Detours & Alternate Routes Peak #1

San Diego Six Pack of Peaks, Alternate Routes & Detours (#1)

Mount Woodson aka Potato Chip Rock from Ramona

Detours and Time, So Why Not

I left my camp site in Menifee today heading to my new camp site in Desconso, with no intentions of hiking. Normally, the route would take me south straight down the I-15 to east on the I-8 and then north on Hwy 79 to the camp site.

Instead, due to a road closure on the I-15, Google Maps took me on a detour (the first detour) on side roads toward Romona and Hwy 67. When I got to Hwy 67, I said to myself, “Self, the Ramona Trailhead for Mount Woodson, aka Potato Chip Rock (PCR), is only a 3-mile detour from here and I have time to kill since I couldn’t check in until after 2pm.” So, I headed north on Hwy 67, instead of south toward the I-8. Found a great spot to park my truck and trailer. And headed up.

It was just a few minutes after noon, and the temps were right around the mid-80s. This route for PCR is all on asphalt. I was already in my training gear, so I grabbed a one-liter bottle of water and headed up. I kept a moderately quick pace on my ascent and then jogged slightly on the descent.

I hit the summit right around 45-minutes and 2.1 mile with 1,325 feet in elevation gain. I took a few photos and headed down. I finished with 4.18 miles in 1 hour 23 minutes. A nice (second) detour before continuing to my campsite.

Great day for “detours” and “time”!