Hiking Cowles Mountain

When I was in cross country, I ran the back side of Cowles Mountain once or twice, but I never felt like I really had the opportunity to enjoy the hike because I was in such a hurry to get up the mountain, down the mountain, and back to home base as fast as possible.

Today was different. Originally, I was supposed to hit the trail with a coworker, but she didn't tell me that she wasn't going until twenty minutes before we were supposed to meet. I was already there, so I decided that I didn't care if I was going by myself. I was going up to the summit come hell or high water.

Going up was not easy and this was the first time I'd ever done the front side of the mountain. Some places were really rocky and I tripped a few times, but overall the journey was quite pleasant and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

I made it my mission to say hello to everyone I encountered while I was on the trail. It helped me stay motivated to keep going while I was heading up to the summit and I'm really hoping that I made at least one person's morning while I was out there

The Plaque

When I actually got to the top I was really excited. It kind of snuck up on me at the end and I didn't expect to be finished quite as quickly as I was. The last quarter mile or so to the top is a bunch of rocky switchbacks, so I was focusing more on making sure I kept my footing instead of looking up to see how much farther I had to go. I made it to the summit in exactly forty minutes.

At the top, there's this really cool (and popular) plaque.  The atmosphere at that spot was really fun and energetic, but if you moved even just twenty or thirty feet away, everything became quiet and serene. And the view was amazing. You could see all the way to downtown and the ocean.

While I was up surveying the view, there was a gentleman who came running up to the summit and asked me for the time. He'd actually run up the mountain in fifteen minutes and inspired me to run back down the mountain myself to see how much faster I could go down. Running down all the rocky terrain was pretty scary in some places, but it was really fun to do and I would gladly do it again. I made it down the mountain and back to the car in twenty-four minutes where I stretched out and headed home to do some yoga before Hubby woke up.

Overall it was a great morning and I would gladly do it again. Hubby even said that he might go with me someday. He just doesn't want to go nearly as early as I do because as far as he's concerned, weekends are for sleeping in!

You can see all the way to the ocean!