Pacific Beach resident Shanara Lennox lives by a motto: "A good way to change your attitude is to change the altitude," she said.
For the second time in a week, Lennox hiked Cowles Mountain. She calls it an "easy-hard" hike: short but steep.
"You can take it really slow. You can stop for 15 minutes. You could stop and have lunch if you want to," she said. "Or you can put on a CamelBak pack and some weights, and you can run up to the top and run down two times and it's a great workout."
Lennox grew up in the Pacific Northwest, and hiked with her family during the holidays. Now, hiking Cowles — pronounced like "coals" — has become her new holiday tradition.
"The holidays are really cool because you see families with their kids out here," she said. "It's kind of fun if you're not close to your family, to come on a hike, say 'hi' to random people while you're walking, and you just feel a sense of family."
The mountain is named after George Cowles, a rancher who moved to San Diego in 1877, according to the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation. The community that grew around his ranch was named Cowlestown. It later became Santee, named after his widow’s second husband.
Fast forward 100 years, and private development was creeping in. On Dec. 31, 1974, San Diego County and the city of San Diego purchased the mountain for $2.2 million.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary, the foundation is putting on a hike-a-thon until Jan. 15. The goal is to raise $100,000 for trail maintenance and habitat restoration.
"Cowles itself sees more than 800,000 hikers a year," said Jennifer Morrissey, the foundation’s executive director. "That means a lot of wear and tear, and so the trails need to be constantly maintained."
Funds will also support the foundation’s youth programs, including field trips to the park and the Eco Ambassadors program for high school students.
"They’re our next generation environmental stewards, and they're the ones who we’re passing this onto," Morrissey said. "We want to make sure that they have a sense of ownership and pride and responsibility to the park as much as we do."
Hike-a-thon participants can hike where, when and how far they’d like. They can make a one-time donation or pledge an amount per mile.
