Today, we started our hike in San Pasqual Valley. San Pasqual Valley is home to the Wild Animal Park (that's what I grew up with, I will never call it the Safari Park) as well as the historic San Pasqual Battlefield. The Battle of San Pasqual is re-enacted around early December every year.
Anyway, we drove out past the battlefield near the orange groves right before you start climbing highway 78 to Ramona. This was an interesting hike for me, because I pass through San Pasqual Valley almost every day. When I look out the window of the car, everything looks so small and insignificant. The scale of the valley really set in after I got out of the car to look around, and I thought, "Wow, this place is big". Before we got started on the hike, my friends and I were playing hacky sack or whatever. I'm not too good at it, especially in my cowboy boots. I have to say we messed around for a good thirty minutes while we waited for everyone else to make it.
Then the hike started. It was interesting to see where we started from, because we were right next to an orange grove. From what I know, the type of Oranges they were growing are not native to California. Even if they are, it was weird to see such a clear border between where wildlife grew and where human grown plants grew. We started off dead center of the valley, but we walked off to the south side of the valley and walked along the road for a little bit.
After a break, we climbed Raptor Ridge. There weren't any dinosaurs. Or they were hiding from us. Raptor Ridge wasn't too difficult of a climb for me. We walked uphill for about a mile, and then we stopped to eat lunch. I had nuts and fruit and water. And the maple cookies, which I shared with my friends. I'm such a nice guy.
After climbing Raptor Ridge, we found ourselves hiking around the strawberry fields. I could see tiny little red spots which I assumed were the berries themselves, but I couldn't be too certain. Halfway through the strawberry fields, I tended to some blisters and hotspots that my friends and classmates managed to acquire. I often get asked, "How do you not have blisters right now?".
For the record, I've said this a lot but: I wear a lot of socks. Seriously, the drought California is in could probably be traced back to the laundry I do after backpacking trips. Back to the topic at hand. I wear three socks per foot. It's impossible for me to get a blister that way. Blisters are formed from the friction between the skin on your foot and the inside material of the boot. Wearing three socks should do the trick and make your feet not hurt as much.
Even if you do have three socks on, and you feel an itching sensation, don't be afraid to stop. It's called a hotspot, and not the thing you're thinking of that comes with most modern phones. If you put a piece of moleskin on top of a hotspot before it becomes a blister, you can save yourself a lot of pain.
After tending to all the blisters, I noticed that I was out of water. Tomorrow, I will need to get an extra water bottle before heading out into the great outdoors.
After the excitement of the strawberry field, we were at the end of our hike.
Austin Simpson
Anyway, we drove out past the battlefield near the orange groves right before you start climbing highway 78 to Ramona. This was an interesting hike for me, because I pass through San Pasqual Valley almost every day. When I look out the window of the car, everything looks so small and insignificant. The scale of the valley really set in after I got out of the car to look around, and I thought, "Wow, this place is big". Before we got started on the hike, my friends and I were playing hacky sack or whatever. I'm not too good at it, especially in my cowboy boots. I have to say we messed around for a good thirty minutes while we waited for everyone else to make it.
Then the hike started. It was interesting to see where we started from, because we were right next to an orange grove. From what I know, the type of Oranges they were growing are not native to California. Even if they are, it was weird to see such a clear border between where wildlife grew and where human grown plants grew. We started off dead center of the valley, but we walked off to the south side of the valley and walked along the road for a little bit.
After a break, we climbed Raptor Ridge. There weren't any dinosaurs. Or they were hiding from us. Raptor Ridge wasn't too difficult of a climb for me. We walked uphill for about a mile, and then we stopped to eat lunch. I had nuts and fruit and water. And the maple cookies, which I shared with my friends. I'm such a nice guy.
After climbing Raptor Ridge, we found ourselves hiking around the strawberry fields. I could see tiny little red spots which I assumed were the berries themselves, but I couldn't be too certain. Halfway through the strawberry fields, I tended to some blisters and hotspots that my friends and classmates managed to acquire. I often get asked, "How do you not have blisters right now?".
For the record, I've said this a lot but: I wear a lot of socks. Seriously, the drought California is in could probably be traced back to the laundry I do after backpacking trips. Back to the topic at hand. I wear three socks per foot. It's impossible for me to get a blister that way. Blisters are formed from the friction between the skin on your foot and the inside material of the boot. Wearing three socks should do the trick and make your feet not hurt as much.
Even if you do have three socks on, and you feel an itching sensation, don't be afraid to stop. It's called a hotspot, and not the thing you're thinking of that comes with most modern phones. If you put a piece of moleskin on top of a hotspot before it becomes a blister, you can save yourself a lot of pain.
After tending to all the blisters, I noticed that I was out of water. Tomorrow, I will need to get an extra water bottle before heading out into the great outdoors.
After the excitement of the strawberry field, we were at the end of our hike.
Austin Simpson