Hiking to Potato Chip Rock [2015 Edition]

Hi friends!

Hope that you had a great weekend. I’ve been back to the work grind on this Monday and have been busy, busy, busy! But I’m popping in to recap the highlight of my weekend with you guys: hiking to Potato Chip Rock!

My cousin Michelle and I have been talking about getting together for a hike excursion for awhile, and set a date for last Saturday. She drove down from where she lives in Long Beach to stay the night at my place on Friday, and Saturday morning we set out to the Lake Poway Recreational Reserve.

I hiked to Potato Chip Rock once before with my hubby 2+ years ago (recap here <– throwback post!), so I was able to reference my blog post beforehand to jog my memory about the hike and see how long it took me the first time, as well as how I described the hike being difficulty-wise. Bloggers, do any of you reference your blog to remember details of things you’ve done before too? I seem to do it pretty often! It’s particularly helpful if I can’t remember the name of a restaurant or something, but know I mentioned it on the blog when I traveled to a certain place, or something along those lines.

We began the hike a little before 10 AM. The Mount Woodson trail was pretty crowded with hikers, with everyone from older people with walking sticks to trail runners, dogs and younger kids alike. It was a gorgeous day, with the temperature hitting around 80 degrees. The sun felt really strong and hot, but luckily there was a nice breeze going most of the time.

I was somewhat prepared for this after reading my first blog post recap on the hike, but as you’re hiking up the mountain, you feel as though you’re about to reach the top for what feels like forever. When you think you’re about to reach the summit, it’s mildly discouraging to then see signs saying you still have 1.5 miles to go – which doesn’t sound like a lot, but in reality it does take awhile when you’re trekking up a mountain.

It took us a little over 90 minutes to get to Potato Chip Rock, which doesn’t sound like a crazy long time, but let me tell you, the incline up the mountain is no joke! My heart rate was constantly around 180 most of the time because the mountain rarely gives you a break to catch your breath. It’s just a constant steady incline up, up, up! The nice part about that though, is that once you reach the top, you know it’s pretty much all easy breezy back down the mountain… and that part feels awesome.

Pretty much everyone who makes it to the top wants to get a picture on the famed Potato Chip Rock, and unfortunately this results in a long line at the peak. After a few minutes, we decided that it wasn’t worth it to wait (seriously, it looked like an hour wait!), and decided to instead take pictures in front of the rock instead of on it, check out the panoramic views of San Diego County from the top, then be on our merry way back down.

On the way down, we crossed people who, huffing and puffing with beat red faces, asked, “Are we almost there yet??” I had to give it to them straight and let them know that they had about 45 more minutes of serious incline to get to Potato Chip Rock. If you aren’t in great cardiovascular health, this hike is going to be tough for you. Hell, it wasn’t a piece of cake for me, and I workout all the time!

Dogs are allowed on the trail, and I was impressed with the pups that made the trek because I think it would have been too hot and too strenuous for my pup, who I bring hiking all the time. Bringing a lot of water is a must for this hike. There isn’t all that much shade, and if you’re like me you’ll sweat your butt off doing this hike. I brought a full Camelbak, plus a large water bottle that I left in the car, and I wound up finishing off my Camelbak of water right when we were reaching the top. The entire trek down the mountain, I was picturing myself drinking my water bottle once I got to the car, I started craving a smoothie, and when we were in sight of Lake Poway, I was envisioning myself jumping into the lake!

Post-hike, my feet were achy and my quads were fatigued. It’s crazy how much hikes can suck the energy out of you, especially when it’s warm out and you were really sweating up a storm.  The hike is around 7 miles out and back, and it took us a bit over 3 hours to do roundtrip. Burning 1,900 during the hike might have had something to do with my fatigue! 😉 We refueled with smoothies at Jamba Juice, and I relaxed for a few hours when I got back home. That night, I was still feeling pretty depleted, so I made sure to refuel with more nourishing food. I grabbed some grub from one of my favorite local joints, Lotus Cafe:

Lentil veggie soup + black bean enchiladas hit the spot and were a perfect ending to a great day!

Tell me, what’s the last workout that left you exhausted? Best thing you did over the weekend?