Mission Trails

Going into the hike. I thought the hike would be okay, nothing too crazy. I felt good. Before this, we calculated our walk speed and how fast we thought we could hike Kwaay Paay. Some were quicker than others so it was thought to be a long walk with uphill trails. Kwaay Paay is a 2.5 mile hike, everything has led up to this moment.

At the beginning l was just walking, once l got past the small body of water, my friend. Tyler and I decided to run. Mostly to try and be the first ones to the top.

Me and Tyler wanted to be at the front with our teacher, Amilio. When we saw him from a distance is when I began to feel tired of running but pushed myself to get to him. Walking from point B to the trail head was good, I was at a normal walking pace. Point 1, I  was starting to feel out of breath, I was running a few parts. At point 2 l was struggling to keep up with Amilio and the rest of the  first group. From point 2 to 3 I couldn't keep up, the rock stops were getting too steep and I kept stopping to rest. I made it to the summit with the rest of the first group but was really tired.

The steep part is what got me the most exhausted. At the peak I was resting, drinking gatorade and water. I started to eat once l wasn't thirsty anymore. I sat with friends until Amilio was ready to head back down. Because Tyler wanted to be the first group down too. I had a long break to be prepared enough to go down the hill with Tyler.

We began walking down, it felt better than going up. Up until point 2 we began picking up the pace and started running down the hill. 

Downhill and running was hurting my ankles a bit. Running down was good until we started running on Flat dirt which gassed me out. I was running from trail head to point A and stayed by the small water area with my friends.

We later decided to head back and found a table at the parking lot to sit at and wait for everyone else. I felt okay but tired enough to want to just sit down. We were there until Amilio told us to find our car group and leave

When we were done with the hike I felt good because I slowed down and walked with my friends. Once I was able to catch my breath I felt good and functional, the view was worth it and I had enough water to feel hydrated again. The hike didn't seem so bad afterwards.

This day was on February 5th. This day I went on a field trip to go on a mission trails hike. I brought my hoodie because I thought it wouldn't be hot.

 Once I got to Mission Trails I had to wait for everyone who was coming with me to the trails but I was mostly waiting for my friends to get here so I could be with them. Before this hike I thought it would be easy and I can run through it and get there before any other student. I started walking on the trails and I decided to start running because there were people in front of me but I was already running for 5 minutes so I was out of breath. 

15 minutes later I felt better and started to run again because my friends were infront of me and I wanted to catch up, I once stopped again because of running alot and I seen we had to go up a big mountain that looked far away, during this field trip I decided it was a good workout but I felt very tired and wanted to give up.

The way I was feeling before the hike was strong, I felt like I could just run through it and I thought it wasn’t going to be so hot, I felt like it was an easy hike for me to do like if I have been on a long hike before. While I was running I got out of breath and stooped and at that moment throughout the whole hike I was exhausted and was needing to sit somewhere I was drinking water and pouring water on my face it wasn’t really helping so during that time I was out of breathe I lost all hope of doing that hike thinking to myself if I can finish it or not. I recommend this because you will have hope in yourself to achieve your goals!

I walked into school ready for the day ahead. I look around seeing all my classmates and teachers in hiking clothes. I knew this was the day after we drove to the start of the trail we were in the parking lot waiting to start. I was sort of excited for the hike but also felt like I didn't want to do it. 

After waiting for a while me and Liam Ethan and Ezekiel were the first people to start going. But quickly we learned that there was a small river in the middle of the trail and we had to cross it using a fallen down log. It was sort of scary crossing the river but Omar saved the day and was able to help me cross at the cost of getting his shoes completely wet. After crossing the river Ethan and Ezekiel went ahead of us and it was just me and Liam for the hike up.

After a while of walking we reached the trail head. This is where the hike showed the true challenges that we must overcome. After walking up the first part we got to a flat area that went into what looked like a giant U shaped hill. At that moment I was thinking about how that could have happened. Once we got about halfway up the hill the hike got really hard and the ground was really steep.

After clearing the steepest and most difficult part of the mountain. I was able to hear my classmates talking and laughing in the distance and I knew that I had to have reached the peak. Once the whole group was at the top we mostly had lunch and sat around.

At the end of lunch we realised that we had to overcome the first challenge of getting up we had to go back down. When we were going down it was still me and liam and we were basically flying down. I almost fell a ton and slipped multiple times. When we were going down we were accompanied by Lars most of the time.

Once we got back to the river it was way more slippery and I fell in with my feet. Then we got back to the parking lot and started heading back. Once I got to the end of the hike I felt relieved because the hike was over and I got to head back home. In the end I probably would never do the hike again in my own time. But if you like hiking it's a pretty cool hike.

On a Thursday morning my group went on a hike at Mission Trails and it turned into a tiring but memorable adventure. The day of the Mission Trails hike, I had arrived at Liberty Station, got my essentials, snacks, water, and I was set. I went to school and got in my group's car. So once we arrived at Kwaay Paay Peak, I got out of the car, met up with all my friends, and felt pretty excited. I saw Tyler (paps) in his Google jersey, and I was drinking water and eating a cookie I bought from  Navi earlier in the morning. So we started moving, and we got to the point where we needed to cross the river, and the second I hopped on the log, I  knew I was gonna fall. I didn't feel balanced at all, and the log was slippery. But Mr.Omar helped me get across. He got his feet all wet and helped everyone cross the river. After we crossed Brandon, and paps took off and just started running, and they ran the whole time.

 It was just Sebastian and me. We started laughing and running down. It felt like I was gonna fall, but I still tried the entire time. Eventually, when I made it down, I caught up to Brandon, Tyler, and Amilio, and they were all running, so I started running with them. We got to the part of the river where you had to cross on the log, and I was too scared to walk across so I got on all fours and crawled across. After that, we kept running and running until we came back, found a table to set up all our backpacks, and started to relax there.

 I finally felt accomplished and relieved that I was done with the hike, and just kept waiting for everyone to get back down as well. After everyone eventually came down, people were getting told to go to their cars to start leaving. I got called to my group in John's mom's car, and I got in, and as she was driving, I fell asleep on the way to school. 

If you would like to visit Mission Trails Park I recommend bringing more water than you think you need and definitely bringing some sort of food or snacks, as you can and will get tired and will need the extra fuel.

Before I went on the hike I was tired because I had just woken up. I was sick so I had to take the hike on my own time. My dad and sister came along with me, we got into the car and we were listening to music along the way to the trails. While we were in the car, me and my sister were playing “how many cars with the color “any color” can you find. I lost against my sister but besides that we have finally arrived at the trails. It was really sunny and my sister was already complaining about the heat. I thought the place looked pretty, there were so many types of plants and flowers.

 I started walking towards the hill and my sister came along with my dad. We were walking along the trail and saw this huge puddle up ahead, we got stuck for like 3 minutes trying to figure a way to get across because if we went around we would still have to try and get across the puddle. My dad found a pile of rocks. They were small but big enough that we could step on them and avoid stepping on the water. Of course my dad and sister cross easily, but I slipped off a rock and got mud on my shoes and got the bottom part of my pants wet, my sister was laughing at me for that.

 We finally reached the beginning of the mountain. I was already tired and hungry but I kept walking, I saw these purple flowers. It reminded me of a flower that was mentioned during class when we were learning about plants and their uses. I continued on the trail going up the mountain and my sister saw two squirrels, they were fighting over an acorn and it was funny. I ended up yelling at the squirrels that they ran away and left the acorn on the ground.

We have finally reached half way up the mountain and I took a break. I'm pretty sure I saw my plant, a plant I wrote about during Trisha's class. I took around six pictures of the plant, and then after I started walking again. This time my dad and sister stayed behind because my sister was really tired, so I continued up. I was starting to get tired because I was basically walking uphill. I have finally reached the very top, it felt like it took six hours yet it has only been an hour and twenty. I took pictures of the view, I could see other hills from afar and a bridge along as well, it was beautiful. 

I started walking back but downhill and it was so steep that I tripped and twisted my ankles. It hurt really bad but I still got up and started limping. On my way down as I was limping I saw Vincent at a distance he was barely going up, he asked me if I was alright and I told him I was. I kept walking and my ankle stopped hurting a lot for a while, I ended up reaching my dad and sister and they saw that I was still a bit hurt. He asked me if I was alright and I just told him that I would be fine. He saw that it was still hurting a little so he tried helping me along the way until the pain ended.

 We were about to arrive at the end of the trail to go home, but there was this long rattle snake blocking the trail. The snake was taking years to finally get to the other side, but after a while the snake finally left and we continued to finish the trail. My sister was already so tired that my dad started carrying her to the car. 

I would for sure recommend this trail for hikers and people who like exploring or watching views from high places. The only thing that I would keep in mind is that there are snakes, really hot depending on the season/weather, and it can be really tiring due to the steep hills.

The Kwaay Paay trail is definitely an interesting challenge that may come easy for some, but not so much for others. Full of beautiful views of San Diego from upon high. Let’s find out what occurred. 

Twas it was the 5th of February when I headed out early in the morning for the hike. I must admit I was quite full of joy, a certain whimsy had taken over the air. Joining me on my journey was all my dear classmates who all had mixed feelings about such a trek upwards. One thing we all had in common however was the need to go ascend the mountain.

We started our journey upwards somewhere around 10:20 in the morning. I must recommend for anyone who also tries the climb upwards that they bring some good quality sunscreen as thy sun was scorching. 

During the first section of the mission I would say it was a pretty easy experience mostly being on flat land for the most part. Once I made it to the beginning of the upwards ascent I was stunned to discover how quickly the hike became more challenging. That might’ve been in part due to my lack of water inhalation, which I can imagine was not helping my energy levels.

Before I went on to the next section which had a lot of stairs I decided to take a good quality water break. I believe I sat there for about 10-15 minutes before deciding to take on the stairs. I must admit that the consumption of water did not feel like it helped at this late stage of the trek but it most likely gave me the energy to not give in. As I began the ascent of the stairs, I felt like they were never ending. I just kept on climbing and climbing. Time started to feel as if it refused to move on forward.  

However as the stair part concluded and I saw what I believed to be the peak of the mountain. I rejoiced until I realized. I still had a lot more left to walk. So I gathered my willpower for one final push upward. To finally escape the never ending time loop. Then I saw people. 

I finally reached the top and did it. I got an amazing view of San Diego as well as an island far off in the pacific ocean. I decided to then eat lunch and wait for other group members who I came with to arrive at the peak as well. While waiting I had a lot of fun just chatting with my friends and relaxing. It was quite a joyous time. One can reminisce about it even. 

After lunch I started my descent downwards which went by really quick. Remember the stair part I told you about? It felt like it went by in less than 2 minutes. I almost slipped on some tiny rocks at one point but I was able to catch myself and stay upright. 

Finally I made it down and was able to rest. 

Overall I would recommend this experience for people who are more entry level hikers looking for a challenge. It’s definitely a good challenge if you’re barely entering the world of hiking. I would recommend bringing lots of sunscreen as well as a really large water bottle. Also if you want excellent photos of the views I would also recommend this journey. 

At school, I was super energized and excited for the hike. I was feeling okay/neutral for the beginning of the hike, not really any particular kind of way to be honest, as the car ride was kinda decently boring and kinda sucked me dry of all energy. 

Once we began walking, I still wasn’t really feeling any type of way, particularly, but I was still happy to be with Emeli and Judith. So that kinda cheered me up.

When we reached the log, I was honestly kinda dreading crossing it because I really didn’t want to get wet, but when I crossed, not even the littlest bit of water got on me, so I was pretty happy about that. Me, Emeli, and Judith all got separated because we ended up crossing at different times, so I caught up with Emeli as she had stopped, then both of us waited for Judith to catch up before we kept walking.

I walked with Emeli and Judith to the first checkpoints, which included the first flag, crossing the bridge, and getting to the trailhead. 

After that, I decided to keep going at my normal pace because I really like hiking and don’t like stopping often. I passed Adri and Brissa, then I caught up to Ms. Anna, Gia, Mani, and Adri and Brissa caught up to all of us shortly after. Ms. Anna gave us each a candy, and then I continued walking back up. Closer to the top, I passed Mr. Omar, who was sitting on the ground in the shade to the side of the trail, and I asked him how many of the flag markers were left, to which he replied, “Figure it out,” so I reliped by continuing my way back up the trail.

When I got to the top, I waited for them to catch up and make it as I talked with Martin, Red, Arianna, Ilyas, Lars, and Alex. Then, when Emeli and Judith got to the summit, I gave them some space because they were really tired (they don’t like hiking, but I love it). 

Afterwards, all three of us walked back down together (which was really fun, and I had a great time), we were listening to awesome music which kept me energized, and we walked back to the parking lot. 

Judith got picked up early, and Emeli and I got back in the van and went back to school. The rest of the school day, after we got back, felt SUPER long, but it was only around 40 minutes total, which actually isn’t too long, but it definitely felt that way.

When going hiking, bring a lot of sunscreen, bug spray, breathable clothing (a speaker for mood), and a thermos water bottle to keep your water extra ice cold when you reach the top. 

Before the hike, I was beyond upset. I was mad, frustrated, and very tired. I hate hiking, and I’ve always hated it because I always end up getting hurt one way or another (I, in fact, did not get hurt this time, which was a miracle). However, I knew I wasn’t going to enjoy it in any way, shape, or form, especially because I knew it was going to be very steep towards the top, which I do not enjoy.

During the hike, I felt a bit better because I had Judith and Alana, but I was still pretty upset about having to hike. When the river came up, I didn’t want to wait for everyone to pass it, so I just walked straight through it, which was really fun for me. Walking the flat part was full of giggles and smiles, as the whole time it was just Judith, Alana, and me having fun. Once we got to the actual mountain and began hiking, I was doing pretty well, and I was still with my trio. However, Alana went ahead of Judith and me because we were walking slowly. 

Towards the summit, Judith and I had to make multiple little stops as she was having a very difficult time, but I was there to comfort and motivate her, even if I was starting to get upset again because no matter how much we told Mrs. Trisha we were in pain, she didn’t care and forced us to keep going because she wanted a PB & J sandwich, and it was getting late. Also, she kept lying and saying we were close to the summit even when we weren’t. 

Once we finally reached the top, Alana greeted us happily, but we dismissed her angrily because we just wanted to rest due to our exhaustion. Once we finally found a spot to rest, Judith and I felt zero relief because we were grumpy, tired, and our legs gave out on us, so we could barely walk. We rested for about 40 minutes before having to head back down, and during that time, Judith and I weren’t eating much as we were more tired than hungry. 

On the way back, I was a lot happier as the trio was back and we were finally going back home. Where the trail split, we took the wrong turn, but we knew where we were, so we easily got back on track. 

Once we were a few feet away from the river, my arm hurt extremely badly—the whole trip, going up my arm had been hurting, but I kept brushing it off. Then I began to get overwhelmed by the pain and overstimulated by my bag. So, I threw my bag on the floor, but it didn’t help, and I began hyperventilating before crying my eyes out. Looking back now, I think it was the only way for my body to express its exhaustion and discomfort. After crying for about 2 minutes, we continued walking, and another 10 minutes passed by before we finally reached the parking lot.

After getting home from school, I rested for about an hour before finally getting up to wash up. When I did get up, my hips buckled, and I almost fell. I could barely walk, and as I did, I was walking crookedly, and it hurt beyond words. As of writing this, it is now the next day, and I’m still really upset about the hike and how I walk crooked now because of the pain. Lesson learned: if you want to go on the hike, make sure to take LOTS of water, and beware of the heat.

Our first trip was to Kwaay Paay Peak in Mission Trails Regional Park, and I did not want to go on this hike. There was a sense of dread, but also slight hope that maybe it wouldn’t be quite so bad. I mean, at least I’d have friends with me. The uphill would probably suck, but the flat part will be fine, and the downhill should be better. I was wrong, it was not better.

At the start of the hike we almost immediately ran into a stream. The only way across, a log. Well, that’s what it seemed like until Mr. Omar, one of my teachers, just walked straight in. Doomed to having wet socks for the next while of the hike already, he decided to help people balance as they traversed the log.

 After the momentary hold up, we continued on with the flat part of the hike, chatting and taking down notes. This happy feeling continued until we reached the incline. I saw a bunch of steps and suddenly, I wanted to turn around again and head back to school. Unfortunately that wasn’t an option, so up we went.

 I probably got off easier than most since I decided to stick with friends who were definitely struggling, and so that meant breaks were more frequent and longer than I needed. I was just happy to be with them however. We trudged on with me telling myself it wouldn’t be as bad going down, after all, uphills are always tiring. Then we reached the steep part and I realized something new. I absolutely did not want to head down this, I had absolutely no faith I could get down without issue. But once again, there was no other choice. It sucked.

At the top the view was sort of cool, but I’d seen similar ones so many times I didn’t really care. I was just happy to have a break from hiking. My friends and I found a little clearing and sat down to have lunch and talk. I’m sure for the people who got up earlier  the break was super long, but my friends and I were in the back of the group. Because of this, it felt shorter than a school lunch and I was kind of rushed out of there. It overall wasn’t really fun or exciting, especially because I knew it meant I’d have to head back down the steep part.

Heading down was just as bad as I expected. My shoes barely had traction and my balance isn’t all that great, so I was definitely cautious about it. We were taking it slowly and my friend, Vivienne, was helping me balance. I was fine in the more rocky areas but I didn’t like where it was just smooth or dusty. It was pretty slow going. By the time we reached the trail head I was practically covered in dirt from grabbing rocks to steady myself. I had to rinse my hands with my water bottle and tissues because they were so dirty touching anything left a brown mark. All of this is also why I kind of gave up on getting two more pieces of data for our math assignment. My phone was in my bag, there were no good stopping points, and I'm not even sure it would have worked. 

Anyways, you can imagine how happy I was when we reached the flat again. That was all just nice and calm until we reached the log. Luckily I made it across on my own without getting covered in water, and was then able to help Vivienne cross it. Then we finally reached the end, I was happy to be done and somehow decided it “wasn’t that bad.” It was nice enough overall at least because of my friends.

Once it was over I was happy, because as stated, it was over. The car drive back was peaceful, and I got to go to x-block after. Going to track practice sounded horrible, obviously, but I still went. I was right, they made us do various hard activities that included me encountering even more hills and stairs, I’d had enough of those already. I was exhausted by the end of the day. I also don’t really like my math data, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. Like I said, I was more focused on not falling then, something that was all too possible. Overall, If you want to go on this hike I have two main pieces of advice. Make sure you can rest after, and bring good shoes. And as a warning, there is literally no shade on this hike.

I was very anxious. Anxious about being left behind, getting lost, getting injured, dehydration, and whether I’d be able to take all the data needed. In mission park to be exact, one of                                            California's “joys”. For me however, it was hiking up, 2.4 miles of dread. There were a lot of variables and too many things to take into account. Even with how easy all the teachers made it for us, I was still very paranoid. Though walking alongside two of my friends made me feel better.

I started off at a plain pace, slightly slower than my normal speed. The crowd at the river was a bit startling, I’m very glad that Omar stood in the river to help kids cross. Nothing of real note happened on the walk besides that. I was quite nervous when walking along the road to get to the trail head.

Watching for caterpillars was not something I thought I would need to do. Getting to see them crawl and tumble about was both adorable and pitiful. The rest of the uphill battle was hellish. I hated it, it hurt quite a lot. It was also really steep and way too sunny. 

Even at the top, it was just temporary relief, very temporary. I wish I could have rested at the top for a little longer, even if there was no shade up there. It was nice getting to eat up there. I had let one of my friends have free reign over my phone, password and all for funsies. I don't know, he asked for it and I was eating so I let him have it. He also looked at and judged my book choice, his opinions were funny.

Going down was not much easier than going up due to how steep it was. It was, however, slightly cooler, less sunny, and overall more bearable than the uphill. Though jumping around and balancing was kind of fun, even with how tired I was. This is also the point where my feet started to hurt a bit. However, helping Lila and Camilo balance was my highest priority.

As we continued it got more painful to walk, especially on the sharper rocks. Even with hiking boots, my feet hurt really badly. I didn’t care much for how hot it was, it didn’t help though. I held Lila’s hand for emotional support

It felt like I didn’t have the energy to feel exhausted, it only hurt. Yet I still had enough of a mind to know how bad I smelled and feel subconscious of it. I really just wanted to go home, though we still had some school left over. In X-block, back at school, we watched a movie and I sat in the back and doodled on a whiteboard table. Overall, make sure you're fully prepared to endure whatever your school or work demands of you. Especially if it’s physically intensive. 

Before we arrived at the hike, Adri and I decided that we would be at the back of the group, and we would conquer the mountain together.

When we arrived, it was nice in the beginning, just peaceful walking, and a gentle breeze, but then I reached the river, and I didn’t want to get trenchfoot.

 I got across because of Mr. Omar, who sacrificed his own shoes. After crossing, it went back to peaceful walking and watching out for fuzzy caterpillars crossing the road. 

Then we reached the first stairs. We got tired easily and took breaks, but with every break, sand would cling to us.

Adri and I arrived at an opening where we saw some of our classmates resting as well. 

I thought we were almost at the summit, until Ms. Anna informed me that we were only starting, while pointing at the peak of the mountain from a distance. 

My soul got crushed.

We rested there for a while, taking data and dreading what was about to come, then we began to climb again.

At first, it was peaceful, but the more we walked up, the more overwhelmed  I felt with the mixture of sunscreen, dirt, and sweat on my skin.

The only thing keeping me going was the music coming from my AirPods.

We both kept slipping on loose gravel or tripping on large rocks. 

When we had reached a point where the stairs were even steeper, I wanted to die. 

 I was already exhausted. Midway through the staircase, we found a wild Vincent looking at the plants, and he tagged along for the rest of the way.

I was almost at my breaking point, but in a fit of rage, I folded my paper, shoved it in my mouth, and started bear-crawling up the stairs.

I kept crawling until we reached flatter land, took the paper, soaked in drool and dirt, out of my mouth, and shoved it into my pocket. 

When Adri finally agreed to take a break, I felt immediate relief, but knew if I sat down, I wouldn't come back up. 

The further we went up, the more Adri kept claiming she could hear our classmates and exclaiming that “We're almost there!”

When we finally arrived at the summit. We were greeted by Mr. Amilio, who was handing out baby carrots, which I gladly accepted. 

After a long rest, we began our descent back down the hike.

Hannah and I had stayed really behind because Hannah had an injured ankle, as well as Adri, so we all decided to take things slow.

After a while of holding Hannah's hand, I decided I should do this on my own, but as soon as I let go of her hand, I immediately slipped and ended up on my butt.

I had felt so embarrassed that I wanted to sink into the dirt. My ego definitely shrank. 

I retook Hannah's hand until we reached flatter ground. 

After a while, we found a group that traveled with Ms. Anna. We noticed that Ms. Anna was ready to leave, so Adri and I ran towards Ms. Anna before she could leave without us, leaving our classmates in the dust. 

It was just the 3 of us now. My feet ached, my legs ached, I had a headache, and I wanted to die. While Ms. Anna and Adri were having a friendly chat, I was on the brink of death.

 I dragged on until we reached the flat part where there was gravel on the ground and log fences. We walked and walked, and it seemed like forever.

After a while, we reached the river, the same river Mr Omar had sacrificed his shoes for. 

Mr Omar isn't here; he's not here to help us across. Adri and I both we wouldnt survive crossing the logs; we were barely holding ourselves up. We sacrificed our own shoes and walked across.

We were so excited to go home, but our driver had left us, so Adri and I had to wait for another driver to drive us back to school. 

Mr. Amilo arrived and told us we were going with him instead, so we hopped into the HTH van, and finally, finally, we were going back home.

On the drive back, I  took a nap while still sharing an AirPod with Adri. 

I had been woken up by Adri and got told we were back at school.

Eventually, I did get home and took the most amazing shower ever taken in my entire life. 

I don't think I will ever go on a hike again.

My advice is to bring a buddy along with you when on a hike; it’s so much better than going alone.

Before the hike even started I was already saying it was going to be easy. I was going to keep up with Amilio easily. The next day when we got there I looked at the hill and I said “aint no way im goin up that” once we started going up there i just wanted to take it slow and just track data. 

Once me and my friends reached the hill I started struggling. I marked one last data point, after I tracked it I was too tired to do more and I just wanted to get up the hill already. My friends were struggling going up the hill so we ended up taking a lot of breaks. I decided I was just going to get this over with and just finish the hike. I packed my paper and pencil into  my backpack and I started running up the hill.  

Running up the hill was the worst decision because I only made it halfway through. I was dead and it was one of the worst hills to run up because it had a high incline and stairs. I took a break half way on the stairs and just sat on the step drinking water, watching everyone I passed when I was running pass me. I got up and ended up just walking fast on the way up then I finally made it to the top. 

When I reached the top I just layed on a rock cause I was so tired going up  that hill felt like the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Once we finished lunch me and my friends wanted to be the last ones going back down the hill cause we were so tired from the hike uphill. 

We started walking downhill and as we were walking downhill we watched salazar fall down the stairs and my friends were bursting laughing more because 5 minutes before salazar almost tripped and Omar told him bend your back backwards so when you fall you fall backwards and it doesn't hurt as much and then he fell. Halfway through we reached a two path way we could go and we saw a group of kids go on the trail to the left but Anthony swore that the trail back was the right and we just said “its fine if we get lost it will be more fun” so we took the right lane and as we were going down the trail we ran into Omar. Anthony was right and it ended up being the right trail so we just thought there were two ways. When we finish the trail we find out that those group of kids going down the left trail ended up at the freeway lost so we started dying laughing cause that would have been us. A parent ended up getting them back to the parking lot where we met up and we got to leave. We started getting in the car and I slept the car ride home. I was so tired and then I found out we were getting in and out so I woke up and was excited for that. Something to be prepared for if you're going on Mission Trails is to bring a lot of water and prepare yourself for a steep hill but, I recommend going because it's a cardio workout.

Have you ever been on a Hike that felt like it was going on for a million years? Before the hike at Mission Trails, I was excited and ready to go. I was looking forward to hiking with my friends. I expected it to be mostly easy and quick, and I wondered if I would get really tired. During the hike, I realized I had overestimated myself because I was running up the mountain at the worst times, which made me really tired and forced me to take breaks. For the most part, though, it was fun and not too difficult. I would definitely do it again because, while it was a challenge, it wasn’t too hard.

When the hike first started, I knew it was going to be fun because we had already encountered our first obstacle. We are balancing on a log to get across some water. That was fun and exciting. We also saw some of my peers just walk across the water or fall. Once we got to the starting point of the actual incline and trail, I didn’t realize that was the starting point. I thought it would be after that, so I started going fast and tried to run. That turned out to be a bad idea because the trail just kept going up for what felt like a million hours. Since I had rushed before, I was completely out of stamina and out of breath. Then I realized we had already started climbing the mountain, and I thought, “Bruh.” After that, I took it a little easier until we got to the part that was the hardest, the stairs, but I overcame them and ran up them with Kaylum because I had found him on the way up. Once Kaylum and I knew that we had reached the end because we could hear people, we were full sprinting, even after all that climbing, the rest of the way out of joy.

If you ever wanna go hike Kwaay Paay Peak, pay attention to when the trail starts, or else you'll be like me, gasping for air when I need it the most.

If you’re looking for long hikes with fantastic views, look no further! Kwaay Paay Peak Trail is a steep but short climb with a rewarding view of San Diego and gorgeous greenery. 

The first hurdle was the river. It splashed innocently through my destined path, at least a couple of meters long. I stared incredulously and whispered, “We have to cross that!?” 

Some people, either brave or foolish, splashed through without a second thought. Others chanced crossing the logs that formed a makeshift bridge across, swaying to and fro like saplings in strong wind, desperately trying to balance on the slippery logs. I decided to risk the wobbly log bridge. With a little help from my math teacher, Mr. Omar, I made it across and continued on my way.

The way was smooth, with only the smallest of slopes, the path wide and inviting ahead of me. As I made my way through a wide grassy area I noticed tiny caterpillars crawling underfoot. I took great care not to step on them, and even took a quick picture. They were brownish orange and fuzzy, scattered all over the path in numbers so large I glimpsed one every few steps.

When I finally reached the trailhead I was accompanied by a small cluster of friends. We made our way steadily up the slope, but I left them behind as we traversed farther. The wind was refreshing and tugged gently at my hair and clothes; the view continued improving as I reached new heights. I saw very few people and only had the barest minimum of conversation.

In the steepest part of the climb I was isolated from all creatures. For thirty minutes or more I didn’t see anyone. My lips were dry as a desert, my throat was parched, my eyes were stinging from the bright light, and heat from the sun settled over me like a blanket, kept at bay only by pockets of shadows.

As I neared the peak the ground flattened out, providing relief for my tired feet and aching legs. I stumbled onto the top of the mountain, yearning with all my might for a sip of water. I was hot, sore, and tired – but the view was incredible. Clear blue skies, vivid green mountains, a sparkling ocean… 

Lunch at the summit reinvigorated me. I ate eagerly and drank with vigor – the food and water were a cure to my sore body and exhausted mind. As I ate and drank I gazed over the land and chatted with my classmates around me.

When I set off down the mountain I started paying closer attention to my surroundings. I began documenting plants, a passion that lasted until the end of the hike. I greatly enjoyed the thrill of satisfaction when I snapped a picture of a plant I hadn’t photographed before. As a result of pausing every minute or so, for some reason or another, I lagged behind the people who said, “Momentum is your friend.”

I hummed cheery tunes, I delighted in the fresh air that filled my lungs, and I appreciated the absolutely beautiful day. I was able to remain content, if not comfortable, for all of the downhill descent. 

There were, however, still annoyances. Some boys that lagged behind me were working out the treacheries of friendship in very loud voices, and when I slipped or slithered, heat would flood me from tip to toe, and frightening awareness would rise of how close I had come to falling. Mainly though, it was pure bliss.

Only the river jolted me from my dreaming – I feared the crossing. I paused there, gathered my courage, and carefully walked out on a limb. I balanced precariously, I wobbled but did not fall. I was petrified, immobilized, unable to move for fear of falling in. Finally, I was rescued by Mr. Omar. He lent a hand and I leaned on it gratefully. I ended the hike happy and content, and satisfyingly exhausted.

Kwaay Paay Peak Trail was full of obstacles but I think it was worth it for the view and the exhilaration of the downhill descent. If you do go, be prepared for crossing a river and definitely pack a lunch to eat at the summit, plus lots of water, it gets hot!

It was a warm but partly cloudy day in Mission Trails Regional Park, and I was going to start the Kwaay Paay Peak hike. I was excited because this hike would be a way to get away from the city and enjoy the beautiful scenery and nature Mission Trails Park has to offer. This hike was also a way to challenge myself without going overboard, knowing it was a shorter hike, with some milder sections and occasional difficulty. I knew that the summit had some great views to offer, which was pushing me to make it to the top fast and in one piece. 

Before the hike, I was feeling relaxed and neutral, and I didn't expect much from it; I thought it was going to be easy. I knew it would be a fun experience. Overall, I underestimated the difficulty of some parts of the hike, especially at a faster walking pace, feeling determined to make the summit as fast as possible.

At the very beginning, when we crossed the stream, I started the trail with my shoes getting wet. Because I was a bit impatient, I crossed the log that was hanging over pretty quickly, causing me to lose balance and slip into the stream. In this section, be careful, as the log can be narrow and slippery. I kept going despite a very bad start. Things were starting to get a little smoother, and I was with friends, having a good time. We got to the street, had a little break, right at the intersection of the flat part of the trail and the road right before the trailhead. After a couple of minutes, we started going up the mountain, rushing to reach the top first, which was a bad idea, as I ran out of breath fast.  

At this point, I didn't know what was ahead of me. As soon as we started, around five minutes later, I was already getting exhausted, slowing down a noticeable amount. I still kept a steady pace and was close to the front. Here, I could finally see where we started, the parking lot, which seemed miles away from here. Later, we reached another checkpoint with pretty good views.

After walking for a decent amount of time, chatting with friends on the way, we finally made it to the last stretch, the very steep part, or the grand finale of this hike. The summit looked so close, I thought this would be a breeze, but it wasn't, and it was a very painful experience. In the section, the water I was carrying carried me forward.

After that, we finally made it to the summit. I felt amazing, and I was finally able to relax. At this point, the empty feeling in my stomach reached its peak, so I satisfied it with a sandwich I made that morning, which was dry and subpar, but tasted like the best thing ever. Everything felt so rewarding: the breeze, the view, and lunch.

The way down was fun. I ran down trying to get to the parking lot fast, so I could relax longer. Overall, I felt pretty good, I enjoyed the natural scenery of San Diego, had made a ton of good memories, and overall, I was pretty happy about this hike. My legs did start hurting at the end, though. After the hike Felt great, was out in nature all day, and was able to come back and work on woodworking. But it was a little bittersweet thinking that this was just a memory now, a really good one. 

So, if you are gonna plan a journey to Kway Paay Peak, in Mission Trails Regional Park, make sure you don't get your shoes wet, bring a friend you enjoy being around with, bring water, a camera if you want to capture those valuable moments, bring a good snack, hike at your own pace, and check the weather to know it's a clear day if you want to see San Diego in all its glory at the top of the mountain. 

Filled with energy, I sprint down the hill, jumping from rock to rock. I felt indestructible, but as my foot came down, I felt it slip on a loose rock.

Our class was on a field trip to Kwaay Paay. One of the steepest trails in San Diego. It's known for being used by the Kumeyaay people and is a regional park. It's very popular for hikers and people who just want to walk around outside.

 Before the hike, I had confidence. We got to the parking lot and got ready. I got out of the car and immediately felt the heat wash over me like a blanket. The first part of the hike was flat, and we had to pass a river. Crossing it was fun, and multiple people almost fell. 

During the hike, I was pretty happy because I was staying with my friends, and it was easy for the first part. Toward the end, the sun started beating down on me. The hardest part was the big stairs that took a lot of energy out of me. I was probably the least happy during the stairs part of the hike because it was so steep and hot that I considered stopping and resting. Once I reached the peak, my happiness spiked because I could finally eat and rest at the top.

At the top, the food gave me energy and motivation to go down. The view from the top was amazing. Saxon had a photo shoot with almost every teacher there. Since we were the first people there, we had to wait for everybody else to reach the top.

 The most fun part of the hike was on the way down. You could jump from rock to rock, but you had to be careful because the rocks were slippery and the ground was loose. Filled with energy, I sprint down the hill, jumping from rock to rock. I felt indestructible, but as my foot came down, I felt it slip on a loose rock. I felt myself lose balance, and I could see my head getting closer to the bush on the side of the trail. Thankfully, I gained balance and caught my breath. Then I kept going. I was really happy when I made it down because I was the third one. My feet felt like they were gonna fall off after running for so long. After the hike, I was excited to rest at home. When I woke up in the morning, both of my legs were really sore, and my right leg hurt a little bit. Overall, the hike was really fun, and I would do it again. I would suggest bringing water, sunscreen, and a hat.

It was a shady Thursday morning, and I was getting ready to hike Kwaay Paay! I felt pretty good before the hike; my body felt energized and refreshed. I was expecting a pretty long, flat, or mellow hike, but it ended up being a shorter but steeper hike. 

For most of the hike, I was walking with Ethan and Ilyas. Around Twenty Five minutes into the hike, we got to the trailhead, and the hike started to get a lot harder. On the trail, there were a lot of steep stair sets that were very tiring to get up. After we got through the first set of stairs, I thought we were getting close to the top, but we were only halfway. I thought that the hike was going to be super easy, and I thought I was going to breeze through it, but I ended up being out of breath for most of the hike.

 After I was about three fourths into the hike, I started to get into a flow state, and the rest of the hike felt easy. I had to take a lot of datapoints, which was starting to get very annoying when it was super steep, because I would lose my rhythm. The last push to the top of the mountain was excruciating. Ethan and Ilyas were all hot and sweaty and super out of breath. Once we got to the top, I was very relieved and excited because I was very tired and ready to rest.

 The top of the mountain felt so nice because I was just able to rest, hang out with friends, and eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The way down the mountain felt very easy compared to going up the mountain. Once I got home, I felt a little bit sore, but after I took a hot shower, I felt much better. I definitely recommend hiking Kwaay Paay, but a piece of advice I have for anyone who is going to hike Kwaay Paay is to bring food and have a picnic at the top, because you will be hungry, and the views are beautiful.

The drive to Kwaay Paay was longer than I had anticipated. Everyone in the school van was quiet, filled with nervous anticipation for the day ahead. I would like to say I couldn’t relate, although I was using my phone to distract myself from what I knew was going to be a difficult and annoying day. 

When we finally got out of the car, I was hit with warm still air. Great. Just what will make this day even better. I grabbed my sunscreen and started putting it on with precision. Even though it wasn’t sunny, I knew what would happen if I didn’t. When everyone was ready we walked as a group to the rest of our classmates, who were happily chatting by the bathrooms. The teachers took attendance. When we finally started walking to the trail head, it felt like a lifetime had passed.

The walk to the trail head was very easy on a paved road. The actual trail was a different story. It was small loose rocks, almost like gravel but not quite. It was very unstable beneath my feet as I walked. I stopped counting how many times I rolled and contorted my ankle on the trail. At this point, not even 2 minutes in, my ankle was starting to hurt. Even though it was taped. It was like a dull ache that started on the outside of my right ankle. It just got worse with time. At maybe 3 minutes in, there was an unexpected stream crossing.

 Some people didn’t care about their poor feet, they just walked through the ankle deep water, completely soaking their feet and shoes. I was not about to hike in wet shoes for 2 miles, so I walked across the thin log fence that had fallen. Omar was kindly helping people across the log, while sacrificing his own shoes. I quickly crossed, then waited for my friends. After a long wait I kept walking on the annoying non-gravel. The view was beautiful, but the pain in my ankle kept getting worse. We stopped shortly to collect a data point, then kept walking. 

We quickly arrived at the steep uphill to the top of the peak. I heard not so distant voices behind me, then 2 boys slowly ran by and stopped shortly in front of me. They were panting like dogs. I quickly walked by them, unfazed. It felt like a lifetime to get near the top. The higher up I got, the more it felt as though I was walking through a maze. 

My lungs felt like they were failing me. My chest was tight, I felt like no air was filling my lungs no matter how many breaths I took. I kept pushing on, convincing myself I wasn't going to pass out. I finally reached the top and found a rock to sit on, the pain in my ankle getting worse. After some back and forth with my friends, I told a teacher about my ankle. They wrapped my ankle again, and told me I needed to stay in the back and walk slowly. This did in fact mess up my data collection and my calculations for my walking speed. 

When it was time to leave, people slowly filed out of the area where we had eaten lunch. I had to wait for everyone else to leave before Trisha and I started our very slow descent down the mountain. Every step I took felt like someone was kicking the outside of my ankle. The pain was not quite forgotten as Trisha and I shared strange facts about nature. The trek felt like it lasted for a millennium, even as we neared the river crossing. 

At this point, all I wanted was to sit down and ice my ankle. I knew that wasn’t a possibility just yet, but I could quicken my pace to reach the van faster. When I sat down, relief flooded my numb legs. Most people had already left because we were the last people to arrive back at the cars. The car ride back to school was silent. Everyone was close to falling asleep, me included. The drive to school felt shorter than the drive to Kwaay Paay, probably because I closed my eyes and tried to not think about the pain in my body. I walked into school with shaking legs and a noticeable limp. My friends immediately noticed and chewed me out for it, in a loving way. 

If you choose to hike Kwaay Paay, bring lots of water and sunscreen. Hike with at least one other person, in case something happens. Also wear appropriate hiking shoes because the terrain differs a lot throughout the hike.

Some people love hiking and some people hate it, I am both. I can enjoy hiking when I actually willingly want to hike for my enjoyment and not hike because I have to. I mean who wants to hike and take data at the same time?! 

Before I  started the hike I already knew I would be melting and in pain during the hike. On the way to the trailhead I was laughing and walking with Carli. We saw a bunch of beautiful green trees and black fuzzy caterpillars. We captured our moments with our phones. When we reached a river, everyone had to cross using a log. It was super funny because people were slipping into the water, getting their shoes wet. I didn't slip because I am the goat. I also have experience balancing on beams since I did gymnastics as a kid. Although I was afraid I would fall because everyone crossing made it seem so hard.

When Carli and I started the actual hike it was not fun at all. I had cramps and wanted to rest multiple times but couldn’t because Carli claimed if we did she wouldn’t be able to keep going. NBA Youngboy was spilling out of Carli's phone speaker to hopefully make the hike a little more enjoyable and less painful. We also had motivation from our favourite teacher, Anna. As Carli and I climbed the stairs of the hike, I started to slow down and take in all the beautiful scenery that surrounded me, and ended up separated from Carli.

At the peak, I was so happy to see Mani, Arely, Carli, and Arianna. I was also relieved I didn’t have to hike up anymore. The view was gorgeous and the stones across reminded me of Mt Rushmore. On the way down, I kept slipping and sliding like a penguin. I reunited with Carli and listened to songs by Charli XCX as we hiked down. At one point we had to choose one path over the other and at first we were thinking everyone but us was going the wrong way. Oblivious to the fact we are lost, me and carli decide it’s a perfect time for a photoshoot. It wasn’t till we noticed we hadn’t seen anyone for almost an hour that we realized we took the wrong way. We were both out of water, sore, and tired; the fact we had to hike all the way back up to the double pathway wasn’t making anything better.

When I finally finished the hike I was soooo happy to be done because I basically hated every second of it except for when me and carli listened to music, made mini vlogs, and took pictures. I would like to hike Kwaay Paay again but on my own time.

If you visit Kwaay Paay I suggest bringing lots of water and something to hold items you probably wouldn’t wanna hold the whole way up.

Before the hike I wasn’t expecting it to be easy, I knew it’d be long, but I was hoping for a fun walking experience out in the mountains. At the start it seemed like that, with all the greenery and that fresh grass smell. The first bump that was unpleasant was the river that we all had to get across. I had accidentally fallen into it feet first, ruining my socks. But in the end I got over it, I had walking to do. 

One of the more pleasant things that me and the group of friends I was walking with saw was all of the black and fuzzy caterpillars on the ground. They were a fun sight, but also a slight walking hazard. I really do feel like they should put up signs about them, like one of those XING signs for kangaroos because they were all around during the beginning. 

It started to become really hard once we’d reached the actual mountain. The whole terrain of the place was incredibly unsteady, full of sand, dirt, and inconveniently placed rocks. My group and I weren’t exactly having a fun time climbing up all the steps. But it only got worse once we reached the halfway point.

The steps by that point had become genuinely hazardous. The entire path was filled with steep steps, and rocks caked in sand and dirt giving everything a slippery feel. At least to me, it felt like one wrong move or slip up and I'd be slipping face first into a rock. Me and my team were sweating bullets and losing breath so much that we had to take breaks every five or so minutes. My throat was also becoming dryer the higher we went up, and my water supply was starting to run low.

By the time we’d reached the peak alongside everyone else I was just so tired that instead of looking at the view alongside everyone else, I sat near a bush, pulled out my sun umbrella and just started writing down my work notes. Nothing else really of note happened up there. The view wasn’t really worth it either, it was just a really high up view of a neighborhood. 

It wasn’t until after we were readying up to head down the mountain that I realized I forgot to eat my lunch. The walk down was a little more easy and a little more nerve wracking. Everything was still slippery and steep but I did get help from one of my friends. 

By the end of the hike, my limbs were wrecked. My arms, legs, neck and back were aching from all of the walking and looking down to make sure I didn't accidentally slip on anything. 

Overall I feel like I could’ve prepared better, but the upside is I got to do this with friends. And that’s what makes things like this worth it.

If you have an excess amount of stamina and like both a challenge and walking, then I’d recommend you take on this hike.

Kwaay Paay Peak & Mission Trails Regional Park, sounds scary but it really isn’t, just very sunny, bring sunscreen.

When I stepped inside the car I felt unprepared to do a 3 mile hike, because I have never walked that high. When we got there I did any possible stretches I knew to prepare for the hike, even though after those stretches I still didn’t feel ready.

 When we started walking I was trying to keep a normal pace so I would have good results when calculating my steps, and so I wouldn't get exhausted. At the start it felt amazing, I walked past little rivers of water, and took pictures of birds and worms. It was going great, I thought I could pass the hike without worries, then, I got to the start of the climb.

 It was a little difficult at first, but I decided to run upwards, because I thought that was a smart decision, then I could walk the rest of the way. I felt great at the start, but then I stopped for a quick break, and I felt like I was breathing through a straw. 

I was so exhausted that I almost missed a flag; I started to think that I wasn't going to make it to the top. As I climbed the stairs, an old lady walked by and she said that I was so close and to not lose hope, that gave me the strength I needed to keep walking up. And that old lady was right, because when I stopped to write down my progress I heard voices from people up at the top, and right around the corner I saw everyone.

At the top I felt glee. I was glad that I had made it up. Eating the food I had stored felt like receiving a prize. I wrote down my data then took some pictures from the view then continued eating my lunch and drinking my water. Although I was a little sad that I didn’t see my plant. Then we were just waiting for the rest of the people that were still down there. The view was beautiful and I think I saw an eagle.

I thought going down was going to be a breeze. It wasn't, because I was afraid that I would slip due to my shoes having no grip, and I didn’t want to mess up my data. going down hill I took some pictures of a pekingbird. When I got to the parking lot I was relieved that it was over and headed back to school. My legs were very sore after that hike. I would go again because it has a nice view, but I wouldn’t run upwards again, and if you're planning on going on this hike, bring extra water because it’s very sunny.

Kwaay Paay, Mission Trails. Maybe you know it, maybe you don’t, but I'm about to walk up and down the whole thing. All of my calculations and tests lead up to this. My ultimate goal is to reach the summit before anyone else, but could I really get past everyone without getting tired? Or would I just burn out halfway through.

When I started walking I was getting anxious because my camera was dead, so I couldn’t collect data. Nevertheless I caught up with my friends and to counter the issue, I just took a selfie with the nearest person when instructed to take a picture (I’m so smart).

There was a river we had to cross & I was really scared of getting wet because then my socks would be soggy for the rest of the hike, but I balanced my way over no sweat, and continued on. There was a fork shortly after and I had to sort it out with my friends before continuing but we ended up blindly taking the right path anyways. Now I was really starting to question if I’d be able to make it to the peak first.

When we eventually reached the trail head I had lost a bit of energy but I kept going and maybe if I'm being honest I might have overdone it with the uphill. A few minutes in and I was already out of breath trying to catch up to Amilio. Somehow he just kept going and I had to push through it because I just knew I could do it.

 I finally caught up to Amilio at mark 2 and he started checking everyone’s data. Everyone around me was doing it wrong according to him and when he finally looked at mine the tension in my chest evaporated and I could take a breath as he told me out of everyone there I had been the only one doing the assignment correctly. 

When we continued on, Amilio just carried on like nothing and I, still half out of breath, followed closely behind. The incline soon died out, the path cleared, and as we got to the top I summoned all my energy and ran in front of everyone to tap the plaque saying “Yeaahhhh I touched it first!”. It was only then that I promptly collapsed on a rock. 

At its peak, the view was amazing and there was a nice breeze too. Soon others got up and I filled out my second to last data point with a photo of me, Alex, and Ari. I sat back down as more students populated the area. Considering all that walking I decided to eat a sandwich and enjoy the cool refreshing air. The time passed by and after what felt like eternity, (About an hour and a half later) we finally began the descent.

Starting up the mountain was like the perfect balance of difficulty and fun.  Running down? Not so balanced. Alex, my only hope for a last picture was way more bouncy than me and he sprung from rock to rock down the path at frightening speeds. Chasing him down was extremely painful as my shoes had no traction and I skidded around trying to reach him while not running off the edge. I don’t know what that boy was on at the moment, but I dont want what he’s having.

 I was so close I could tackle him but my lungs gave in and so did my ankles shortly after. I watched him skip down as I stumbled forward. Pain pulsed through my legs with every step I took, and still through the agony I just had to keep going. Sweaty, tired, and out of breath, I managed to crawl over to Amilio and the others and thankfully we took a short rest so we wouldn’t be too far ahead of everyone else. 

I attempted to surpass Amilio’s ungodly speed and endurance but eventually I fell behind and we ended up walking to the rocky gate. They started running ahead of me and when I got back to the river again, there was a noticeable gap between the two logs I had previously crossed so I had to jump over and balance across. I nearly fell in with how little there was to stand on but needless to say I walked away with dry socks.

 When I got up to Amilio, I was so tired I just sat down on a rock & waited for pickup with all of my friends. If you want to hike Qwaay Paay, I suggest you bring water, a hat, good hiking shoes, and please, wear anything but pants. Oh, and lastly don’t be like me and make it a competition, It won’t do you any good you’ll just be tired.

Gost lost on the travels of Kwaay Paay ...more like Kwaay pay for your LIFE! When I first got there I was nervous because I had to decide on what fiends were coming up with me on the hike and I remember feeling a timely in my bladder so i went to handle business in the bathroom and i was suddenly less stressed I saw that gia has a good but also reliable hiking speed since it'll be her first time and also mine so i decide that im going to be hiking with her and Ari we start talking and I observe the area the rocks are dehydrated the trees are loud and ground is crunchy and the sun is excited. I start and I feel hopeless cause I know it's a long way to go. 

The flat was not in fact bad at all but then I actually started going up from the trailhead and it was so hard. Five minutes in I started breathing hard and I took a rest. The view was not so good because I could see the peak and it was nowhere close to us.  

Getting to the peak was like a vacation in Miami. It was well needed and relaxing. Getting closer to mother nature and being outside was for sure a fresh breath of air and I could see the tall and old mountains. The body felt relief but looking back at it… so was my mind. We headed down and it was bad from there because we got ost i remember seeing Mr.Omar point his hand in a signal but he lead us into the wrong direction instead of waiting so we ended up stranded going back down and when we were stranded we lost sight of trial and it was a construction sight but not the same one.

So we went to the side instead of going straight down and took a breather and waited which felt like forever for Arianna Mom to pick us up. (Shawna) but overall i had a great time and i wouldn't trade it for nothing at all we all talked about the trip in the car. My body felt sore but in a good sore like its been yearning for travel, adventure and wilderness.

So if you want a fun, adventurous and full of surprises hike I would for sure tell you to head over to the good ole Kwaay Paay!

At the start of the hike, I was relaxed and excited, excited to spend time in nature, excited to spend time with friends. Throughout the hike, I never felt bad, just tired. On the way up the mountain, Julian and I ran in bursts to keep up with the head of the group, and just for fun. During the hike towards the top, my mood swung a bit because Julian and I were sharing time, and he had stopped to sit on a rock for roughly 1-2 minutes. I caught myself turning into my dad and giving him a little motivational speech about how easy we have it in life. After the speech, our moods perked back up,   and we powered through to the top, smiling.

 Once at the top, we were so happy to be done with the hard part of the hike and to relax, chat, and laugh together. I played didgeridoo on the rocks and had Ilyas take a video of me. After finishing my water and a snack, we took some pictures, hung around a bit more, and headed down after Amilio to the base of the parking lot

As Julian and I headed back down the mountain, we decided to start running, and after a bit, I decided to play music for Julian and I, and I started flowing through the trail and relaxed to the point that I barely noticed myself breathing. The whole time down was never dull; it was fun and peaceful to hop over rocks down the trail, and it just felt great. Back on the fire road, I decided to walk back through the puddle of water because I didn't want to try to balance the log with my camera

Once at the parking lot, we all waited for the other final people to finish the hike, so we could leave. To kill time, Lars, Saxon, and I did a plank contest. After that, Lars and I tried to see who could hold the longest wall sit. At the end of the hike, we were all exhausted, hungry, and thirsty.

I felt happy for part of the way up. I simply crossed the river on the way up, because of my lack of patience. It was when I made it to the steps that I paused. This was starting to get hard. People began to go ahead of me and more or less it went downhill from there. I almost went the wrong way, and I would have if someone hadn't told me from further up the mountain that I was about to go the wrong way. The steps were also brutal, it was one after another and my legs got tense and started shaking by the time I was up the main set of steps.

After that I was still unsure if I was going the same way since I had been walking for so long, without seeing anyone. I eventually was going so fast that I caught up to some people and felt very reassured that I was headed the right way. Afterward I kept walking pretty fast, and me and the people in front of me had to stop a few times. The moment I heard voices, I knew we were at the top. 

Overall I was about the eleventh person to the top. So I was pretty proud of myself. I had lunch but honestly I just wanted to go back down the entire time because it was so hot and miserable. 

After I ate and got some water I began running down the mountain. And had to stop running because I felt like I was going to throw up, and my legs hurt a lot but honestly it was pretty fun. For a little bit Saxon and Ilyas LEFT ME. And I was alone again… That's when I started feeling a little dizzy and I didn't have any water left. I sat down for a little bit but no one came, so I got up and kept walking again. I honestly just didn't feel good. Once I kept walking for a little bit, Saxon and Ilyas were waiting, and they had water, so I survived. 

Then once we were down the mountain. SAXON LEFT US, and Ilays stayed behind because Saxon was running. After a short while of walking, me and Ilyas saw Saxon out in a field, far away from the path frolicking. Eventually he came back and together we kept walking. Then the three of us saw Sebastian throwing water on the log we used to cross with. He was trying to make it slippery so people would fall. I walked across the log without falling but I think Saxon fell. After that Saxon had the urge to run again so he ran all the way to where there were about six people waiting. 

Once I got back I was so tired and just wanted to lay on the dirty floor. Overall the hike was just really exhausting, but I think it was good for me, because it made me push through the discomfort and persevere.  

After the hike, I was just really tired, and all I wanted to do was shower and go to bed, but I also had to go to a friend's birthday party, but after that I went to bed super early. I also had to deal with my allergies after the hike, I got an itchy throat, and it's the worst. I hope it will go away if I'm not hiking but I can't know for sure. Me and nature just don't agree sometimes, even though I love being outdoors. So maybe if you have allergies take allergy medication before hiking here.

I was expecting something fairly easy after the big backpacking trips I have done. Like the 44 mile 9 day trek in New Mexico which was fun and not that tiring. I imagined a simple flat part for a while, until we reached the trail head to find a kind of steep hill. The hill would have been steep and challenging for a little bit but not that hard because of how long it was.

Once I got there I was right, and found out the flat section was for a while and not that bad. I knew there was going to be a river crossing however I didn’t expect it to be on logs. Lucky with my heavy backpack I managed to cross on the logs with my excellent balance from rope climbing. 

As we continued the rest was flat and fast. We walked on the trail which was on dirt until we got to this bridge. After the bridge we got to the road which we had to walk up until we got to the trailhead. It wasn’t bad to walk on the asphalt but I would rather walk on a trail. There was an excavator here and it reminded me of when I was here last time.

Five months ago I was here and it wasn’t for hiking, it was trail running with my Cross Country team and it wasn’t easy. The mountain was so steep to climb and I thought to myself this isn’t even the tallest mountain in Mission trails. 

The whole run was like 9 miles and I fell but caught myself going down so that was lucky. Saxon (my friend) fell down and got a cut on his leg, the roads were made for vehicles not us. They seemed like fire/service roads since they were really wide and steep for people to go down. I dodged places with pebbles since if I stepped there I would have slipped and hurt myself.

Once we got to the trail head there was a steep incline that was starting to grow. As I was hiking up, time started to stop and it didn’t feel bad. That was until I got right behind Mr. Amilio which didn’t seem bad at first but later, I felt the results of what was happening. Backpacking made the pain of my knees and legs feel like not a big deal, it was like I was walking up a hill with a bunch of bees stinging my legs. 

The thing was minutes later the pain was hurting worse since Mr. Amilio was slower than my pace and if I was by myself I could keep going with the pain. However, Mr. Amilio was going slower so I just felt the pain intensify as I kept going slower. I felt like a fire was starting on my body and I wasn’t doing anything to stop it. Then we got up to the peak and it felt good because Mr. Amilio wasn’t slowing me down anymore. Lunch happened and later finished, we were ready to leave down and I made sure to relax this time. 

I could have gone at the same pace but I just wanted to treat this like a normal hike so I went at a fairly slow pace. People were running down like cheetahs but I just let them pass so I could be by myself. It paid off and I got to be alone in God’s creation just hearing the wind blow and the quietness of his nature. There was one other person that was following me but I didn’t mind her and I kept going. 

On the way back to school, I was glad we got to hike instead of going to school today. It was nice and sure was lovely, I learned one thing from this hike. I always want to be in front if I hike a big slope so I don’t have another moment like with Mr. Amilio. I woke up the next morning with sores on my legs and arms like usually after I hike for a good amount. 

The hike wasn’t exactly what I wanted by mileage and elevation increase but I still enjoyed it and want to do it again. It wasn’t a strenuous hike but a hike to do if you want a challenge but keeping it not hard nor easy. Mainly because it was flat for the majority until the trail head. Once you get to the trail head you started to go up but it wasn’t that bad. You could even do another hike since there are many at Mission Trails to do harder or easier.

When I first found out we were going hiking I did NOT like the idea of hiking at all. I avoided the question and didn't let my permission slip till the last day. All my friends were saying “bro just go stop being lazy” I don't like being called lazy, so I made a BIG mistake. As we were getting to kwaapay i felt good it wasn't too hot or cold my only complaint was that it was sunny with very little clouds. I made sure to bring a very good amount of water so i thought… 

As we were about to go hiking I went to use the bathroom and made sure I had everything I needed and left things I didn't. As we started the hike I felt good a little but felt comfortable. About half a mile in I still felt good since we were still on a road but dusty so it was pretty good. I was walking with 2 of my friends as we started to get into the real hike with an incline we settled in. 

2-3 minutes of walking. David asked me “aye lets drill this hike come on” and started running so I ran after him 1 minute after running, I saw David lying out. I ran 5 more steps and collapsed. "I can't do this" I said and couldn't even talk or speak or even breathe properly. Hanna passed us with a smile on her face. We sat down there for 5 after that run. 

The hike felt impossible and messed my whole pace up. I ran out of water the worst. But we kept going once we got to the top. I felt like I just won a mission that made me 10 million dollars but I still felt like I had something left to do so once I rested my goal was to be right behind Amilo on the way down and I did. It was hard but felt great.  I will never be going hiking for fun. The next day I woke up sore and weak. When I woke up from bed my legs were shaking. Some things you should know or bring with you if you ever go hiking are water, good hiking shoes, sun screen, sunglasses and no cotton clothing.

In the car driving to the hike I thought I was going to be the first one to finish. In my head I thought this was gonna be cake. Brandon and I were gonna run up, but Brandon’s brother said he was the first one up when he did the field trip. In our heads it was like he was passing the torch! We were doing this, easy.

 The hike started and me and Brandon were in the back. We ran to the front but as we were sweating bullets and putting everything we had into this mission, his water bottle kept falling out. I was saying “bro, just put that sh*t back in your bag.” It fell out multiple times, but it was so funny. So we were in the front with my teacher, tracking no data and  straight running because we were demons.The teacher realized we couldn't go that way because they were building. Teach got us back on track with me and Brandon in front, putting our souls into this hike. Brandon was dying going up, Teach in front and the other folks catching up.

 I looked back and saw Brandon and thought “he ain't too far back, but he's moving” a minute later I checked on him and looked back and he's nowhere in sight. Where  did he go because he was just right behind me I thought. Then I had to go back, I saw him on the floor drinking water and looking like a sweaty sausage. I took a minute to wait for him to go back on the grind, but now people caught up in front and I was trying to be first but I couldn’t leave Brandon behind. When I knew Brandon was back up and running again, I ran up the mountain back to Teach. A bunch of times I checked on Brandon and he was nowhere to be seen.

 Then at the top of the hike only Brandon, me, Teach and three other people had made it. When we finished I thought it was only half way. I was ready for another hour of this. Then it was lunch time and we were all eating with all of our friends. I started talking about going back down and coming up with Brandon and  “he’s like bro what are you on.” 

At the bottom of the hill Amilo was at a good pace running to the end.  All of us were running down the hike for a couple of minutes then Sebs gives up running then Ferb now only Brandon and me are smooth coasting. Brandon stopped and  die before I let teach beat me so me and him side by side he says you could keep going as long as you stop where we started. I was  like “wooo finished FIRST then a year later teach comes finishes. Ferb other kind people are done, just chillin at the front better then everyone. After everything I wish the hike was longer it was easy, lightest thing ever wasn't even sore straight demon with no data just locked in. Overall a good trip. If I go again I will bring a lot of sun screen. It's pretty hot and you can't forget to bring a bunch of water!

Before the hike 

I was feeling pretty excited and nervous to hike this mountain. My backpack was heavy, and I had a lot of water that I would need for this hike. As I began the hike, I looked up at the mountain, and I really didn't know what I was getting myself into. I doubted myself if I could reach the top, and I decided just to keep on moving. When my friends and I were going up the mountain, John and I began to run up the hill and sped up to get in front of everyone. Spoiler alert, I was one of the last ones to make it to the top of the mountain.

During The Hike

As I nearly reached the top, the trail narrowed and got steeper. I had to catch myself breathing multiple times, and I could feel the burning in my ankles, but then a sudden sense of determination from my friends was telling me to go up, and my friends really helped me to push myself to my limits. When I finally pushed past the last few steps, the exhaustion made me feel accomplished and very tired. I also enjoyed the 360° views of San Diego.

The Ending Of the Hike 

As we were getting ready to head back down, I realized that I had spent a lot of time at the top, and I actually got my data from science, and it says that I spent around an hour and a half just sitting and relaxing at the top, talking to friends, and talking about the hike. As I began going down the hill, it got way harder. It was way harder to go down than up for me because it was so steep. I felt like all those rocks made my ankle shift so much. However, my mood was different on the way up, and it was a struggle.  I felt like when we were going down, I felt more relaxed, and I don't usually enjoy hikes that much, but this hike was a bit more enjoyable. If you ever want to go hiking, definitely try out the Kwaay Paay Peak Hike. It made me overall feel better about hiking, and I think that I wouldn't want to do this again, but at the same time, if we did this again, I wouldn't be as mad about it. 

As one of my first trips in High school, I’ve never been to or experienced a trip like Kwaay Paay. As a first time hiker, I had a feeling it would be a good and exciting new challenge.

Once I first got to Kwaay Paay, I felt really confident and prepared for the first hike field trip. The sun was beaming and there was lots of dirt in the area. It was hotter than ever. I felt as if I were going to melt. The only thing I was worried about before the hike was taking the right notes and accurate ones because I really wanted to make sure my calculations were at least almost correct. 

During the hike I got really tired once we got closer to the top and there were stairs; It became even more steep to walk uphill and the heat waves felt hotter. I took a few breaks before getting to the top and it was still really hot while in the shade. It was really hard keeping track of the pedometer steps at different times. 

On the way up, crossing the river was a little tricky but I ended up walking across the water because it would take a while for everyone to cross. Resting was really tricky because there wasn’t a lot of space to take a break and a lot of people were behind or in front of me. On the way down I had to use my phone to record the time and pedometer steps so it became tricky for me to be able to walk properly with everything in my hands at once. 

After the hike, all I could feel was happy once the hike was over. I was kind of shocked I made it to the end with no trouble since there were a couple of times I had a feeling of weakness and dehydration. On the way back to school the car was super hot and it felt like a longer drive going back then going to mission trails and the next day I felt the same, just a little sore and my legs were very tense and were shaking wildly. 

The Kwaay Paay experience showed me that I could not only have a good time without devices but also hangout with friends out of school.

Before we started the hike, I was feeling excited to go on an adventure with my friends.

I was expecting the hike to be a piece of cake. When the hike started, it was chill and easy. I was having a great time talking with my friends, and it was all going well until we saw a river

When we got to the river, my friends and I were thinking about how we were going to get across the river. Some rocks were sticking out of the river which we decided to use to cross the river, but it did not help; my feet still got wet. 

When we crossed the flat part, there was a bridge. When we were crossing the bridge, we saw some more friends, and they had chezits and my friend David and I got some, and we continued our hike. When we were done crossing the bridge, there was a big hill we had to go up, and my friend and I ran up it for fun. When we started going up it was when it started to get harder. We just keep going up, and it never stops. When we got to the base of the mountain, my friend thought we were almost done, but then we checked Google Maps, and we were nowhere near.

When we got to the steep part, my legs started to hurt a lot, and I started getting Knee pain

At this point, I was thinking that I wasn't going to make it, but my friend kept going and never gave up, and that motivated me, so I followed through and continued. 

When we got to the top, I felt relieved, and I was really hungry. I sat there eating my fruit snacks, enjoying the view, and spending time with friends talking about conspiracy theories and religions. After an hour, the teachers told us that we had to start walking back down.

When we started to go down it was very slippery but less tiring than going up. Going down was very calm, and I really had a good time because I had a good conversation with my friends. Then we found a cool spot with a tree where we could sit and chill for a while. You sat there for a very long time as we saw the people pass by. 

When we got to the bottom of the mountain, we were tired, and I had to use the restroom. I sat down with my friends as we waited for my mom to pick us up. When we got back to the river, we were laughing as we crossed which made us fall and get our feet wet. When we got to the car I said hi to my mom, and I talked to her about what we did on the hike and how it was. On our way back to school I slept the whole car ride and talked to my mom.

I didn't even get to go to my house, and I had to go straight to practice, and I was exhausted. This morning I woke up sore with pain in my legs.

In this journey, we went on a hike to record data.

To be honest, I didn't want to do the hike, I mean, I kinda like hiking, but I didn't know how to feel, I was also kinda excited. The flat part was really easy, especially the river part. I know how to balance, so it was super easy for me, plus I didn't want to get my shoes or feet wet. I was kinda in the front for all the flat part. Still, once we started the incline, I was dying because it was a step incline, so I eventually ended up in the back, but I was still going at a decent pace, like I was taking really big steps.

Still, toward the end, I got really discouraged because I was like, how much of this I was super tired, and I really needed Electrolytes. Still, it eventually started to flatten out. I was like, omg, I hear people im so close, I finally made it. I was like, " Wow, I did it! It took me forever. I wanted to eat my food, but my stomach hurt really badly. I also wanted to throw up. Still, I drank my Gatorade and some water.

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I was only up there for 10 minutes, then we went back down. The way back down was easier. I would have made it down quickly if I hadn't gotten a cramp in my leg. I didn't have it for like a good 5 minutes. I started to move again, was behind Juan Salazar, and saw him slip and fall a good 2 feet down the mountain. I think that was the cherry on top of the whole thing, to be honest, it literally made my day better. It was super funny, I literally made it down the mountain, and I still had the walk home. Still, I was just walking by myself for a little while, then I ended up with the g.o.a.t himself, Devin, and we walked the rest of the way there, but we had to cross the river again, and I have really good balance and almost fell, but still made it. But unfortunately, the g.o.a.t Devin didn't make it and fell into the river. We made it back to the start, and I felt pretty good because I hadn't been on a hike in a while, and it was nice even though I almost died on the way back to school. I was thinking, "Wow, that wasn't actually that bad," and told my mom we should go on a hike, and then we got back to school, and she checked my cousin and me out, and then we went home.

If you like to hike and like hard things, I would say do it. If you don't like hiking, then I would say stay away if you don't. This is not a friendly hike; it is hard.

This was an amazing hike. Just before I started this, I knew that we would be going to Kwaay Paay peak.  I have gone on many hikes before this, and I was trying to see how people hike at my tempo. I think I have a very fast walking speed personally. My speed was soon to show on the hike. We all started to walk over to the trailhead. I thought I had everything I needed, but I was mistaken. I had a difficult time remembering the sunscreen. I was worried that I might be sunburned. 

During the hike, I thought about how out of breath I was. I used to be able to do something like that without losing my breath. I guess one of the main reasons was that it was hot out. On the way over, I almost got lost because of friends, but I forged it through and powered ahead. 

 Ilyas, Alex, and I were the group I was with most of the way hiking the mountain. On the way to the top of the mountain, I got so thirsty, and I was sweating literal buckets. Surprisingly, my legs were fine, and I was not getting tired. It was just my breath that I had lost. Amillo, surprising for his age, was flying up the mountain at a swift speed. 

When I reached the top, I was with Martin, Constantine, and Scott!  A little later, we were joined by Ilyas and Lars. I had a fun time on the top of the mountain, we shared snacks and had a good time viewing the amazing landscape. 

 Later, we climbed down the mountain, and the huge sections of rock that we precariously climbed over now had become an obstacle to run over.  I ran like there was no tomorrow. I cleared rocks like I was in a parkour video, turning and thrashing around corners I could not see past. When I finally reached the bottom of Kwaay Paay Hike, I felt a sense of accomplishment and perseverance.  I am very proud that I did this.

Hiking is not necessarily a fun thing to do. I usually enjoy hiking, especially if the view at the top is gonna be worth it; it’s beautiful, but that doesn’t really make it fun. I am not that crazy about stairs, especially. It can be pretty tiring even if you are prepared with all of the proper equipment. And this was surely the case.

When we arrived at the location by the bathroom, I was tense because I knew how I was gonna be all tired out at the top. I was happy I chose to track my happiness level because of how long the hike would be, and I could never see myself tracking my heart rate. The walk on the flat ground was peaceful and was a good warm-up for what was going to come. We ended up getting stuck around the start of the walk up, where Mr. Amilio had to check to see where we were going because the planned path was blocked off by construction

The walk up was fine for a while. I had to wait for Kaden because he had to count his heart rate and get his camera. We were taking a couple of breaks for water and for the 15-minute timer. The stairs were the worst part, with how high up they were and how long it felt walking up them, it got to the point where I thought I was going to throw up.

Getting up to the top was the best feeling. I knew the first thing I was going to do was eat. The wind made a nice contrast to the heat we’ve been experiencing from this point on. The lunch definitely made the moment better. After my lunch break, I began to draw the landscape in my sketchbook. 

Before going down, I waited for Kaden to put his stuff away and for me to hold our data sheets. Afterwards, Kaden and I immediately started running down the mountain. We kept stopping at each point, but we would have a few spots. The moment we got halfway to the bottom, we began to play hype music like House and EDM. 

The end of the hike was such a relief, but I wouldn’t be mad if we had to do it again. I barely wrote anything on the back of the page because I was so tired and sweaty. The hike itself was hell, but it did give me time to reflect on those fun moments. I believe that if you love hiking, or at least would be interested in being in nature for a couple of hours, then I recommend it, just don’t try sprinting.

Have you ever been hiking? Well I haven’t, and this was my experience on Kwaay Paay Peak trail. 

The morning of the hike of emotions, I felt amazing. The weather felt nice on my soft skin. On the way to school I was feeling excited and more than prepared for this hike, or so I thought. 

When I arrived at school, I met up with my friends. I kept on telling them how excited I was for this hike. As I continued to say how easy this was going to be. Although I had no hiking experience, I’ve always wanted to go hiking but I never found time to. So in reality I didn’t know what to expect.

 I assumed it would be the same thing as just taking a walk for a while. On the car ride to Mission Trails, Mr. Scott couldn’t stop singing. The whole car ride was filled with laughter and excitement. Once we had arrived at Mission Trails, I felt like I couldn't wait any longer.

 I felt ready to go. Before I knew it we started walking to the start of the hike. I had a good feeling about this hike. We were a couple minutes into the hike, although we started off bad. 

We hit this little river, although to everyone it seemed like the amazon river. There was only one wobbly log all 22 of us had to walk on. Omar, my math teacher. Stepped in the river to help everyone walk over the log. I couldn't stop laughing seeing how scared everyone was. 

Although before I knew it, it was my turn to walk over this wobbly log. Walking over it, felt like walking on a thin little stick. Before I could even start crying I was off the log. Then that’s when the hike started. I was so distracted by the beautiful nature I forgot we were even in San Diego, or even that we were on a hike. 

Although this good feeling about this hike would slowly wear off. Little did I know this was about to be one the most hardest field trips of my life. We hit 3 data points, I knew after the 3 one we would have to start going uphill. Although I wasn't worried I felt more than ready. I wish someone told me to prepare more, because 10 minutes of going uphill.

 I felt like I couldn’t catch my breath. I was walking up like a newborn baby learning how to walk. Going up felt like a never ending hike. Every 10 minutes I felt the need to take a break. I kept on thinking to myself “how do people do this for fun?”. Remember when I said I had a good feeling about this hike? Well that quickly changed. I didn’t know if to cry or keep on walking. Although before I could even cry I was already at the top of the mountain.

Once I got to the top, I felt like the album cover of the song “Be Like a Woman” by Chris Rainbow. 

I was finally able to rest after what felt like walking a 1000 miles. Have I ever walked a 1000 miles? No. Although it sure felt like it. That first bite of my snack which felt like heaven. Once finishing my heaven sent meal. It was time to hike down. I thought it would be as bad or even worse. 

Although I was completely wrong. It was faster and easier going down than coming up. Well going down I was catching up with an old friend. Which made the hike down feel faster. Once we arrived back to flat ground I felt my legs shaking. I wasn't used to all this steep walking.

If this seems like your type of activity, then definitely come hike at Mission Trails. Come by to see all the beautiful views. My experience wasn't as fun as I thought it would be but you could definitely out reach me. 

The date was February 5, 2026. The Sage and Oak teams gathered to take part in the first of 5 journeys we would be doing this year. The journey was to climb Kwaay Paay Peak, located in Mission Trails Regional Park. The ride there was mesmerising, from seeing the city so far away, to seeing the mountains getting closer near the freeway exit. 

Before we started the hike, I was nervous because the mountain looked so massive from where I stood. The feeling of actively being scared while actually doing the hike made me feel paranoid, not knowing what could happen next, and left me that way for a portion of the journey.  As I continued the hike, I saw one of my friends, Vincent, up ahead, but with a small boost of adrenaline. I managed to catch up to him. Unfortunately, I was slowly losing my pace, and they went off without me. Him going off by himself made me feel alone and scared to continue the hike. 

When I finally reached the peak of the mountain, the view was so mesmerizing to me & it calmed me. Having the time to settle down after hiking up a mountain was such a relief. Also, seeing both the city & ocean from up there was calming to me. After finishing my lunch, I played on my Nintendo Switch to settle down and chill since we climbed for basically 2 hours. It was nice to settle down and feel at peace after a huge exercise. After that lunch break, everyone started to pack up & began to descend towards the parking lot, which was far away. I decided to suck it up and started to head down with everyone else. The walk down was way easier than the walk up. When heading back towards the trailhead, I accidentally slipped on a small slope and tried to keep my grip on the ground, but it ended with me falling down. 

The rest of the path was simple until there was a fork in the road. There were 2 visible paths. Most people were stuck on that part to see which one was easier to handle. I chose the normal path that I had taken earlier. That other path wasn’t bad, but it just took longer for those people to get back. When I finished the hike, I felt proud of myself. The ecstatic feeling of finishing such a hard task was rewarding. 

I highly recommend going to Kwaay Paay Peak & the Mission Trails Regional Park if you are interested in experiencing what I’ve been through. To prepare, take good hiking boots, a fully filled-up water bottle & good service for music. What you should expect is a lot of parts that are steep and slopes that you can slip on.

At the very beginning of the hike, I was excited to go so I could hang out with friends and just have a good time. Then, when I was walking into the bathroom, like when the door was closing, I heard someone yell JEW JEW JEW JEW JEW, and I was like, what the hell? Who the hell was that, and I was pissed because I know for a fact that I am not going to let someone yell that at me and get away with that so then I run out of the bathroom, and everyone is telling me that it’s some kid and I am so pissed and hurt that this kid thinks he can do that I have really never talked to him before and he thinks that it’s ok to yell at me the only jewish kid at like the whole park.

But after all of that fun stuff, we started the hike. I was climbing pretty fast, I would like to say, but some other kids weren't doing so well. I am climbing and getting more tired and more tired and more tired until finally I somehow reach the top. Still, I was pretty proud of myself because I would not say I am very in shape, but I beat a lot of kids up that mountain faster than they did, and a lot of them were in better shape than me. 

Then we hang around at the top for a long time while we were waiting for other people, and then waiting for the descent down the mountain once we started I was on Mr Amillios tail I was behind him the entire way down the mountain with brandon tyler and sebastian and then we started the flat park and I can feel that Mr. Amillio is about to take off running because he did it a few times down the mountain. So then once we start heading towards the bridge, he takes off and starts running, so we all start running, and by then a few people have caught up. We had Alex, Martin, Damian, and Kaylum all caught up. So once he starts going, we all start following him, and I am still on his tail, and then boom, Kaylum is done running. Then boom, Sebastian is done running, same with Alex and Martin, and then Boom, I get hit with a nasty side cramp, so I am done running, so now it's just Damian Brano and Tyler chasing Mr Amilio, but then  I see Sebastian start running again. 

I see them go farther and farther away, but then I decide I have to beat Sebastian back, so I start running again, more like a jog. Still, I kept going and I'm going and going and going,g and I get another side cra, mp but I decide just to push through and get to the end, so I keep going, and I'm luckily catching up toSebastian,n and then I pass him, and I am hype, I'm like, let's go, I'm gonna get third place. But then I see Damian, and he is probably like 20 meters ahead, and I see him crossing the log, but he falls in, so then I pass him, and then I pass Brandon, and I make it to the end, where I get 2nd place right behind Tyler. Then we go to lie on a table for a little bit while we wait for other people to get down the mountain, then everyone makes it down, we get into Ezekiel's mom's car, and I start to fall asleep in that super tight car, and we finally arrive back at school, where then my mom picks me up early, and I get to go home.

On Thursday February 5th, 2026, the 9th grade students of High Tech High went on a field trip to Kwaay Paay Peak to hike the trail. The hike was very exhausting and I felt no gratification at all for completing the hike. The primary reason for the hike was to be able to learn our walking speed, stride length and to collect data for two projects. 

I will now go into more detail about my journey.

By the time we got to the parking lot of the trail I had to spray on sunscreen which I opposed. We then started walking and I felt some heat on me but it did not cause me any mobility issues. I along with the other 9th graders encountered a river we had to cross. 

It was scary and after that I was walking with my good friend Devin until he decided to walk ahead of me.

 I was constantly searching for an owl in the trees as well as a burrow because owls tend to live in burrows but I unfortunately couldn’t find any. By the time I was walking up the hill I was exhausted and irritated because I had to keep track of 15 minute marks.

 I eventually was alone for a few minutes until stumbling upon two of my classmates, Brissa and Adri. I started walking up the hill with them and we soon stopped because of Adri’s sore ankle. Adri was giving us false hope and constantly said she could see the top and hear people. 

At one point Brissa didn’t want to walk and decided to crawl up instead of walking normally which was gross but amusing.

We finally made it to the top after multiple stops and I  forgot to eat my lunch. I smelt a lot of plants and the majority of them had a minty scent. I had a brief conversation with my friends Constantine and Arianna as well as Adri before we had to walk back down.

 I stayed a bit longer at the top than the majority of the group to just enjoy the beautiful view. I still managed to stay hydrated with water and added electrolytes to ensure I wouldn’t be completely exhausted. 

 I could hear a few people talking from the back of the group after I walked ahead of them. I decided to stop and wait but then I realized they were far behind and waiting for them would be pointless. 

I kept on walking but got paranoid from being alone and hearing other people's voices without them in sight. I decided to facetime my acquaintance Santiago a few times while almost slipping numerous times.  Once I got back down the trail we got back in the school vans, Brissa, and Adri got put in my van with Amilio and Devin did as well which was pretty cool. 

During the ride back to school I listened to music and eventually fell asleep. The hike overall was solid and I constantly think back to how I could’ve been moving faster but then again if I did go faster I likely would not have hiked the way up with Brissa and Adri which was pretty fun.

If I recall correctly I was by myself walking down the trail for above 30 minutes. It felt lonely and as if I was on my own adventure and stranded. 

It was peaceful but somewhat unnerving after a while.

 The worst part of the hike was the data, the majority of the classes had such a fun time hiking and being in a peaceful environment. 

If anyone were to go on this trail I would recommend bringing a necessary amount of water, sufficient amounts of food that can satisfy your hunger, as well as a charged phone, sunscreen and a friend to walk with.

How I was feeling before the hike was scared, I knew I would have a hard time going up the mountain. I don't usually like going, since they usually leave me breathless. 

Once we started to walk I felt the heat from the sun hit my body making me sweat, I wiped the sweat off my forehead and hid my face from others' seeing feeling embarrassed by the way I looked. There was a log that we were meant to walk on to get to the other side. I watched as emeli walked through without a second thought, but I went to the log not trying to get my shoe wet. We walked to Emeli trying to catch up.

Going up was a challenge for me, I would say I hated it.

Me and Emeli stayed together, trying to walk up together. We took many breaks until I felt so tired. I couldn't control my emotions, and I began to become frustrated. I tried to push myself more to continue up.

At the top me and Emeli just hid away from the crowd. 

We felt so bad to everyone we had spoken to, since we were very rude. We called over Alana to say sorry, when we got up Alana cheered for us but we passed right through her.

On the way down it was better, and way more fun than going up. We were all together and spoke all together. I texted my mom to pick me up from there since I felt so tired. On the way down near the bottom I had walked too fast and fell onto my bum, we all laughed together at the funny moment.

Once we finally got back to our original point my mom was there to take me home, since I texted her earlier. When I got home I went straight to my room and took a nap and didn't wake up until 12:00 am.

I had tried to enjoy it at the moment, but clearly not much. It was not for me but if you like hiking it's really good since it has amazing views at every moment, just not for me. 

That's it,

Judith

As I woke up, I remembered I had to go on a 4 mile hike at Kwaay Paay Peak. I was nervous because this was my first time going on a hike this big. But When I got to school I felt encouraged to go because all my friends were excited to go.

When we started I was feeling good about hiking up the mountain. I was walking with Vincent for the first half of the hike but then he slowed down so I left him. Walking up the mountain was hard for me because my legs were starting to hurt so I took many short breaks.

When I was walking up the stairs I met Omar and saw him trip on the stairs. Then I reached the summit of the mountain and my friends were excited to see me without a sweater on for the first time. After I got to the summit I felt relieved that I didn’t have to go up the mountain again. The view was really good and I got to hang out with my friends, but the day before I just got braces so it was hard for me to eat so I only ate an orange at the top.

Then it was finally time to go down the mountain. I went down with a group of people but they all were faster than me so I got left behind. When I was walking down I was at the split path and I took the wrong path and went down it. When I was going down that path, a rabbit jumped out of a bush and it scared me because I was walking alone and I thought it was going to attack me. But when I got close to the bottom I realized I went down the wrong path, so I walked back up and went the right way this time.

When I was walking back I met up with Ezekiel and we started talking and walking. Then we reached the water, Ezekiel walked across the log before me, but when it was my turn I slipped and my foot fell in the water so I gave up and just walked in the water. And then I got back to the parking lot and felt relieved that I was done with the hike.

If you like easy hikes I would recommend it, but if you don’t have that much stamina, I wouldn’t recommend it for you. And if you also don’t have a good grip I wouldn’t recommend it.

Have you ever crossed a log to go on a peaceful hike? If not, make sure you visit Mission Trails! Mission trails is a huge open space in San Diego county, and Kwaay Paay peake is one of the many hikes at the park. 

It was Thursday morning, before going on the hiking trip and I felt nervous because I wasn't sure if the hike had many uphills. When I made it to Mission Trails I realized that the start of the hike was easy, since the path was flat. 

Further down the hike I had to walk on top of a log to not get my shoes wet and that was nerve wrecking because there was a possibility of falling down to the water. After the log there were more flat paths with mountains all around me which felt very peaceful. A few minutes after the flat path ended, I got to be with one of my friends for a little while which was a nice break. 

When I got to the point of being in the incline I was alone for most of the time because I wanted to take my own steps. In my experience I had to collect data every fifteen minutes and that made the hike longer. In the last minutes of the hike I had to walk up big stairs and that's when I started getting exhausted. I didn't want to take a rest so I searched on maps how long I had left to go to the summit. Seeing the time being seven minutes gave me courage to run for the rest of the hike. 

When I got to the summit I finally took a rest and realized I was the third girl done and I was proud of myself. Not only did I take a rest but I also talked with multiple peers, the conversations were mostly about the afterlife which was interesting. When it was time to head down I wanted to be the first one but a good amount of people decided to run down so that wasn't possible. 

When I was walking down two of my classmates catched up to me, and it was fun to listen to their funny conversations but at some point they also decided to run down. I tried to run down but my stomach was hurting, so I couldn't. I had finally made it to the flat part of the hike which meant I was close to the end but it also meant I had to cross the log bridge.

 When I got to the log bridge a group of boys were on the other side and I heard them laughing but didn't think anything of it. I was about to get on top of the log but then one of the boys got on it too. He started wetting the log and he himself started slipping so I decided to just walk through the water. My shoes got all wet but I didn't let that get in the way of me finishing the hike so I decided to keep going to the parking lot.

 There was a shortcut to get to the parking lot and that was running down and up a small hill. My friends did that shortcut so I decided to do the same, it was somewhat scary but fun. When I got to the end of the hike I hung out with some of my peers that I don't talk to often and that was nice. Overall the hike was peaceful. 

Go to Mission trials but make sure you go on an overcast but mild day.  Wear some comfortable shoes and don't give up before going to the summit. Most of all don’t go on a slippery log.

I knew it was coming. The field trip was inevitable. But I didn’t process it until the trail laid ahead of me. At first, the beautiful sights and laughter filled conversations with friends gave me a motivational boost. But then, we started the hike. 

I was listening to music, walking up with Brissa. Nothing crazy, until we had to go up so many steps. The sun scorched our skin, knees wobbly like jello. I was discouraged. Especially because we had to take data, looking out for any mini HTH flags. 

Whenever I think of hiking, I think of two things. One, the terrifying hiking experiences I’ve had from middle school camp. Then second, those pilates influencers who love nature and matcha lattes with oat milk. Since seventh and eighth grade camp felt like forever ago, my memory associated hikes more with the second. 

The only thing that kept me going was the Charli XCX blasting in the airpods me and Brissa were sharing, as well as Brissa herself. But I eventually grew more tired. I immediately went from 360 by Charli XCX to exit music (for a film) by Radiohead. I still was blasting Charli, but physically I felt like Thom Yorke crying while singing fake plastic trees.

I continued my journey with Brissa, Ms.Trisha was encouraging us. Telling us we were halfway. Maybe we were, but it didn’t feel like it at all. I kept thinking we were going to be at the top.

We weren’t even close.

We eventually went ahead Ms. Trisha and continued our adventure with just each other. 

As we continued to hike, we joined Vincent. All walking in a single file line. I was the first in line, making sure the way was safe. I felt like Indiana Jones, at least I think I did. I’ve never actually fully watched the movie but I have ridden the Disneyland ride a couple times so I think I can say that. 

I kept speeding ahead, thinking we were almost at the top. Telling the two behind me that I heard people. Apparently not because we weren’t even close to the top yet so it was just the exhaustion getting to me. 

Anyways, the Britney Spears blasting through the airpod made me unstoppable. Brissa kept begging me to stop walking while Vincent waited with her like a kind citizen. I kept speeding because I thought we were at the top already. Poor Brissa shoved her paper in her mouth and climbed up the steps like a little puppy. Barely surviving, holding on by a thread. 

But then, I saw it. I no longer felt like Thom Yorke singing fake plastic trees crying on live television. I now felt like Bjork running around on stage in any of her performances. I saw people! People I didn’t really like that much but people nonetheless. 

Civilization meant the peak, the top. It was the end of the hike. Then it dawned on me.

We still had to hike all the way back down. 

I went from Bjork running around on stage to House by Charli XCX. The whole scenery changed. Sure, the break was great, the view breathtaking, the Gatorade slushie Hannah gave me was magical. But reality had dawned on me, and that was that.

I climbed down cautiously, grasping onto everything I could, from Ms. Trisha's hand to the trees (sorry trees). After getting through some of the steep parts going down, me and Brissa went ahead of Hannah and Ms. Trisha. 

While the journey going down went by faster, it was much steeper and there were many times I thought I was going to fall. I kept thinking about cracking jokes saying I’d tumble down like Jack and Jill but I genuinely thought there was a chance of that happening, so I chose silence as a way of not jinxing myself. 

Before I knew it, we made it down!

Fast forward and we were in a car with air conditioning. Brissa slept peacefully and I blasted music in our shared airpods, going from Britney to trading her out for a more melancholic, peaceful, Elliott Smith melody.

I sat peacefully in the van, squished between Lila and Brissa. I snapped a few photos of Brissa sleeping and the rest was history. 

While the hike itself was a little difficult, I don’t regret doing it and I believe everyone should at least try it once! What matters is going at your own pace, drinking tons of water, and of course having fun. 

It all started in Ezekiel’s Mom’s mini cooper absolutely crushed between the units that are Coleman and Ethan. Driving up there with my knees at my chin feeling the warmth of Ethan and Coleman I start to think about what this hike might contain and what is ahead of me. We arrived swiftly and began the hike shortly thereafter. Immediately my main group of me, Coleman Ethan and Ezekiel, shot out of the gate being the first ones to start but me and Coleman got slowed down on the bridge and they went ahead without us. Once we made it to mark a we were already starting to feel it once we got to mark b Coleman was already eating all my cheez its and I was thirsty. We made it to the trail head and I was honestly feeling good.

We started on the actual trail and began to ascend the mountain and I could feel how steep it was with each step I felt like I was picking up my legs and placing them down more instead of just auto walking like at the beginning but after a grueling trail and having to wait for Coleman constantly I could finally see the top. John and David ran up to see the view and I felt relieved until I got there and came to realize it wasn’t the top and we still had a while to go. Moments later I reached the steepest point of the trail and it felt like I was taking one thousand steps just to move slightly further. I was kicking up dirt every step I took and looked down at my clothes. My once white socks were more of a slight brown now and my jeans were wet from the creek. For what felt like the 100th time I thought I saw the peak but this time it was really the top.

I arrived at the sight of Ethan who I hadn't seen in hours and the rest of my friends who had passed me. I sat around for a while and caught my breath while facetiming my friend who was currently in physics at that point. After a quick 30 minutes I started to head back. I took off with a group of Coleman, Lars, and Ezekiel sometimes. The way back seemed to be moving by at a much quicker pace then the way up and it felt like we were covering way more ground in way less time. We made it all the way down the summit and back to the creek, this time I was determined to not get wet. I started to cross and reached the half way point and Lowkey got scared but I kept going and made it all the way across and Coleman fell so I was really happy. I pretty much sprinted back to the parking lot because I was so ready to go home and once I reached it I met back up with Ethan. 30 minutes later we began to leave the field trip and I reflected and thought about what I enjoyed about the hike and I came to realize that I really enjoyed the whole thing. If you're looking to visit Kwaay Paay I would recommend going later in the day. When we went during the day it was really hot and more challenging.