Our Walks
We enjoyed a day at Torrey Pines State Reserve. It was great to walk the sandstone cliffs and look out over the Pacific Ocean. The vastness of this ocean is breathtaking and from the clifftops it looked calm and peaceful. Only when we went down to the beach and stood at the shoreline could we sense the power of the ocean as the waves, which from above looked like they were gently lapping the coastline, came crashing down in front of us. We enjoyed our picnic on the beach and the fresh crisp sea air certainly cleared our stuffy heads (we had colds). After a walk of almost 8 miles we were ready for home and another walk for Duke.
We had climbed Cowles mountain on a previous trip, the highest of 5 peaks in the Mission Valley Trails Park. We were up for another adventure, so we found the visitor center and started on our hike to the peak of Fortuna South. At first it was was a fairly steep hike on a stone path which turned into a sandy series of steps up the hill. The last section of the hill was quite steep and required more of a climb than a hike. Not being great about heights this was a little challenging for me, but worth the effort. The view was fantastic, although a little hazy. What we did notice was the constant sound of airplane activity in the area. What with the very busy airport and the naval bases in and around San Diego, there was constant aircraft activity. Nevertheless it did not spoil our hike. We continued on the loop with the intention of reaching Fortuna South, but as we had not really prepared too well with footwear, and our water supply quickly depleting, due to the unseasonably hot weather, we decided to leave that for another trip. It was a good day's hike and highly recommend it - be prepared with water, good hiking boots and a expect a steeper hike towards the top.
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