San Carlos Stories
The top of 1094-foot South Fortuna Mountain has sweeping views of all of the major peaks found in the City of San Diego’s largest regional park. South Fortuna is part of a long arced mountain …
The June 10 rescue of a woman driver who drove through a metal guardrail at the end of Cowles Mountain Boulevard and landed in a ravine happened three weeks after Navajo Community Planners’ May 19 …
Navajo Community Planners, Inc., on May 19 voted unanimously to support the installation of a barrier north of the intersection of Cowles Mountain Boulevard and Rainswept Way. The Cottages condominium complex is accessed from Rainswept, …
San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman answered residents' questions about the medical marijuana law and the homeless, among other topics, at the May 7 San Carlos Area Council meeting. John Pilch, council vice president, said …
At the April 17 meeting on the Mission Trails Regional Park master plan update, speakers included rock climbers, mountain bikers, and property owners. Topics for the first two groups included access and the Quail Brush …
Navajo Community Planners, Inc., listened for about an hour February 24 to discussion of the proposed medical-marijuana dispensary ordinance, but the board made no recommendation about the regulation on the San Diego City Council' s …
Birds in Mission Trails Regional Park displayed varied reactions when David Cooksy's camera made a beeping sound while focusing. Egrets became "panicky. They looked around; they thought it was a bird," Cooksy said during a …
At least 500 mountain-bikers, hikers, and equestrians paraded through Mission Trails Regional Park on Saturday morning, January 11, to protest the closing of popular trails in the northeastern section of the well-used open-space area. "There's …
The sun, in the form of Enyaa the six-toed cat, comes out at night at Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center. Enyaa ("en" as in "hen;" "yaa" rhymes with "caw") is the Kumeyaay word for …
Navajo Community Planners, Inc., on October 21, considered three San Carlos traffic issues. The planning group unanimously approved the installation of a four-way stop at Green Gables Avenue and Wandermere Drive, and a board majority …
Kwaay Paay Peak is a good alternative to Cowles Mountain for anyone who wants a good climbing hike without a crowd. It is the fourth highest peak in Mission Trails Regional Park, at an elevation …
Encounter several natural habitats and an Indian acorn-grinding area on this short trail.
The highlights of this short hike include the transition from grasslands and coastal sage scrub habitats to small shaded oak woodland with majestic coast live oaks and rare Engelmann oaks found along a stream where …
The majority of Navajo Community Planners, Inc., on September 16 voted to oppose a City of San Diego proposal to put 19 parking spaces on Navajo Road, a street where the speed limit is 50 …
As members of the Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol (RSVP) for San Diego Police Department's Eastern Division, Gregg and Melody Stoner's accomplishments include recovering 62 stolen vehicles since May 2012. That's when a license-plate reader was …
The Friends of the San Carlos Library organization is linking the promotion of the branch's upcoming 40th anniversary celebration to increasing awareness about plans for a new library. The 9500-square-foot branch opened on January 9, …
Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church parishioners spent two days saying goodbye to Monsignor Michael Gallagher, the priest retiring after serving for 27 years as pastor. Receptions followed weekend services, and 600 people attended the …
The June 10 San Diego City Council 2014 budget deliberations will include requests from two new councilmembers for funds to reopen the Mission Trails Regional Park campground known as Kumeyaay Lake. Fifth District councilman Mark …
Winona Sollock, a Mission Trails Regional Park trail guide and resident birder, used to collect parrots and moved with 65 birds in 1988 to "the last house on a hill" east of Temecula. Sollock bred …
The main trailhead leading to the peak of 1591-foot-high Cowles Mountain is scheduled to reopen May 18, a date coinciding with Explore Mission Trails Regional Park Day, a celebration for the park that includes Cowles …
Carl DeMaio referred to a defeat and some victories during his talk at the May 1 San Carlos Area Council meeting. He also weighed in on the proposed City of San Diego budget and discussed …
For hikers it’s exercise rewarded with 360º panoramic views. For Cowles Mountain it’s trail damage and habitat destruction. Hikers anticipating a challenging spring break hike up Cowles Mountain at the Golfcrest trailhead in San Carlos …
San Carlos Navajo Community Planners, Inc. (NCPI) on March 18 voted 8-1 to take an alternate method of requesting a four-way stop at Cowles Mountain Boulevard and Boulder Lake Avenue, a San Carlos intersection that …
At the March 6 San Carlos Area Council meeting, San Diego district attorney Bonnie Dumanis asked if anyone in the audience was the victim of identity theft. One woman raised her hand; another said, "A …
The City of San Diego's plan to demolish and replace a pump station that has served San Carlos since 1967 received unanimous approval from Navajo Community Planners, Inc. (NCPI), on February 25. The estimated $7.5 …
San Carlos was among the neighborhoods where residential burglaries increased during 2012, San Diego Police Department captain Andy Mills reported at the January 2 San Carlos Area Council meeting. Mills is commanding officer for the …
Mayor Bob Filner announced at the January 2 San Carlos Area Council meeting that he will "take on" San Diego Gas & Electric. Filner also said that he was interviewing to hire an energy advocate …
On any given day, the main route up Cowles Mountain, the highest point in the city of San Diego, is busy. A route with less traffic and easy parking is the Mesa Trail route that …
Take the trail less traveled to the Cowles Mountain summit Directions from downtown San Diego: 15 miles. Allow 30 minutes’ driving time. (San Carlos, Mission Trails Regional Park) From I-8, exit north on College Ave. …
Throughout San Diego, a coveted perk for high school seniors is the right to claim their own parking spot in the seniors-only section of their school's parking lot. But many schools have added a twist …
Mission Trails Regional Park’s 1291-foot-high South Fortuna Mountain is one of several summits of similar stature stretching from Cowles Mountain in the south to North Fortuna Mountain in the north. It’s easy to understand why …
At about 2:45 p.m. on April 18, a group of Buddhists came to Lake Murray to release four pet animals at the lake. The three women and one man, who were dressed in robes, explained …
While it’s easy to imagine Mamie Eisenhower baking a pumpkin chiffon pie, it’s hard to picture Nancy Reagan (or anyone else) slicing the ends off lemons, scooping out the contents, and filling the rinds with …
I had not hiked up Cowles Mountain since June but did so again on October 17. I was stunned to discover the severity of damage done to the main trail and the surrounding habitat during …
Mission Gorge is arguably San Diego’s (city, not county) most spectacular topographical feature, with walls on both sides rising several hundred feet at a nearly 45-degree pitch. From a geological perspective, the gorge was carved …
Author: Brady Pesola Neighborhood: San Carlos Age: 26 Occupation: Survival specialist/instructor About a month ago, I learned about Cowles Mountain from Derek Loranger of 100peaks.com. I had told him about my videos, and he said, …
Pyles Peak is just one bump in a series of several distinct high points stretching between Cowles Mountain and Fortuna Mountain in East County’s Mission Trails Regional Park. Collectively, the high points make up a …
I covered a hundred miles driving to three different parties on one recent Saturday. The first party was up in Murrieta. I would’ve blown it off, but it was for an old high school friend …
Councilmember Carl DeMaio isn’t the only budget watchdog in town. On Thursday, April 30, District 7 representative Marti Emerald issued a memo to Budget Review Committee chair Tony Young that listed a few of her …
Recent commercial robberies, residential burglaries, and purse snatchings in San Carlos, Del Cerro, and La Mesa prompted a community meeting at the San Carlos Recreation Center on Wednesday, March 25. The hourlong meeting began at …
A town meeting took place Thursday night, February 12, at Casey's Place in San Carlos. The purpose of the meeting was to publicize the financial plight of Casey's Place, a privately owned, not-for-profit community center …
Worthwhile primarily for the view, which can be wide-ranging and spectacular on the clearest late fall or winter days, the Rim Trail in Mission Trails Regional Park rambles along a sparsely vegetated ridgeline overlooking much …
On October 29th, San Diego County’s Environmental Health Department confirmed that a new case of hantavirus was found in a rodent at Mission Trails Regional Park, making it the fourth such case found this year. …
Two armed security guards stood at the ticket-check tent outside the synagogue before the Yom Kippur evening service. Inside, things were more jovial: a man assigned to keep things reverently hushed had fashioned a title …
St. Dunstan's — the building was dedicated in 1969 — is a church on the cusp. If you look back and up as you pass through the front door, you behold a row of exquisitely …
On Saturday, October 27, there were several more Halloween parties to crash. I planned to hit two or three... The first one I got wind of was in Encinitas. It started early, and as I …
Winter solstice this year occurs during late afternoon on Thursday, December 21. Earlier that morning (and on the morning of the following day), at about 6:50 a.m., a predictable event will unfold on the south …
"The Kumeyaay were seasonally migratory people who followed food," says Linda Hawley, volunteer trail guide for Mission Trails Regional Park. "They would summer in Point Loma for the fish and abalone, which were plentiful then, …
The Saturday before Halloween, I had over 50 party invitations. Folks in Murrieta said they'd prepare a guest room for me. Another invite enticed me with strippers on stripper poles. I chose five parties to …
Lake Murray's paved (closed to cars) perimeter path is near East County's most pleasant and most popular place to gulp some fresh air on a summer morning or late afternoon. Unfortunately, the recreation path ends …
Little Artists 8680 Navajo Road, San Carlos 619-462-1955 The studio offers classes designed to teach children the basics of drawing and, once those skills are learned, painting methods. Lessons are laid out in a series …
Lake Murray, San Carlos Though wild, the ducks at this lake just north of I-8 in San Carlos are well cared for. One middle-aged man comes every day with a duffel bag full of chicken …