SDC: #21 & 22
Elevation: 1,591 and 1,379 ft.
Date Hiked: 3-27-2010
Trip Report:
These two hills are located in Urban San Diego and are very popular hikes. Cowles mountain is the highpoint in the City of San Diego. Pyles Peak is a mile and a half further making the round trip for these to mountains 6 miles.
The Antennae on Cowles Mountain
We left around 8:30 and it took me a half hour to reach the top of Cowles mountain. I could have gone faster but there were tons of people on the trail. I had never seen so many people on one trail except for the cables on Half Dome.
The views from the top were less than stellar. There was a thick layer of haze both west and south of the mountain.
Downtown San Diego
Otay Mountain
El Cajon Mountain, Middle Peak and Cuyamaca Peak
Plaque on the Summit
We then left the Cowles Mountain trail for the Pyles peak trail. Thankfully we only saw a handful of people on this trail apparently not to many people want to make the extra 3 mile round-trip. The hike to Pyles peak was easy and uneventful. The views from the top were not much different than on Cowles Mountain.
Mt. Woodson and Iron Mountain
Black Mountain
On the way back to Cowles Mountain we saw a neat lizard, not sure what type he is but I have never seen one like this.
Interesting Lizard
![[Valid RSS]](http://socalpeaks.com/Images/Misc/valid_rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")
These are a lot different than the desert scrambles of last month!
I believe that is a Horned Lizard. I’ve seen them around the county and have pictures on my Mount Gower, Combs Peak, and lately at my Indian Hill trip reports. They seem to be all over the county and in various colors. I also saw some near Eagle Peak and couldn’t snap a picture in time.
I have ever seen a lizard like this in San Diego before. It is interesting to see the diversity of creatures we have here. Thanks for the comment