This 4th of July weekend, Hoku and I tagged along with Irene and Russ (Kai’s friend beasts) to hike San Marcos, a lesser known trail that leads through shrubs, over boulders, past a communications tower and finally to the top of a hill where stands an American flag. In stark difference to Cowles Mountain, we didn’t see a single other hiker on the trail. And thankfully, also no rattlesnakes or mountain lions. Having hiked the trail a couple times before, Kai expertly led the way off-leash while Hoku followed closely on his long leash. It was a hot day, but the pups were troopers and made it all the way to the top, fearlessly scaling the boulders like pros! The top of hike offered a nice breeze and views of the coastline with Carlsbad directly to the west of us.