Today's Hike:Today was a great day to start the hike. It took a while for everyone to get to the trailhead where the hike began, but once we got started "hiking mode" quickly took over.
We started at the Sikes Adobe building, which was one of the first houses in the Escondido area. We walked under the I-15 bridge over Lake Hodges, and found ourselves on a loopy trail that took bends around the lake. I was walking by a specific portion of the trail, and I saw all the Eagle Scout project that have been done. I'm in Eagle Scout crazed right now, because as of today I officially have a full year before I am unable to get that award. Anyway, I saw a really cool conservation project and a few benches around the area. After five miles of hiking through the area, we had lunch. It is my birthday today, so I dug into some chocolates and cookies and a whole bunch of other things because I have a few friends that genuinely love me enough to give me food on my birthday. Nothing notable happens until Reece, a great friend of mine, started talking about different types of carries. I showed him this one carry where you grab your wrist and the other person's wrist to form a square with your hands so another third person can sit down on it. We carried Erina for a good 400 ft before I slipped and fell. I didn't get banged up too bad, but Erina got a little gash on her arm. I pulled out my first aid kit and quickly fixed her up. I guess the moral of the story is this: "Don't carry people when you're on an incline, or apparently, if I'm involved" Austin Simpson Sikes Adobe Farmstead to Del Dios Gorge Day 1 of our crest-to-coast hiking adventure could not have started off better than it did! After lots of planning and re-planning (thanks to the weekend rainstorms), we began our hike at the Sikes Adobe Historic Farmstead, located in Escondido. Everyone was excited as we started, and this energy helped us get through most of the day.
Throughout today, I witnessed beautiful scenes of green quilted mountains, glistening lakes and streams, interesting animals and insects of all types, all shining freshly from the weekend rain. Exploring all this with a camera in my hand and friends by my side is incomparable. I feel spoiled getting to continue this for 5 more days! One of the best parts about today was discovering miles of trails that I can continue to use in my future. I've been recently discovering my personal desire for adventure and exploration. Through this San Dieguito River Valley trail, these desires are being beyond satiated. I believe I speak for my class here, as we all gain our own pieces of biophilia. It's only the first day, and I'm already hoping that more people will discover these trails and it's beauty! - Erina Chavez Student of The Adventure Team Today was a day of firsts. We took this day to practice the logistics of the ever so complicated drop off/pick up. We took this day to learn our pace. We took this day to become accustomed to the conditions of non-stop hiking. Walking from Escondido to Rancho Santa Fe was a challenge. Most of us were not prepared for the fast pace. The biggest challenge of today was the pacing. We got limited breaks and I found myself wishing that I had trained more. We were told that today was the easiest day which concerns me because it was not a piece of cake. Though there were challenges, I must say that I enjoyed the scenery. It felt amazing to be learning outside of a classroom. To my right was a mountain side, filled with lively vegetation and small rodents. To my left was a still, majestic lake. I watched and listened while a red-tailed hawk floated above. Overall, today was an unforgettable experience and I cannot wait for the surprises to come within the next week.
by Alec Patton Man, that was wet. Today, trail guru David O'Connor and I met at Sikes Adobe Historic Farmstead, where we'll be starting our hike on Monday, to scope out the trail. Our first stop was Clevenger Canyon, the only portion of the hike where we will have no trail to follow at all. The good news is that it runs down the middle of a canyon, so it's easy to make sure we're heading the right way. The bad news, as of yesterday, was that the canyon looked like this: Fortunately, we aren't scheduled to reach this portion of the trail until Thursday, so if we don't get more rain, the water will have a chance to run its course. We'll be monitoring water levels this week. David and I walked down to the (mostly) dry riverbed, which is where we'll do the final leg of Thursday's hike. I'd brought a hoodie with me, since last time he took me to scope out trails, we hadn't done very much walking. Today, however, proved to be more active: So it was cold, and wet, and I hadn't dressed for the weather, but it was also exciting. The San Dieguito River actually runs underwater at one point, and today, we could see the exact spot where that happens: After we'd photographed a few key spots where we need to remember to turn when we're on the hike, it was time to get back in the car and head to the Lemon Twist fruit stand (which is also a key stop on the Crest-to-Coast trail). But not before taking glum selfie to suit the weather: Our trip was pretty uneventful from that point until we drove down Artesian Road in Rancho Santa Fe, and discovered we'd be doing more walking than we had anticipated: We left the car in front of the tree, and walked down the road, which became a path, which eventually crossed Lusardi Creek. Now, when we hike this portion on Tuesday we will need to for this stream, and we will get this wet, but the stream will probably not be quite so high, and we may even be able to walk across the stepping-stones that have been thoughtfully laid across the stream. At the moment, though, the stepping stones are underwater - not that this could stop David from using them: David explained to me that there are very few natural "year-round" streams and rivers in Southern California. Mostly, they will run for a season, and go dry for the rest of the year. When we see year-round streams, they are being fed by what is rather vividly called "urban drool" - runoff from streets and irrigation.
That's all for today's update. The places I've been while scouting out this hike are stunningly, "urban drool" and all, and I can't wait to start "really" hiking them! Welcome to the Crest-to-Coast Trek blog. We'll be posting stories and photos from students, teachers, and parents as we hike the San Dieguito Coast-to-Crest trail from Volcan Mountain to Dog Beach in Del Mar.
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