Truthfully, while I love going outdoors with Roan, hiking has never been my forte. This takes me back to that hike up (1,000+ steps) to the Tiger Cave Temple in Krabi, Thailand on our honeymoon when I started to feel sick halfway through. I also wouldn't deny the fact that I whined about the struggle 95% of the time, hence taking us longer to reach the summit than usual.
If you're the type who tends to race to get to the [non-existent] finish line, then I'm not your best hiking buddy.
Hiking Mount Woodson, also called as the Potato Chip Rock, was not an exception. We went on a Sunday morning with cloudless sky, so just imagine how ridiculously hot it was that day. The trail we took from Highway 67, however, wasn't what we were expecting to embark on. Instead of a typical hard-packed dirt-and-rocks path, we walked on a pavement, which was a bummer. The pavement is probably the least hard surface you would want to walk on to under direct sunlight because it burns. I can't tell you how many times I stopped, and asked Roan to take a breather because the heat and elevation gain had become unbearable.
After about almost two miles and two hours of ascending a very steep trail, we made it to the top. That's the beauty of hiking. You don't know what you've been missing until you reach the summit. It was tiresome, but definitely worth it in the end. Mount Woodson is better known as Potato Chip Rock due to a particular rock at the summit that resembled a potato chip.
Good luck on having your photo taken, though, because the line is usually packed up there! Roan and I decided to pass up on the opportunity because there were about two dozen people ahead of us in line, and we were getting famished. We stayed a short while before we headed back to the highway.You'd think the descent was easier, but no. The trail was very steep that you'd risk rolling down like a hedgehog if you're not careful enough. I was more worried about getting injured from taking a wrong step that would cause my knees to lock. It was scarier on our way back, I tell you! It was such a relief when we reached the starting point without hurting ourselves in the process. It was not the easiest hike, but we'd love to go back. This time, we shall take the trail from Lake Poway!