out. Another Great Hike!  MAP

The Trailhead Wilson asking for a raise. Lake Murray Coronado Islands off to the south. Downtown and Point Loma Looking southeast to Cowles Mountain Looking northwest Fortuna Mountain Kumeyaay Lake Another trail for a future hike maybe.