Mt. Woodson is located just East of Poway Lake, North San Diego County. One thing that you need to know before starting is that Mt. Woodson is not an easy hike. The trail gains 2,000' in about 3.3 miles, which is a considerable amount of elevation for such a short distance. The trail has a few flat reprieves, but they are brief and tortuous even for their brevity.
A couple years ago, in preparation for a hike into the Grand Canyon, AZ, I hiked to the top of Mt. Woodson and back to the parking lot at Poway Lake twice in one day, a couple of times. That is approximately 8,000 feet of elevation gain and loss over 13.2 miles. The hike down South Kaibab trail to Phantom Ranch and back up Bright Angel is pretty close to the same distance and elevation gain and loss. So, it is a great training hike. In fact, I past up a pair of climbers that were training for an ascent of Mt. Denali. These two had fully loaded packs on, the works. In other words, it’s a great workout.
You can also get to Mt. Woodson from the Ramona site. It is shorter and steeper, I’m told. I’ve never been up that side.
The best part of this hike is Potato Chip Rock. This rock is one of the reasons why Mt. Woodson is such a popular hike. I’m sure if a study was done on “most popular places to get your picture taken” Potato Chip Rock would be up there with the best of them. One of the days when I was at the top taking a break I watched a stream of people taking turns getting their picture taken “out in space” on Potato Chip. It really is worth the hike.
Happy Saturday from San Diego, CA
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