Tag: hiking

Wildflowers of Torrey Pines, Guy Fleming Trail

Super Bloom, Spring 2017

The drought that has plagued the Southwest United States, Southern California included, has been declared over… for the most part. We saw hardly any rain over the last five years and this winter we made up for the deficit. Finally! And when the rains come, so do the wildflowers.

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The Torrey Pines State Reserve is a special place, and if you are visiting the San Diego area, try to stop by here. For spectacular scenery, the Guy Fleming Trail is one of my favorite places to walk, run, bring tourist friends, and take photos.

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This year, a lot of photos. Never have I taken more pictures of any natural area. Ever. And I like taking pictures along hikes, so that is saying something.

 

Padre’s Shooting Star
Large Blue Toadflax?
San Diego Fiesta Flower
Groundpink
San Diego Jewelflower

From the dozen or so walks I have taken recently, I’ve saved about a hundred photos, culled down from four hundred, at least. The scenery changes every ten paces or so, quite literally! During San Diego’s May Gray and June Gloom, the fog sneaks and slips through the pines and up over the slopes that rise from the beach below. But- in a matter of minutes, the entire marine layer can clear up leaving tourist and locals blinking in the bright sunlight and marveling at the weathered bluffs, crumbling cliffs, and lovely, lovely flowers.

Just look at these side-by-side photos of similar views, but different times or weather:

 

and more…

 

 

Cold, early morning poppies vs. bright, shiny (and badly photographed) poppies:

 

CA Golden Poppy

I love these two:

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Here’s a bit of the wildlife. Surfers count, they are totally legit wildlife…

 

 

Get a load of the geometry and patterns seen out on the beach trails:

 

Branches of a Torrey Pine tree- dead, but still very much a part of the scenery.
San Diego Sea Dahila… beauteous.

 

JK, this is really Moonlight Beach up in Encinitas… Not Torrey Pines at all. I just really love the pattern in this pic.
How many thousands of people have this same photo, looking west through a deceased Torrey Pine over the cliff?

 

Super-closeup of a pic that originally features my kids sitting on the beach at Torrey Pines back in 2009 when we moved back to California.
This ancient dune, pressed into rock, is now crumbling away.

 

And to conclude, a few of my favorite pics of just the flowers:

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Milk Maids
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The Blue Larkspur- spotted in the eponymous Larkspur Canyon.

 

Tidy Tips
Miners Lettuce

 

Ground Pinks
San Diego Sea Dahlia

 

Wild Cucumber flowers
California Butterweed (I think…?)
San Diego Sea Dahila… beauteous.

 

All right. I have to quit. I could upload another 50 photos that are every bit as lovely as these, but I have to calm the heck down.

Happy hiking, all!

New Tricks with Old Friends- Aqua Hiking and Kung Pao Calamari (Bonus! Make a Friend Try Ahi Poke)

Friends visiting us from out of town? A visit to Torrey Pines is mandatory.

Torrey Pines State Preserve this Friday… so lovely:

Stunning blue sky, green pines, and red cliffs, two days ago...
Stunning blue sky, green pines, and red cliffs, two days ago…

Southern California is experiencing a severe drought right now. So, when the friends from Indiana are visiting, what do we get for the weather? Two days of steady rain thanks to Hurricane Dolores. I didn’t snap any pictures of the ominous grey and black clouds as they rushed up on us, but did find this lovely photo online. Imagine the fog like this… just coming down in buckets:

This is the closest photo I could come up with- Torrey Pines in the fog... (photo credit to andrewharper.com)
This is the closest photo I could come up with- Torrey Pines in the fog… (photo credit to andrewharper.com)

Our hike today started with clear skies, but by mid-morning, the hurricane bands started coming up from the south. And fast. By the time we started the return hike, the skies opened up and we enjoyed (!?!) the rest of the walk along the water’s edge and the base of the cliffs in the pouring rain. At least we had the warm rain and beach to walk along!

Very VERY wet hikers make it to the car...
Very VERY wet hikers make it to the car…

By the time we made it back to the car we were soaked to the skin. I amazed that we managed to keep the cameras and phones dry. The hair dryers and styling products were a waste of time this morning. We looked (and felt) like we had jumped in a pool.

We finished the evening at a favorite fish restaurant, Bay Park Fish Company, where we talked two of the most unlikely of diners to try ahi poke- they didn’t die nor did they hate it! I had to try something new to eat since hiking in a total downpour wasn’t good enough for my New Thing o’ the Day. Kung Pao Calamari- yum. It is on the appetizer list, but with a side of rice, voilà- dinner.

Here you go, Scott, proof of your wife trying the ahi poke:

OHMYGOSH DEBBIE IS EATING RAW FISH!!!
OHMYGOSH DEBBIE IS EATING RAW FISH!!!
Kung Pao Calamari with a side of rice- delish.
Kung Pao Calamari with a side of rice- delish.

Peñasquitos Preserve, Waterfall to the West End

I have hiked in the Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve, but always approaching from the east and hiking to the waterfall. By “hike,” I mean easy walk. I knew that the preserve trails continued all the way into Sorrento Vally, just east of the 5 and 805 freeways… by the way, you know how to peg a Native Californian? By how they refer to all highways and freeways as “The + Number,” no matter where they live. My Indiana friends always thought I was nuts to say “The 465,” or “Remember that 4th of July weekend when Bryan’s accident shut down The 65 North to Chicago?” If you would like an easy, but long-ish hike, I recommend this walk. And it was a beautiful day for this beautiful walk.

Looking north, towards Del Mar and Rancho Penasquitos
Looking north, towards Del Mar and Rancho Penasquitos
Looking South, towards Sorrento Valley
Looking South, towards Sorrento Valley

These two photos are taken from the same spot, I just turned 180 degrees. The south slopes of the canyon received more rain this winter, maybe?

One of the sages that grows in California. Smells soooo good!
One of the sages that grows in California. Smells soooo good!

This is one of the native sages that grows in California. I mentioned the chaparral in this earlier post- Two Mile Monkey is Off My Back. 

Purple Nightshade... don't eat it.
Purple Nightshade… don’t eat it.

Wildflowers, trees and scrub were blooming everywhere thanks to the earlier rains. We passed bunches of Purple Nightshade and Blue-Eyed Grass… fortunately, we didn’t cross paths with any rattlesnakes.

The Headache-Preventing Nice Guy Award goes to....
The Headache-Preventing Nice Guy Award goes to….

And all of these photos? Taken with my iPhone 5s. Because when I went to take the first picture of the waterfall, with my Christmas Nikon D3300… that’s when I figured out that the battery was dead. Duh. But what a nice guy is The Husband? He carried the dead weight the whole three hours so I didn’t get a headache from having it hang around my neck. What a guy!

View of Sycamore Crossing, looking west toward La Jolla and Sorrento Valley
View of Sycamore Crossing, looking west toward La Jolla and Sorrento Valley

The walk we took was about four miles starting at the western entrance of the Peñasquitos Preserve accessed on Park Village Road, and ending all the way west on Sorrento Valley Blvd.

West end of the walk. There is parking somewhere around here... look it up.
West end of the walk. There is parking somewhere around here…  go look it up yourself. Just kidding. Click on this photo and it will link you to a map of this area, parking, and trails.

The weather was perfect- lots of clouds, some sun and a nice onshore breeze. From the start of our walk to the end the paths were hopping with mountain bikers and other walkers, dogs and horses. It was a beautiful day! The round trip 8.2 mile walk totaled just over three hours. Did I mention what a beautiful day it was? Gorgeous.

New Hike to the Marble Rocks

While hiking with The Husband  Torrey Pines State Reserve I came across an area with little rounded rocks on the upper trail head of the beach walk. I hadn’t seen anything like them before- but he had. On a mountain biking trail not too far from Torrey Pines he filled me in that there were the same type of rocks, bigger, and practically everywhere. The Boy and I are big fans of rocks and minerals, and I can’t believe that he passed up today’s opportunity to make this short walk to see little bitty round rocks EVERYWHERE (yes I can, what teen wants to hang out with their parents?).

LIttle bitty round rocks found on a nature hike!
LIttle bitty round rocks found on a nature hike!

Lucky me, we had errands to run today in the same area near this rocky treat! After we dropped off The In-Laws at their golf venue… that big ol’ shindig happening at the Torrey Pines Golf Course, we drove over to the Ocean Air Recreation Center to park and walk a few of the short trails. There was no hunting necessary, these little boogers were all over the place! Happy me, happy day!