Mission Trails Regional Park

Yesterday, Gail and I thought we'd take a little hike, so we drove down to Mission Hills Regional Park - very close to San Diego proper. It is a huge tract of land set aside as protected habitat, but also accomodating miles of trails.  We were awed by the lack of people and the quietness.  We ended up hiking for almost 4 hours.  The visitor center there is top notch, too!

We decided to climb "The Staircase" up this peak.

A little rejoicing at the top.

 

Going over the peak and around to the service road, we followed the San Diego River through the gorge back to the car.  We are making an effort to be Sierra ready in a couple weeks.