Potato Chip Rock has been on our hiking list for over a year (since seeing it on California Through my Lens) and we finally had the chance to tackle the 8 mile round trip hike to the unique sliver of a rock.  The rock is located on Mt. Woodson near Lake Poway in San Diego, which made it a perfect hike to do with Nathan’s parents.

.

The trail is completely exposed with only boulders scattered through out the chaparral, but luckily the day started out foggy which kept us out of the sun during the strenuous climb to the top.

.

During the hike to the top Nathan’s Dad Victor, who is a guide for Cabrillo National Monument, gave us a informative walk pointing out various flowers, plants and their uses by earlier civilizations.

.

We reached the top and found the rock to be overrun with people, which apparently is actually unusual.  It was over a 30 minute wait before we had our turn on the ‘diving board’.

.

Crossing the small gap onto the rock and scrambing down between the boulders can be interesting and chaotic as you can see in below.

.

The rock is 5 to 6 feet wide, but becomes less than a inch thick at the end of the chip.  When you’re standing on the rock and someone else jumps you can feel the rock vibrate!

.

.

.

Although our jumping photo gives some people anxiety, others were even more bold when we were there. We watched a couple groups hang off the edge and one person even attempt a handstand, which got a mixed reaction from the crowd.

This was a fun hike with a well deserved noteworthy summit, but it can be crowded and you definitely have to be prepared for the lack of shade. A couple weeks later Nathan happened to be at Lake Poway Park and saw the fire department airlift a girl off the mountain and land in a nearby baseball field, luckily it looked like she was ok, likely sprained her ankle or something.

[Show as slideshow]