Category: Getting Outside

Mount Wilson from Chantry Flat in May

@serafinahikes

It is mid-May, and there has not been much rain, so the terrain is fairly dry. There is a waterfall nearby, but I am unsure if today will be the day, I return to it. I have hiked from Chantry Flat, once before. It is a beautiful area for hiking, in Santa Anita Canyon. It is a popular hiking destination, accessed by a winding road, with a 15 mph speed limit, from Sierra Madre, below. The area has been affected by wildfires, and recently re-opened after the Eaton Fire tore through, the same day Pacific Palisades burned. I began my hike from Chantry Flat to Mount Wilson along Upper Winter Creek Trail around 8:30 am. It would be a 9.5 hour day of hiking, with a 30 minute break, for a total of 10 hours. I hiked 15.7 miles through all types of terrain, to complete what many consider one of the most iconic hikes in the Angeles Forest.

Road Trip: Part 2 – Montana Del Oro and Morro Bay

@serafinahikes

I am on a road trip heading north up the Central Coast to Pinnacles National Park. It is March and springtime, so the hills are green an lush. I am traveling through Santa Barbara county, through Santa Maria on to Morro Bay State Park, where I plan to camp. I arrived at Montana Del Oro, just south of Morro Bay, with its cinder cone island floating there in the waves. I parked by the Bluffs Trail, just south of the Spooner’s Cove and the Islay Campground, where the lighthouse keepers house sits.  I zig zagged among the bluff coves, noticing sea birds, crashing waves, along with unique exposed ancient rock reefs and sea stacks. It was flat, easy to navigate, and had many offshoots, leading to various viewpoints. It was just the relaxing break I was looking for after a day of almost 5 hours of driving.

Hiking a Superbloom: Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve

@serafinahikes

The poppy fields near Lancaster, California, are a place that I've wanted to visit for sometime. They are open from dawn until dusk and there are several hundred acres to explore. Some parts of the reserve are accessible by OHV, along unpaved sandy roads. The best parts of the park are supposed to be down these roads. It was a 3 hour drive to get here, and I left just before sunrise. There are plenty of places you can see poppies in the socal, but the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve is known to be one of the best. It is situated north of Los Angeles, near Palmdale and Lancaster. It's a beautiful desert area, but not a place most people think of as a getaway, except during the superbloom.

Coyote Peak in Anza Borrego

@serafinahikes

I drove into Borrego Springs and I made a right through the center of town. I drove around the traffic circle and noticed a farmers market. From here, I drove straight out into what feels like the middle of nowhere. Rego Springs that's one of those places where you feel like you're getting away from it all every sense of the word. Very few stores, homes, or anything here, yet it still hangs on somehow I personally like this little town a lot. I continued onto Sultan seaway. I could see the coyote peak off in the distance illuminated by the morning sun. I wasn't expecting to see an actual coyote, driving up the road to Coyote Canyon. I headed up Rockhouse Canyon Rd. and parked in what looked like a small turnaround, next to a bush. It would be a 6.2 mile hike to Coyote Peak, and there was no trail.

The Highest 2 Peaks in Orange County CA

@serafinahikes

This hike was a long time coming, a small goal I had in a big universe. Originally I wanted to hike the Holy Jim trail (14 miles), but it's been closed because of the Airport Fire. This is the highest peak in Orange County where I live. The traditional way to get there is the Holy Jim Trail, which seems like it has been closed for most of the last 10 years, due to weather, and fires. It is opening this year, supposedly. But I have wanted to complete this peak, for so long, I decided now was the time. I was prepared to hike 24 miles if need be. But as events began to unfold it would prove to be a much shorter adventure than I had anticipated.