Run DMZ

 

 

 

 

 I almost turned around early on the trail last Saturday, a bit creeped out by the lack of others despite ideal hiking conditions. I'm glad I didn't because I would have missed the field of yerba mansa in bloom about a mile from the Los Penasquitos "waterfall" on the South Trail. 

Thought it might be nice to resurrect Wordless Wednesday for the season. This is Eagle Rock, which we accessed yesterday via the Pacific Coast Trail in Warner Springs. The 6.5-mile hike had its challenges, from territorial cows and bulls to a snake in the middle of the trail. It heated up to high 70s, but that was a good thing for me and my heavy backpack.   

Screen actors, on the whole, tend to be boring in public. They are never as attractive, charismatic, or tall in real life. They can be witty during live interviews, but you get the impression that wasn't the first time they delivered that line. Even when trying to appear authentic, they somehow remind us this is work. That's not to say I don't love seeing celebrities. I mean, I've ben riding my chance encounter with an A-lister during a run in Del Mar for years now. I am the most annoying kind of name-dropper. I'll casually mention how BD Wong asked for sushi recommendations the other night when actually he threw the question to the La Jolla Playhouse stagehands standing next to me. (To be fair, the late Roger Rees really did look me in the eye and ask my opinion on a play he wrote and directed. I told him it was fascinating, even though it was still rough around the edges. No matter, it made it to Broadway.) That should mean I'm the type of attendee to be dis...

Until last month, my only experience with San Diego’s only national monument was glancing down at Coronado through a thick marine layer and standing in a long line to use a portable toilet. I never ventured beyond visitor parking for fear of losing my place among hundreds also needing to relieve themselves. This is at the starting line of the annual America’s Finest City Half Marathon , held every August in San Diego. It begins at the Cabrillo National Monument – accessible that morning only by shuttle bus – and winds through Pt. Loma, Harbor Island and the Embarcadero before climbing into downtown and then up Sixth Avenue into Bankers Hill to finish the 13.1-mile journey in Balboa Park. It’s really a great footrace, especially with the first 4 miles all downhill.  I’d forgotten about Cabrillo National Monument until we decided to get a National Parks annual pass this summer and realized there was only one place to get one in person – a place surrounded by deep teal seas, silent ...

  Go anywhere in Central Oregon, and you will learn that every natural attraction is the result of volcanic action. The snowy peaks that populate an otherwise flat landscape? Volcanoes. The mountain people love to ski and snowboard? Volcano. The birthplace of American rock climbing ? Created from volcanic activity. Every nearby butte is a cinder cone created from magma bubbling to the surface. Even the waterfalls in my previous post  originate in ancient eruptions.   One of the best ways to take it all in also happens to be one of my all-time favorite places to visit when we're in Oregon:  Newberry Volcanic National Monument  outside Bend. The national park itself is huge and located within the Deschutes National Forest. When I say huge, consider it encompasses more than 54,000 acres of water features, lava and obsidian flows, hot springs, and unparalleled views. Even more amazing: the 1,200-mile volcanic area is still active from a seismic and geothermal stand...

We visit Central Oregon annually, and this year we elected to focus on fun for the three days we were there. I thought I’d devote the next few blog posts to some of the best places to hike in the Bend area, starting with a natural feature the Pacific Northwest is famous for: waterfalls.   Granted the waterfalls are spectacular along the Columbia Gorge on one side of the Cascade Range, but the Deschutes River is an impressive rival and can be experienced with less auto and foot traffic (if timed well). With all of these, bring water … and in the summer, bring plenty of it.   Tumalo Falls (outside Bend) North Fork Trail at Tumalo Falls   Day pass : $5/vehicle Restrooms : Portable toilets in picnic area near trailhead Let’s start with the big one:  Tumalo Falls . It's the photo that opens this post, and it's photographed more than any other I’ve seen. That's because of both its beauty and because it is  accessible for people who don’t typically hike (or even walk)....

With pandemic restrictions rapidly lifting, and tourists pouring in, I’m sharing some of my favorite weekend walks. Last Saturday, some friends and I took in iconic Sunset Cliffs between Ocean Beach and Point Loma proper. Let’s start here.   A Brief History of The Cliff’s Rise and Decline There are several spots in San Diego that generate the lion’s share of  FOMO-worthy photos on Instagram and other social media. Sunset Cliffs is one of them .    Historical websites often open with how a sporting goods magnate spent a couple million dollars in the 1910s to make the cliffs publicly accessible with Japanese-inspired landscaped walkways and stairways, shelters and benches, caves and even a saltwater swimming pool replenished with each high tide. Albert Goodwill Spaulding bequeathed his 64-acre seaside park to the city of San Diego, which did nothing with it. A decade later, developer John P. Mills assumed ownership and restored some of the park’s features. He too gave...

  One of the most popular hikes in San Diego doesn’t involve climbing mountains or crossing rural roads. It’s a walking tour through some of the city’s nicest, most densely populated neighborhoods with seven bridges as focal points.    I first did this 5-mile loop with friends shortly after it was publicized in the San Diego Reader. We liked it so much we came back to Balboa Park about a year later to do it again, and this time I documented our trip with my GoPro (RIP, dear camera companion). It’s been four years since I made that video, so we were overdue when everyone gathered this morning to start the trek.   I MPORTANT: You can start from anywhere since the course is a loop.   However, you are more likely to find free parking if you start and end in Balboa Park.   1.       Park Blvd Bridge No coincidence the hike starts at the bridge spanning Park Blvd. on the east side of Balboa Park. The bridge links gorgeous gardens to lawns ...