Hiking Adventures: Catalina Island

WHO: Travis, Elise, Ryan, Devin, Bella, + Taylor

WHAT: Exploring Catalina
WHERE: Avalon, California
WHEN: April, 2014
WHY: We were on Catalina Island for my grandparents 40th wedding anniversary, and we had the morning off for free time, so we decided to go exploring.

The "trail" we decided to take was more of a road for golf carts, and not really a designated hiking trail. We looked up hikes on Catalina but they were mostly hikes that spanned the entire island. We have goals of completing that hike, but for now this short hike was perfect for everyone. 

Our hotel, Hotel Metropole, was right off the main street of Avalon which is the main city on Catalina. This made it easy to head out the door and explore. For the hike we took the main street and walked up Marilla way, turned right onto Vieudelou Ave and continued onto chimes tower way. This took us up to the old bell tower but we kept going and eventually the trail loops back around and we ended up back on the main street again. The total walk from our hotel and back was 2.5 miles. Catalina is a very "hilly" island, but once you go up, you have to come back down. Everyone had a great time, and I'm glad we were able to include my cousins and brother into our mile challenge for the year!

Hiking Adventures: Bluff trail

WHO: Travis + Elise
WHAT: Montana de Oro Bluff Trail
WHERE: Los Osos, California
WHEN: March, 2014
WHY: We were on vacation in San Luis Obispo, and wanted to check out a local hike

 

Hands down the most gorgeous hike we have been on. Pictures definitely don't do this place justice. We drove about 20 minutes West of San Luis Obispo to Montana de Oro state park for this hike. It's not to far South of Morro bay. We could actually see Morro Bay rock from where we were. Everything about this place was picturesque.

I did see a snake on our trail and surprisingly, acted relatively calm about the whole ordeal. At the end of our hike we saw a guy corralling a rattlesnake and told us about how he is doing his Master's thesis on rattlesnakes, and how drought affects their reproductive cycle, and was out there "catching" the snakes to chip them and release them. So I guess it is a pretty popular place for snakes and hikers alike. 

It was a pretty leisurely hike, with a very clear designated trail. There were times when we would take the dirt paths leading out on the various bluffs. Also, at one end of the trail, if you walk down some stairs, there were tide pools. Nothing like the ones we saw up North when we went camping last summer, but they are always neat to experience. We ended up hiking a total of 4.3 miles and adding it to our running #milechallenge2014 total. 

Hiking Adventures: Griffith Park

WHO: Travis + Elise
WHAT: Griffith Observatory West Trail Loop
WHERE: Los Angeles, California
WHEN: March, 2014
WHY: It was Sunday and we wanted to go on a hike but try a different route from our usuals. We were in Pasadena, so we decided to check out the Griffith Park trails that lead up to the Griffith Observatory since neither of us have been to the Observatory. Also, we were able to knock out 3.5 miles of our mile challenge.

This hike was wonderful, and probably one of the more crowded hikes we have been on, but it was nice seeing so many people of all ages and sizes getting some exercise. We parked down the hill, off of Los Feliz Avenue and started our hike from there. It's a pretty steady incline all the way up, which means it can get steep coming down. Also, there are a couple different paths you can choose to take a long the way. Before heading up to the observatory, we veered left down a path. Off of this path we were able to see the Hollywood sign and other parts of LA. This was the first time either of us had seen the Hollywood sign in real life, and we both have lived in Southern California our whole lives. If it wasn't for the absolutely horrible LA traffic I'm sure we would venture into LA more.

Once we made it up to the observatory, we spent an hour or so wondering around inside. Admission is free and there are cool interactive displays. Trav's favorite were the scales that showed you how much you would weigh on the moon, and different planets! Mine was the interactive lifesize periodic table. The weather was perfect and the views were amazing. I know it looks like there is smog in the pictures but it's just the filters I used. It was actually a pretty clear day for southern California. 

Overall, we hiked/walked a total of 3.5 miles, but we took different routes and spent time walking around inside the observatory. The total hike would probably be around 2 miles round trip.

Hiking Adventures: Pine Knot

WHO: Travis + Elise

WHAT: Pine Knot Trail

WHERE: Big Bear, California

WHEN: Feburary, 2014

WHY: It was Valentine's day and we wanted to take advantage of the perfect weather outside. We also wanted to knock out some miles for our  mile challenge.

This is one of the longer hikes we have done together. The reviews said it was about a 6 mile hike round trip and at the top is supposed to be grand views of Big Bear lake. A little over 2 miles in we saw the wonderful views of the lake, but per the reviews we kept walking until we hit the 3 mile mark. At 3 miles it was forest. We kept going for about a quarter of a mile but decided to turn back because we didn't want it getting dark on us. Round trip, we hiked 6.3 miles. I would normally say we hiked 6 miles, but because Trav's racing number is 63-I felt it was appropriate.

We really enjoyed this hike. There were minimal people on the trail, so it was nice and quiet. It could also be due to the fact it was a Friday versus a weekend day. There was still some snow on the ground that we stopped to play in every so often. It was a perfect way to spend Valentines day.

HIKING ADVENTURES: Castle Rock

WHO: Travis + Elise

WHAT: Castle Rock Trail
WHERE: Big Bear, California
WHEN: January, 2014
WHY: Travis + I celebrated 5 years of being together and we decided we wanted to go on a hike. Along with our mile challenge, we decided we wanted to get out more and explore this year. Big Bear is only about 30 minutes away and is full of great trails that we have yet to hike! We chose this one to be our first.

We ended up logging 3 miles round trip. The trail starts out as a pretty steep incline, but gets better as the trail progresses. It is all worth it when you get to the top and you have beautiful views of the lake and the surrounding forest. There was still some snow on the ground but the weather was absolutely perfect. While the rest of the country was have snow days from school and work, we were playing in what little snow Southern California got all winter. Hey, I'm not complaining-we got to go hiking in the mountains in the middle of "winter."

HIKING ADVENTURES: Rock Creek

WHO: Alex, Travis + Elise
WHAT: Hiking to the top of the mountain/hill next to our campground. Mind you there was no designated trail.
WHERE: Rock Creek, CA (about 30 miles N of Mammoth)
WHEN: June, 2012
WHY: The day before, all 4 boys (including the two pictured), decided they wanted to conquer the mountain. That was until they heard "grunting" sounds; like a bear was somewhere near. Now this could have been possible, or it could've been their imaginations and tired feet making things up so they could stop and go back. And that's exactly what they did-come back down. So the next day, the three of us decided we wanted to conquer it-and well, we did.

  

Once we made it to the "top," we were treated to some breathtaking views. The mountain plateaued and then kept going up, but we called it quits at this part. It took us a good hour and a half, climbing up a very steep, unstable hill side to make it to this point. Making our way back down was no small feat either. Once we wrestled our way through brush, dirt and branches to get back down to camp, we emptied our shoes out of all the dirt and rocks we brought down with us and soaked our feet in the nearby creek.