Since I have a hiking trip coming up in Arizona, I wanted to get a few harder miles in and see how my right knee felt. When descending San Ysidro East Peak, it had become painful. I figured Woodson Mountain would be a good candidate for this. I debated between taking the Fry-Kogel route or the Lake Poway Route. I opted to take the Lake Poway route, just so I could compare my time from my last summit. The parking lot was fuller than I expected, but I could see some families scattered about, and several folks trying their luck fishing.
I cruised up the trail, a few hikers passed me returning from their summits. The knees were doing fine on the ascent. I took a short break just past where the Fry-Kogel trail joins the main trail. That is still one thing I need to be mindful of when hiking solo, I tend to not take proper breaks.
As I neared the Potato Chip, there were just a few people milling around. I thought about climbing out, but did not feel the need, so I continued to the summit. I also decided to skip scrambling up the actual summit block. After a short rest for a quick snack, I headed back down.
Making my way down, I passed a few groups heading up. The parking lot closes at 7pm, so I hope they pay attention to the time. My left knee did grumble a bit on descent, but nothing unusual and thankfully the right knee seemed fine. After a round trip time of 3:30 over 7.3 miles, I was back at the car. Got a light hike planned out in Anza-Borrego on Sunday, then off to Arizona to try to summit some of their Six Pack of Peaks,
I am an avid peak bagger, sometimes backpacker, and former sea kayaker living in San Diego. In 2019, I became the third person to complete the San Diego 100 Peak Challenge. Not stopping with that accomplishment, I set my sights on the harder San Diego Sierra Club 100 Peak list, which I completed in 2021. In addition, I have conquered several Six-Pack of Peaks challenges (SoCal, San Diego, Central Coast, and Arizona-Winter). Beyond attempting the San Diego Sierra Club 100 Peak list a second time, I am looking forward to exploring new summits and new adventures across the southwest.