At The Backroads

Hiking and Geocaching at Woodson Mountain

There are several ways to reach the summit of Woodson Mountain, the longest one I know is from Blue Sky Ecological Reserve. The other one is from Lake Poway , http://sandiegobackroads.today.com/2008/07/31/lake-poway-to-woodson-mountain/ , which I have posted previously. However, there is a shorter and easier way to the summit of Woodson Mountain, that is from CA Highway 67. The trail that will be described here is hiking Woodson Mountain from the East, or from CA Highway 67.

“Potato Chip” Flake of Rock, Woodson Mountain

Distance: 1.8 miles one way, 3.6 miles roundtrip

Elevation Gain or Loss: approximately 1200 ft

Difficulty: Easy, on an uphill climb

Parking: at Highway 67, 3 miles North of Poway Road (near the Ramona fire station)

Direction:

From I-8: From I-8 E or W, take CA-67 north for roughly 17.1 miles
From I-15: Take the Scripps Poway Pkwy exit and drive east for roughly 8.7 miles, to the junction with CA-67. Turn left (north) and drive on CA-67 for approximately 4.7 miles.

Best Time: during the cooler days, probably October – June since Woodson Mountain is a boulder strewn mountain, the slopes are bare of shade from trees, thus the hike is under direct exposure from sun!

Boulders on the Slopes of Woodson Mountain

One way to add fun and learning to any hiking trips is earthcaching, a type of geocaching. Geocaching is basically a treasure hunting game that needs the use of a GPS device to help locate the coordinates of the cache. There are different type of caches, http://www.geocaching.com/about/cache_types.aspx , one of them is an EarthCache.

Boulder Strewn Slopes of Woodson Mountain

 Earthcaching is an educational adventure of learning more about the unique geoscience feature of the Earth – its landscapes, geology, or the minerals and fossils that are found in the place. This is really an educational fun that can be introduced to kids, I saw a lot of the kids getting excited in the trail to find their treasure and discussing with their parents the geoscience features of the space of earth they are visiting.

Woodson Mountain from Highway 167

Woodson Mountain stands at 2894 ft and much of its slopes are littered by boulders. A very common question that enters one’s mind on seeing the gigantic rocks perched on the slopes of Woodson Mountain usually is: “ Where did all these gigantic rocks came from?” From our geocaching or earthcaching, this was the treasure in Woodson Mountain we found,

“ The boulders in Woodson Mountain were formed by spheroidal weathering. Spheroidal weathering is a type of chemical weathering in which concentric shells of of decayed rock are successfully loosened and separated from a block of rock, transforming angular blocks to into round boulders.

Naturally Cut in Half, Cracked Round Boulder

These boulders are remnants of rocks that cooled below the earth’s surface. The cooling process contracted the rocks and produced cracks. Millions of years later, uplifting brought the rocks closer to the earth’s surface. Warmer temperatures, elevated levels of Carbon Dioxide, and decaying vegetation combined with rainfall chemical weathered the surfaces of the rock. As the decompose materials were stripped away, large round boulders were left behind to form boulder strewn hills like Woodson Mountain.” - http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GCPRKW

“ The largest boulders at Woodson Mountain have a tendency to cleave apart along flat planes, forming chimneys from several inches to several feet wide.”

Split in Half Boulders Along Flat Planes

Sometimes, one half of a split boulder will roll away, leaving a vertical and almost seamless face behind.

Vertical Flat Face of a Rolled Away Boulder

These vertical face of cleaved rocks became the delight of rock climbers. Woodson Mountain has become a very popular place of local San Diegan rock climbers, and the best place in San Diego County for bouldering practice.” - Jerry Schad’s A Foot and a Field.

Little Girl Rock Climber

Hiking and geocaching are two of the many activities here at Woodson Mountain. Other activities include trad climbing, sport climbing, toprope, bouldering and aided climbing. Earth really has so much to offer, and they are free! Exploring the wonders of nature around us does not only take care of our body physically from the exercising we get, but also spiritually. Nature provides a healing power when we treat our hike not only to conquer the peak, but also as a place to reflect and pray in. Let me end by quoting John Muir,

Natural Rock Garden, Woodson Mountain

“ Everyone needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike.” –John Muir, 1838- 1914.

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