Torrey Pines Hike

This morning my wife and I awoke to a desire to work out and enjoy the incredible weather this weekend (which is saying something considering its San Diego). We originally considered going to PB, but with the constant stream of Bro's, cyclist, and roller bladers. I countered with Torrey Pines (which is only a few miles north of La Jolla). Now to start with, I am cheap and do not like paying alot for parking so I typically will research how to avoid paying the 10 dollar entrance rates for most county parks. I also bring 3 bottles of filtered water from home (filtered as in from my sink) and some dried mangos as a snack.

Torrey Pines is great because of all of the available and free parking along Carmel Valley Road near the Del Mar Scenic Pkwy.

We then walked into the park and along the N Torrey Pines Road and into the Torrey Pines state reserve. The walk up the first main hill is challenging, but afterwards you have an opportunity to stop off at the visitor center and make a pit stop. From there multiple trails exist to the beach and cool views of rock formations and the beach goers await. An example of one formation is shown below.

We took the Razor Point Trail and the Yucca Point trail. The nice cool sea breeze kept us from over heating and made the whole trip very enjoyable. The view from the Razor Point shows you a different view of the beach and boaters below.

Overall the hike was two hours long (that is from the moment we parked the car until we returned to head off to lunch). It took us 20 minutes to drive from Hillcrest to the park. Overall the hike was a good time and well worth the drive.

Mission Trails Park

My wife and I are in-training for our anticipated trip to Peru later this spring. Now its hard to prepare for the altitude that Cusco and most other cites in Peru are located, exercise and hiking are good way to make sure we have the right gear and are in sufficient shape for the experience. This blog is to (1) catalog my push to get into better shape as I prepare for this journey and (2) motivate me to explore every park and trail in San Diego County.

I think its important to tell people that hiking is not necessarily about dedicating yourself to some crazy 8-hour excursion, its about taking time to see our natural world. If your hikes start out as a 15-30 minute walk to a farmer's market or to the store that is how I got back into it here in San Diego (I live in Hillcrest).

Yesterday we went hiking in the Mission Trails Park (Mission Gorge). Mission trails is a classic example of most new parks these days, it has easy to moderate trails, with both paved and unpaved options. We decided to check out the more easy options, and took the flatter, trail to the dam.

The hike took about 1.5 hours and at the end we were abit more dusty then when we started, but overall the sights were very cool. I think next time we will head up closer to the rock face that most of the rock climbers explore. We weren't particularly tired at the end of hike, we just were ready to head back and get cleaned up for dinner.

A Path Forward

It seems funny that at 32 I am working out a plan for the future, but without a goal what is life? Three years ago, I completed my dream, a PhD. A year later, a UUV that went to the bottom of the Marinas Trench and with it a post-doctoral position at WHOI, marriage to the woman I love. Then a trip out west to start a job.

I think the last two years have been but a blur and without much direction. Passion, yes passion, but no direction. I wanted to do something, which I did, and now I am setting up for the next thing. But I think its important to have a list of goals, first travel:

1. Jordan
2. Egypt
3. England
4. Mexico
5. Peru
6. Easter Island
7. Thailand
8. Morocco

Second stuff to do:

1. Fly on the Vomit Comet
2. Ride in Alvin
3. Go into Space
4. Finish my Ork Army
5. Win an X Prize
6. Learn a second language

Its a small but impressive list I know, but its really just a start... a work in progress like life.