"So I was sitting in my cubicle today, and I realized, ever since I started working, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that's on the worst day of my life."
--Peter Gibbons (Office Space)
© 2006-2021 SummitPost.org. All Rights Reserved.
Sarah Simon - Mar 25, 2008 10:22 pm Date Climbed: Mar 25, 2008
Via Golfcrest DriveAfter sitting on an airplane most of the day to fly to San Diego for business, I drove directly to the Golfcrest trailhead to summit Cowles Mountain. I was pleasantly surprised by the stiff elevation gain. The trail atmosphere is very reminiscent of Piestewa Peak in Phoenix, with a lot of after-work walkers getting hitting the trail for daily exercise. On the downside, the smog was just atrocious. I could hardly see the surrounding mountains and my lungs were on fire - not from the elevation gain but from the "suspended particulates" in the air. Still, a great way to burn off some business-trip stress/fatigue.
GroundControl - Jan 17, 2008 1:59 am Date Climbed: Jan 16, 2008
Nice AfternoonNice little hike with my wife.
fraz1697 - Sep 12, 2007 1:51 pm Date Climbed: Sep 7, 2007
Big Rock TrailThe "difficult" on the NE side is good for a quick afternoon get away from the city.
skotty - Jul 8, 2007 3:46 pm
Nice hillA nice training hill if you're in the San Diego area. It seems humorous to call it a "mountain" since it takes little more than 20 minutes for a brisk round trip. Nevertheless, its long enough to keep the heart rate up for training.
Jerry S - Jul 5, 2007 5:58 pm
Many routes many timesI have been up this thing so many times to keep in shape. You may have seen me. Big red backpack with 4 gallons of water in it wearing my bright yellow double plastic mountaineering boots.
Yeah, good times.
chudder - Apr 4, 2007 2:18 am
Many routes, many datesAll trails taken, and then a couple of bushwhack approaches too :o\
mnatureson - Jan 23, 2007 4:17 pm
My Backyard MountainThis mountain is a five minute drive for me so I do it often. Usually several times a week when I'm training for a bigger climb in the Sierras or the desert. The views are great and it has several different routes that can keep you interested over and over. My favorite route: Barker way, up the east face. It meets with the main Golfcrest Trail half way up the mountain.
Day Hiker - Sep 24, 2006 10:19 am Date Climbed: Oct 15, 2006
Golfcrest Drive20080608: Carried DayHikerJr and hiked with his Mommy.
20061015: Great morning workout and lots of friendly people on the trail. Up in 19:25.
20060923: Summited this fifteener (1591 feet) without oxygen. The Sherpas had to turn back at the Mesa Road junction, but I pushed on to the summit.
NavySeabee - Aug 17, 2006 8:46 pm
Route Climbed: Golfcrest DriveHiked this with the wife and kiddies on a nice fall day.
Bob Burd - Nov 22, 2005 1:27 am
Route Climbed: Golfcrest Drive Date Climbed: Dec 23, 2002A fun little hike, extremely popular it would seem judging from the high traffic.
mountaingazelle - Nov 2, 2005 10:59 am
Route Climbed: Golfcrest Drive Date Climbed: November 1, 2005Hiked to the top of Cowels Mountain while I was in San Diego for a couple days. I found out that it was only a 20 minute drive from the hotel I was staying at. Nice little mountain that is popular with the locals. Good view in all directions but a little smoggy that day.
rocketsredglare - Oct 26, 2005 8:08 pm
Route Climbed: All Date Climbed: 10's of times, maybe 100Barker Dam, steeper fire trail, is the way to go. PR is 27 minutes up the regular trail.
tdoughty - Oct 16, 2005 12:43 pm
Route Climbed: various Date Climbed: 1964 to presentalways nice
HSeldon - Aug 31, 2005 12:49 pm
Route Climbed: Barker Way Date Climbed: August 27, 2005This is my training hike, since it's very close to my house. I trained for Mt Whitney by lugging up my backpack a few times a week and it really helped build up my legs. This is a fairly easy hike and has great views of the city of San Diego. Barker way is a nice way to go up because you miss the hordes on the Golfcrest route and this way does not mess around with switchbacks. From the top of Cowles, I like to head over to Pyles Peak for a little extra mileage and elevation gain/loss. I should start keeping track of how many times I've climbed this peak, it's probably around 200.
flotzilla - Dec 31, 2004 7:00 pm
Route Climbed: Santee side Date Climbed: October 2004Good training hike.
Don Nelsen - Nov 10, 2004 11:36 pm
Route Climbed: everything Date Climbed: Feb. 20th, 1999Great little run/hike and the closest good one to SD. Four main trail options. Climbed it about 50 times.
Shano - Oct 28, 2004 3:08 pm
Route Climbed: Golfcrest Date Climbed: lotsnot much of a climb really, more like a walk in the dirt. I like doing this one on weeknights after the sun goes down so as not to get all the trail traffic.
Mgross - Jul 19, 2004 6:49 pm
Route Climbed: Fire road from Barker Way Date Climbed: All the timeThis is a great training hike as long as you avoid the mall/conveyor belt trails (from Golfcrest Dr.). Take the time to head over to Pyles peak when finished with Cowles. It is well worth it.
lidijagrazulis - Feb 19, 2004 1:44 pm
Route Climbed: Fire road Date Climbed: Countless timesMy favorite approach is the steeper fire road, but the normal trail is fun too.
kk6yb - Sep 30, 2003 11:36 am
Route Climbed: south Date Climbed: 1995-2002Numerous hikes to the summit from the south, a couple from the east side.