…what you will find…even in a place you’ve lived for close to 40 years. Yep, that’s just what happened to me the other day.
I was out on a Lyft adventure when I ended up at Torrey Pines State Beach. It’s a great spot to stop and take a break. There’s restrooms, beach walks, a river mouth, bluff hikes…just a cool San Diego place (among many might I add). There’s also a “secret section” to the reserve…
Anyway, I was feeling the need to get some exercise and a hike seemed like an excellent idea, especially on such a beautiful Spring day. As I was deciding if it’d be the beach…nixed because there was a chilly south-west wind blowing…or the bluffs…a thought popped into my mind. Awhile back, I’d picked up a client on Del Mar Scenic Parkway and she’d mentioned there is an “extension” of the Torrey Pines reserve back up at the end of that road. Ever curious and with some time to kill, I decided to investigate.
Sure enough, there is an entrance at the top of the road where it dead ends. The bonus feature that weekday was: plenty of available parking i.e. no one was there…at all! Ah, no excuse…a short exploratory hike was mandatory.
Now, I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea concerning my hiking expertise, because I have none. I just like to cruise around and check places out. This zone seemed to have the potential for some great views. Also, since San Diego (and all of SoCal for that matter) has been gifted this past winter with ample amounts of precipitation, there are wildflowers everywhere. Off I went.
Hmmmm…I wonder what’s over that ridge?
YIKES!!! Better keep my eyes and ears open…
Fortunately, the only animals I saw were a variety of birds and a whole bunch of lizards zipping all over the place. It’s a very cool thing to see a Redtail Hawk hunting the sides of a canyon while listening to the onshore breezes blowing through the Torrey Pines. In retrospect, it would’ve been neat to see a scorpion…not so much a rattlesnake tho’.
As the sun continued to burn off the morning haze, it started to get pretty warm. By then, I had realized a black tee shirt was probably not the best choice in hiking attire. That combined with no hat led to some mental notes like…pack a hat and a light colored shirt and some shorts in the Prius next time. While shorts would’ve been cooler for sure, the sides of the narrow trails are lined with all kinds of flowering plants, bushes, and low over hanging trees (often covered in vines). Interestingly enough, when I returned to the car, my blue jeans were multicolored, covered with an assortment of pollens. Along the way, my legs had brushed up against some pretty spike laden succulents that could’ve drawn blood if I hadn’t had those jeans on. So, it was probably worth being a bit warm considering the added protection my denim jeans provided.
Actually this is just one of the cool views I stumbled across…wanna see more? Well…next time you are in the Torrey Pines Reserve area, check this “secret spot” out for yourself. Ok…plenty of folks know about it already, but this spot was a secret to me. That still qualifies, right? Anyway, the hike can be pretty short and relatively easy. The canyon has an incline and some slopes that do get a bit steep in places. A couple parts have steps and there are some rocks and sand here and there too. But it’s all very manageable if you take your time. You know…try slow.
If you are not in the northern coastal area of the San Diego region very often, try looking around your own zone. It’s actually pretty darn fun to get out and visit what Gloria Bates referred to as “urban forests.” Discovering or rediscovering something like this in your own backyard can be quite satisfying. Busting out of the routine can be refreshing on so many levels too.
