Hiking, not biking (that's a different
page), but hiking. This is where you walk
(or run) up hills or mountains. I walk as
fast as possible.
You know, I receive mail from all over the world. I'm sent mail from people who
can barely write a coherent sentence in English - but let's leave my Uncle out of
this for now. Oh snap!  Anyway, people are always wondering what I do to keep
myself looking so damn sexy. Well, one of the many things that I enjoy doing is
hiking. When I see a mountain (or a really, really big hill), I don't just see a big
lump of hardened dirt with various animal feces spread about. Nope, not me - I
see a challenge. A challenge to get to the top without accidentally stepping on,
falling into or eating the aforementioned animal feces. Below are the hiking spots
that I frequent frequently and have documented with some nifty photos that you
can click on to enlarge.  
The photos above are from Mount Woodson which is near Lake Poway. This hike
is, by far, my favorite as I found it to be the most challenging. The elevation at
the peak is 2,000 ft and these shots were taken from the west side of the trail.
There's also a paved road that leads to the stop starting on the east side (near
Highway 67 near Ramona), but that one is for wussies! It was 6.5 miles round
trip and one of these days before summer, I'm going to go from the west side to
the east and back to the west. 13 miles!
The above shot of yours truly was taken at Iron Mountain in Ramona. This is a
really good trail that's used by a lot of people (and doggies, too!). The elevation
gain is 1,000 feet and the distance, round-trip, is 6.5 miles. There's a mailbox at
the top of Iron Mountain with a guest book inside that you can sign, if you feel so
inclined. My entry mentioned how they need a toilet up there in the event that I
need to poop. Below are more pictures from Iron Mountain where it's obvious
that you can see for miles in every direction.   
Ok, let's move on to a different spot out near Julian at Cuyamaca State Park.
This one is a paved road straight to the top of a peak with a spectacular view. I
have more pictures, but where? Hmmmm.
Big Bear is nice place to do just about anything. This great, steep hike was
fantastic and I'm looking to going back.  
Idyllwild is one of my favorites places to relax and become one with nature.
They also have A LOT of different hikes for you to enjoy. They have easy and
strenuous ones - something for everyone. I took one of the easy ones but I'm
looking forward to going back for one of the supposed strenuous ones.  
Cowles Mountain near La Mesa is good one, too. My record to the top is 22
minutes. Below is a photo from Christmas morning '09.
My hikes in '09

Jan 2, 4, 11, 18 - Cowles Mountain (twice)
Jan 25 - C M (three times)
Jan 29th (my birfday!) - Mount Woodson (from the west to the east side and
back..between 13-15 miles..3 hrs and 20 minutes)
Feb 1 - C M (twice - I also passed 25 people going up the first time)
Feb 21, 22, Mar 1 - C M (twice)
Mar 8, 15 - C M (three times)
Mar 21 - C M (twice)
Mar 29 - C M (FOUR TIMES!)
April 5, 11, 16, 17 - C M (three times)
May 23, 28, 29 - C M (twice)
June 1, 3, 17  - C M (twice)
Dec 25, 27, 29 - C M (once)