Revisiting the 5 peaks of Mission Trails Regional Park

Having completed  Coast to Crest Trail Challenge  and the Ramona Trail Challenge, I thought I might as well do the 5-Peak Challenge. The best time to hike Mission Trails in during spring  when it is cool and wildflowers are in bloom, like the orange bush monkey flower in photo.



As I have learned the first time I did the challenge, Kwaay Paay means chief or leader in the Kumeyaay language.  According to Ruth Alter, an archaeologist, the Kumeyaays are the first indigenous people to live within and make use of the lands that became the Mission Trails Regional Park.


The marker at the South Fortuna summit is fairly new, it must have been installed in the recent year. The marker introduces South Fortuna as the lowest of the five main peaks. South Fortuna being part of the same mountain shared by North Fortuna is separated by a 910-foot saddle.

Nobody really knew why the Spanish friars called the mountains "fortuna" which means luck or fortune.  I'm sure, the friars who belong to the San Diego de Alcala missions did not subscribe to any superstition which was a no-no in the bible. "Do not turn to mediums or necromancers, do not seek them out and so make yourselves  unclean..." Lev 19:31.
Cowles Mountain is still being "loved to death" in spite of the 5-peak challenge which was meant to divert hikers into the four other main peaks. Pronounced as "Kohls", the mountain that is named after George Cowles, a rancher is the tallest of the the main five peaks of the Mission Trails Regional Park.
Pyles Peak like the North Fortuna Mountain and the Kwaay Paay Peak is also rated difficult. The peak shares its name Pyles Disease,  a rare bone dysplasia characterized by knock knees. Pyles Peak is only accessed through Cowles Mountain. I never learned how Pyles Peak got its name.



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