Mother Miguel Mountain

Peak Name: Mother Miguel Mountain
Distance: 3.75 miles
Date: June 17, 2017 (November 9, 2019)
Summit: 1,520 feet

With the temperatures predicted to high everywhere except near the coast, I decided this was the perfect time to drive down and summit Mother Miguel. The ascent began under a blanket of fog. It was thick enough that I had to assist a runner coming down the trail with some directions.

The trail quickly snakes its way up the mountain, and soon the fog burned off revealing a lovely view of the South Bay,

Once the switchbacks end, the trail turns northward toward the summit. The summit is adorned with a POW/MIA flag in addition to the Stars and Stripes. The return down the mountain was uneventful.

Updated: November 9, 2019

Since I had some personal commitments in the morning, a full day of hiking was not in the cards. But  I still had a couple of hikes that I had classified as “in-town”. Ted Markus was free and we thought a sunset from atop Mother Miguel would be a perfect choice. We first stopped by A16 to collect our completion rewards for doing the 3-Peak Challenge. Continuing down to Chula Vista, we found parking right next to the trailhead. It was unseasonably warm, so we were both in shorts and short-sleeves as we headed onto the trail.

 

Recently the trail underwent some realignment and I was curious to see the changes. The trail now follows a more switchback route rather than the brutal old direct route. The barbed wire serves as a barrier against using the old trail. The trail is in great shape. So much nicer than Cowles.

 

We reached the summit with about 30 minutes to kill before the actual sunset. The nearly full moon had risen to the east, and a stream of planes made their approach to the airport passed overhead.

Soon, the sun’s final glow was fading and it was time to begin our descent. Ted was enjoying using the camera on his iPhone 11 to capture the fading glow. Soon we found ourselves back at the car, and peak #80 was now in the bag!