Where The SUN, Southwestern College meets the WiLDCOAST: Finney Overlook-Otay Valley Regional Park

Mountains, desert and the coast. Outdoor enthusiast and tourist flock to these areas to acquire a “fix” from Mother Nature. A draw to nature is personal. People select outdoor places for hiking, cycling, fishing or a purely to be in its midst. In the charisma of nature, any activity can be tranquil.

Overlooked is 13 miles of Otay Valley Regional Park river bottom vegetation and wildlife wrapped between South Bay’s I-5 and I-805, Main Street and Palm Avenue.

Finney Overlook was a perfect spot for WiLDCOAST and REI’s second bilingual nature trail hike. EXA FM 97.1 joined in support. This high point advantage has beautiful views from every direction.

HISTORICAL FINNEY OVERLOOK: Known for pilot John J. Montgomery. Profiling the natural shape of a bird’s wing, he piloted the first controlled wing flight by a glider in 1883.

REI Community Relations Administrator Myrian Coronel organizes REI’s summer educational hikes. Our guides for the day where JP Ruiz, Outdoor School Instructor, REI and Otay River Conservation Program Manager Katie Westfall, WiLDCOAST.

RULES OF THE TRAIL: Katie Westfall and JP Ruiz give a brief history of the park and the important rules to follow on the trails.

Together, the energy and devotion for what they do is infectious and is a perfect atmosphere for listening and learning.

Our group was exceptionally large for this hike. San Ysidro’s Girl Scout Group 5912 showed up in force. We went in two groups, leaving the younger scouts with Group Leader Irene Barajas.

Going from the viewpoint to the valley is a steep descend, but manageable enough for most people.

First, looking at the valley from above gives a great perspective of where you are when you reach the trails.Trails are wide and comfortable. During our hike, we saw several cross-terrain bicyclists training.

With such a large group, most of the animals you could only hear scurrying through the brush, but the birds fly around as if we were not there. Hikers of all ages learned many things about plant life in the area.

PJ is a storyteller, always having a piece of history to share about the area. Both of them, in their own style, taught us a variety of things about the plant life and history of this valley. First lesson-how to spot poison oak. PJ’s rule is “leaves of three, let it be” and for good cause. This valley is flourishing with Pacific Poison oak, and its shades of green and red are beautiful.

POISON OAK: Beautiful to look at, a rash decision to touch.

Westfall is at ease in this space that I have named “Katie’s Valley." I laughed when she pointed and said, “Here is the mighty Otay River.”

PERSONAL NOTE: Where I come from, we call it a creek.

Another plant overflowing in the valley is the Castor Bean plant. Invasive, native of tropical Africa, this plant has been cultivated for years for the oil in its leaves (castor oil).

There is enough castor bean in the Tijuana Sloughs to harvest simple biological weapons. It is unknown what the effects of a wildfire would do with this amount of castor bean plants burning its toxicity in the air. Buying castor bean seeds is popular as it makes a desirable ornamental plant in urban landscaping.

TOXIC CASTOR BEAN CAN KILL. Containing the protein ricin, when inhaled, injected or ingested is deadly. Forms of ricin have been tested and made into a chemical/biological warfare agent. Ricin manufacturing is easier than cocaine.

Next, we learned about jimson weed, with other names like datura or moonflower. Today it grows in any warm, moderate region in the world. It has trumpeted fragrant flowers. Ingestion of this plan can be fatal as all parts of the plant contain dangerous levels of poison.

A HALLUCINOGENIC: Jimson weed is used recreationally . Effects from interaction to this poison, comparable to the deadliness of huffing.

We learned about deer grass. Kumeyaay lived this river for many years. Commonly used in basket and other weaving was deer grass.Lemonadeberry, commonly used for drink and flavor are one of the edible plants in the region.

NATIVE HISTORY: Westfall tells how the many uses of lemonadeberry and it s connection to the Kumeyaay of the region.

Anise abounds throughout the valley. Native to Egypt and the Mediterranean it is now cultivated all over the world, for its fruit, aniseed.

ANISE: Tasting like licorice, anise is used for flavor, in liquor and medicine.

Before coming to an end to head up to the viewpoint, we hit this wall of eucalyptus trees. It was apparent that this place has become the perfect forest setting for paint ball. Protection boards nailed to many trees gave it the look of an outdoor shooting range. Katie described the danger to the local wildlife with paintball pellets all around the grounds. There was a distinct line for as long as their roots stretched, where nothing else but the eucalyptus can survive.

I finished the hike exhilarated and enlightened. I look forward to hitting these trails on my own. Perhaps I can catch a glimpse of an American Badger. Possibilities are endless in an ecosystem made up 14 diverse habitats.