Kwaay Paay Peak - The Eight Plant Challenge
As we ascended Kwaay Paay Peak today, everyone on the trail was talking about the "Five Peak Challenge". The challenge seems to have captivated San Diegans to explore and climb Mission Trails Regional Park like never before. The promotion was developed to encourage hikers to explore more than the overly popular Cowles Mountain Trail, and it is working.
We hiked Kwaay Paay on a the first Saturday of the year when the Park was crowded with San Diegans out for walks, hikes and rides. Kwaay Paay is our #3 climb in the challenge, having already done Cowles and South Fortuna. Of those three, I like Kwaay Paay the best. This trail has everything, its fairly short, a good workout, not overly crowded, great view at the top and it traverses a healthy coastal sage scrub habitat.
According to the San Diego Reader, the name Kwaay Paay comes from a Kumeyaay Indian word that means leader. For me, this trail is the leader of the five peak challenge. We did the climb in one hour. The trail is a steep uphill most of the 1.3 miles to the peak. That gave us a great workout for the day.
At the top, hikers were lining up to get a photo for the 5-peak Challenge, so we did too.
After enjoying the views and a snack at the top, the hike down was easy and faster. Overall, a great outing which we will try again.
In addition to the workout and the views, I encourage hikers to also enjoy the surrounding habitat; the plant life. So here is another challenge for you, take the Eight Plant Challenge on the Five Peak Trails!
On our hike we identified eight of the most common coastal sage scrub habitat plants along the trail. Try to look them up and identify them along your hike. For me, enjoying the plant life on a hike adds to the enjoyment of nature.
My wife and hiking partner is a botanist so she has always inspired us to take in the plant life on our hikes. Right now much of this habitat is in distress from several years of drought but recent rains have helped bring signs of new growth. And, this spring, the flowers on these trails should be awesome.
So here are the eight plants you can identify on the Kwaay Paay Peak trail:
We hiked Kwaay Paay on a the first Saturday of the year when the Park was crowded with San Diegans out for walks, hikes and rides. Kwaay Paay is our #3 climb in the challenge, having already done Cowles and South Fortuna. Of those three, I like Kwaay Paay the best. This trail has everything, its fairly short, a good workout, not overly crowded, great view at the top and it traverses a healthy coastal sage scrub habitat.
According to the San Diego Reader, the name Kwaay Paay comes from a Kumeyaay Indian word that means leader. For me, this trail is the leader of the five peak challenge. We did the climb in one hour. The trail is a steep uphill most of the 1.3 miles to the peak. That gave us a great workout for the day.
At the top, hikers were lining up to get a photo for the 5-peak Challenge, so we did too.
After enjoying the views and a snack at the top, the hike down was easy and faster. Overall, a great outing which we will try again.
In addition to the workout and the views, I encourage hikers to also enjoy the surrounding habitat; the plant life. So here is another challenge for you, take the Eight Plant Challenge on the Five Peak Trails!
On our hike we identified eight of the most common coastal sage scrub habitat plants along the trail. Try to look them up and identify them along your hike. For me, enjoying the plant life on a hike adds to the enjoyment of nature.
My wife and hiking partner is a botanist so she has always inspired us to take in the plant life on our hikes. Right now much of this habitat is in distress from several years of drought but recent rains have helped bring signs of new growth. And, this spring, the flowers on these trails should be awesome.
So here are the eight plants you can identify on the Kwaay Paay Peak trail:
- California Sage Brush- Artemisia californica
- Black Sage- Salvia mellifera
- White Sage- Salvia apiana
- Manzanita- Arctostaphylos
- Laurel Sumac- Malosma laurina
- Buckwheat- Eriogonum fasciculatum
- California Lilac- Ceanothus
- Broom Bacharis- Baccharis sarothroides
Here is a photo for your first and only clue:
So enjoy the Five Peak Challenge but also enjoy the plants along the way. Look them up or take photos to identify them later. Go climb all five peaks and try to identify all eight plants along the way.
For us, its on to Pyles Peak and North Fortuna in the next few weeks. And, I will be asking my hiker partner to show me a few more plants to add to the list. We are looking forward to the spring flowers after our El Nino rains this year that will make these peaks bloom with color.
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