Las Ramblas Trail- San Juan Capistrano, CA

Tonight we went on a little four mile hike in San Juan Capistrano on the Las Ramblas trail. After covering a roller coaster track worth of hills, we came upon a tall flagpole set atop one of the peaks. It had a large American flag hanging in the breeze and beside it was a rusting mailbox covered in black ink scrawls of names, initials, and short messages.

Inside of the mailbox was a composition notebook that showed a picture of the people who put the flagpole in, a pair of kids working on their eagle scout project. It also has notes inside from other hikers who have visited the spot.

We  continued a little further west and watched the sun set into the Pacific Ocean from atop one of the hills. The sight was beautiful. We had a full 360 degree view of overlapping hills, the calm blue expanse of ocean, the orange setting sun, and a river of headlights on the freeway in the distance. I ate a blueberry energy bar and Sim ate some of these venison and fish dog bites that he adores. They smell like the flakes I used to feed my goldfish ( so, pretty bad), but he loves them.

After this, I found out that I am very ill equipped to navigate through the dark. I have awful vision in the night and didn't think to bring glasses. Thank goodness I remembered flash lights!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from my sweet, little Batman!

For his costume, I decided to forgo an actual doggie one. I just got a pair of kids pajamas that were on sale at Target for $8.00. Can't beat that price!

I cut the sleeves off of the top and didn't bother with uncomfortable pants since his legs are black anyway. The pajama set even came with a blue cape that velcro-ed onto the back!

And voila! You have completed making your handsome Batman dog.

And this is my sorry effort at Poison Ivy!

Beaudry Loop- Glendale, CA

Last weekend, Sim and I got up early and made the drive to Glendale. Since we had gotten a couple of small hiking adventures under our belts, I wanted to try something a little more challenging. That is how I decided on the Beaudry Loop.

We parked in a quiet neighborhood and followed a wide, dirt road along a chain link fence. Here we met two very unfriendly dogs that were quite displeased to see us. One of the dogs pulled free of his owner's grip and ran at Sim. My Simi, of course, bared his teeth as he ran to hide behind me and fell on his haunches in his hurry. He looks like a tough guy but he has about as much courage as Oz's Cowardly Lion. Thankfully, the owner got ahold of his dog before he could touch anybody. It was a bit of a rocky start to a good trip. 

Since he was unscathed, we continued and soon hit a fork with a sign pointing to "Beaudry S" and "Beaudry N". We chose south (though with a loop I suppose its all the same).

We followed a mild ascent for about three miles. Observation: A mild ascent doesn't feel all that mild when it goes on for three miles.

There were patches of shade along the way where the air felt blessedly cool. It was in these spots that we paused for water breaks and to drink in the sights. The sights, by the way, were beautiful. Some parts of the mountains were covered in full bursts of foliage in many shades of green. Others were rugged and earthy, lumped with stones and brush. Like I said, a very pretty place I would be happy to return to.

Ridgeline Trail- San Clemente, CA

On a Sunday morning, we made our way to San Clemente to an out-and-back, paved trail that starts at a wrought iron fence in a cul-de-sac. From end to end, it mapped out at about 5 miles.

The fact that its paved gave me the impression it would be a casual walk, but there were plenty of hills to make you work a little bit.

The views are great. From high up on these hills you can see sprawling neighborhoods, freeways, train tracks, and a couple of baseball fields. We could just hear the far-away cheers of a baseball game. I know that hikes usually aim to get you away from these places, but the distance gives them a new perspective that is worth seeing.

On that note, if you are interested in hiking, I recommend this blog: http://socalhiker.net/

It is a wonderful resource for anybody looking to get out and hike, whether you are new and don't know where to start or you are an avid hiker in need of some new turf. The "Find a Hiking Trail" page is a good place to start. You can organize hikes by location, difficulty, distance, and (my personal favorite) whether or not they allow leashed dogs. If you are familiar with this blog, then you know I get many of my ideas and much of my information here!

The Huntington Dog Beach- Huntington Beach, CA

Early this morning, I loaded Sim up into the backseat of my car with a couple of his tennis balls and some beach towels. We took a short drive down Newport Blvd to the well-loved dog beach, looking forward to some fresh, salty air and room to stretch our legs.

It was early on a very pretty, overcast morning, and there were already dozens of people out on the sand with their dogs. Of course there were the usual surfers bobbing out in the sea as well. This is a popular spot for people and pets to gather and for good reason! It is nice to have a safe place to let your pup run free off leash for a while.

If you've been here before, then you already know that there are all sorts of dogs rubbing elbows here from little dachshund mixes to pitties to German Shepherds.

Sim had a wonderful time today; he just loves to run. We played a little fetch, but he was more interested in meeting some canines buddies than his old tennis ball. He would stop running and exploring to sniff and play with another dog every once in a while.

He can be a little shy with new dogs so I was happy he enjoyed himself all morning and played nice with the other puppies.

But he is absolutely terrified of the ocean still, so he kept his distance from the water and wandered around the rocks instead. He would climb on them for hours if I didn't call him down (I'm a little worried he might nick his pad on a broken bottle or something...).

If you haven't seen this area before, I'll tell you that one great feature is that the land drops steeply down from the parking lot to the beach below, forming a sort of rock wall between the freeway and the dogs at play. Its a great feature that keeps your pup out of the street just in case he/she tries to wander a little too far.

Sunrise Hike

Last weekend, we made an early morning trip to Anaheim to visit the Weir Canyon Loop. We got to the trailhead around 6:00 am so that we could make our way to one of the higher hilltops to watch the sun rise around 6:48 am. There happened to be a sturdy, old railing stuck in the earth at the top of one such hilltop. So, I slipped Sim's leash over this and we sat down to watch the view and eat some breakfast. (Note: Peanut Butter and Nutella sandwiches do not taste good when you make them the night before.)

I'm glad that I had this stake to loop Sim to, because I don't trust him off leash on hikes. He adores chasing prey. He'd be gone in the blink of an eye if he saw a rabbit or bird or even a bumble bee.

As if to reinforce this idea, he attempted to chase a fox later on this morning... And though he surely loves the chase, he rarely catches a thing. Which I am quite happy about. I think his most impressive kills to date include an earthworm that got stuck on a sidewalk and a grasshopper that made its way into my house.

And so the sun rose over the hills in the distance and it was a lovely sight. It was a great way to start a morning with my little guy.

Colinas Bluff Trail- Laguna Niguel, CA

I should have taken more pictures; this was a beautiful place. The people who live within walking distance from the trail are very lucky! Its another one that backs right up to homes, but its still quiet and has a sort of big feeling, despite its proximity to the neighborhoods and freeways.

This is an up-and-back trail. So you can make it as long or short as you would like. Today we went about 3.5 miles round trip. The full length is about 6.7 miles. There are some big, round hills along the way that offer you beautiful 360 degree views of Laguna Niguel and San Juan Capistrano. Apparently you can see all the way out to the Catalina Island on the clearest of days.

This is quite a popular place for hikers, bikers, and their dogs and many of the pups were off leash on the Sunday we visited. Be observant because some dogs will run right up to yours, ignoring the calls from their humans. Simi is a wary, little guy and rushing up to his face isn't the best way for him to make friends. But luckily most of the dogs we met were quite friendly.

Please excuse this for being an
obvious snapchat screenshot...

To get to the trailhead, I parked my car in the Marina Hills shopping center. Cross Golden Lantern and right to your left will be the entry via a dirt pathway.

There's a Starbucks in the corner of the center and after our hike, we sat for a while in the large patio, the humans enjoying sweet, icy drinks that put back all the calories we had just burned on the hike. And Simi had his orange bowl of water, which he largely ignored so he could stare at a little dog at the table next to us.

I will likely be visiting this trail again soon. It would be a particularly good one for a sunrise or sunset hike, as long as you are perched atop one of the good-sized hills when the sun does its thing (maybe with a hot cup of joe in your hand). Its a near drive from Newport Beach, which makes it all the more appealing to me.