Hiking at Mission Trails Regional Park

The other morning, Ernesto and I were driving back from dropping papa at work (one car was in the shop) and we drove on Mission Gorge Rd, which not surprisingly, winds through Mission Gorge.   We passed the Mission Trails Regional Park.  We know the park because we have climbed Cowles Mountain many times.  (It is only a 1.5 mile climb but takes us 30 minutes.  Needless to say, it is a workout)  We  popped into the visitors center to see what else there is to do in the huge park.  

We picked up a great map of over 40 miles of trails.  We were not dressed for hiking so we came back the next day checked out the little Mission Dam and Oak Canyon Trail.  (3-4 miles)

Besides the little dam area, I have 3 words about this park:  "Dry, very dry."

The dirt trail is well marked with signs and offers amazing views of all the surrounding mountains.

On Friday we hiked again. This time we got a 7am start on the trails with Ernesto's dad and neighbor Agustin.  We usually hike on Fridays, but they were happy to try a new mountain.  A much longer route.  3 hours.

In addition to many bunny rabbits,  I saw two animals I have never seen before.  This horny toad......

and a road runner!  Much smaller than I imagined. Of course my idea of a road runner was based on a cartoon.  True to the cartoon though, they are quick! So much so that I couldn't snap a picture. 

The last 10 minutes before we reached the top winded up a wood staircase, and really got us sweating.

We even had to do some climbing on huge boulders. 

It was challenging, but we made it! 

Fit Fridays: San Diego Part 3

Hola from San Diego!  It has been hot here this week (in California terms).  Im not complaining, trust me.  I feel so lucky to be missing the humid east coast weather.  This sunny, low to mid 80's weather has been ideal for workouts, cookouts, and layouts [at the beach].  That pretty much sums up my week.

In addition to that, we have been playing an exorbitant amounts of Hand and Foot  [card game].  Mi suegra can't get enough of it.  She is quite competitive and asks us to play nightly by saying "tienes miedo?"  (are you scared?)

I am speaking español everyday by the way.  This alone makes me a happy girl.  What is my obsession with Spanish you ask?  I love the language.  Speaking Spanish fluently is the one of the only goals I can think of in my life that hasn't been forgotten or modified.   That has to mean something.  Your true passions will stick with you throughout your life, right?  

I hear new words or phrases all the time and laugh at myself when I mess up verb tenses that I should know after 15 years of studying.  (ok, truth be told,  Ernesto is really the one who laughs at me, I   kick myself...come on dumb a$$, 15 years and you still don't know that?)  The fact that I can talk to people now without having to translate into English [in my head first] is a BIG deal for me.  Still,  I am constantly making mental notes.  Riiiiiiiight. That is how you say it!  I will have it together one day.  I swear.  If it's the last thing I ever doooooooooooo.


Ok.  On to Fit Fridays!  A good week as far as I'm concerned.


Saturday: Hike Mount Miguel (3 hours round trip)
Sunday: Crossfit: 20 seconds of squats, rest 10 seconds. 20 seconds of push ups, rest 10 seconds. 10 rounds each exercise
Monday: walk 5 miles (round trip) to Performance Bike Shop  (replace flat tires)
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 3 mile hike Oak Canyon Trail at Missions Hills Regional Park (1 hour)
Thursday:  rest
Friday: 6 mile hike to summit of S. Fortuna Mountain  Missions Hills Regional Park (3 hours)

Climbing Mt Miguel: A Sequel

I don't know if any of you have ever noticed, but if you scroll down on this blog you will notice there is a box run by feedjit that posts who is looking at vivacindy.   Its pretty cool and interesting to find out what people are searching for when they come to my blog.  Right now my top two posts are my mom's mulberry tart and Hiking Mt. Miguel in San Diego.  Every day people are visiting for these:)

There isn't a lot of info on the web about climbing Mt Miguel, so mine always comes up high on google.    Today we climbed it again!  This time instead of starting the trail off of Procter Valley Road.  We parked in the Rolling Hills Ranch subdivision.   (which is right off that road)

Immediately after walking out the front entrance pergola and passing the sign, you will see the trail on your right.

It is obvious, you can't miss it. 

The terrain looked so different than when we climbed it back in March.  

There had been quite a bit of rain and it was so green. Here is a pic from that hike.

Now, July 3, everything was dry and ....  not so green. 

Still, I thought it was beautiful.  All of the grasses were taller and blowing in the breeze. 

We started hiking at 9am and it took us 1:45 to get to the top (where the antennas are located). 

This photo shows a flat part of the trail that connects two mountains.  The majority of the trail is a steep climb and will have your heart pumping.  A great workout with a rewarding finish!  

Almost. To. The. Top! 

WOO-HOO!

And for all of you OHIO fans....

Members of Team Espinoza!  

Our team is cooking up a plan for a long bike ride down the coast of California in the next month.  More details coming up soon...

Amicalola Falls State Park

Last week, my brother Brrrian was here for Easter.  He is an art teacher in Asheville and was on spring break.  Since he has been to Atlanta so many times to visit us, we wanted to find somethin' different to do.  He loves to enjoy the outdoors, and his dog Bruno does too.  

  Brrrian got online and found Amicalola Falls State Park in North Georgia.  The park has 12 miles of hiking trails and, as the name suggests, a huge waterfall too.  In fact, the Appalachian Trail starts just 7 miles north of Amicalola, and ends over 2000 miles later.  Someday, I would like to hike some of it. Ernesto and I have been in Atlanta almost 10 years and only hiked in the GA mountains once!  Despicable, I know.

  The visitors center offers maps and there are rangers available to answer questions.  You can leave your car in the lot and get started up the stairs to the falls.  425 stairs to be exact.

Once at the top of the waterfall, you are rewarded with a great view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

Our original plan was to hike to the AT trailhead (7 miles and back) on the AT Approach Trail, as it is cleverly called.  The trail was very well maintained, and because the leaves were not yet out on the trees, the views were exceptional!

As we progressed and realized how little water we had left, we had to rethink our route.  There was a break-off trail called Hike Inn Trail which leads to none other than the Hike Inn, a secluded lodge with great views, and water!  We refilled our bottles and continued on. 

Only after we had stopped and refilled our bottles, Brrrian pulled out his water filtration gear and filled his water bottle?!  Oh, that crazy Brrrian!  What a cool little gadget it is though.  You drop one end of the little hose, which has a filter, into the water and pump.  It fills up the bottle with clean water in no time! 

Hike InnTrail took us on a 5 mile loop back to the AT approach trail and ended back at the top of the waterfall.

  I like a loop trail better than doubling back anyway, so no disappointment on our route change.  It was a 12 mile hike all together, and I would say it was strenuous.  When Brrrian was searching for this hike he came across a Crossfit instructors' blog who runs this trail often and has named this workout "The Meat Grinder".  He said it is for "ultra-runners" and an ultra-runner, I am not.  We ran parts of the trail and got worn out quickly.  Nonetheless, a great great workout!

Get Fit Fridays!

What a busy week we had! We were gone for 5 days on a family road trip to Sedona & the Grand Canyon. I have been pouring through all the pictures and will tell you all about it soon!

Even though we spent much of our time this week in a car or sitting in the airport, we logged some miles hiking on our trip.

Sunday - hike 8 miles

Monday - hike 5 miles

Tuesday - hike 10 miles

How did you stay active this week?

Hiking Mt Miguel in San Diego

We are always looking for a new area to explore. There is a mountain in clear view from mis suegros house with a bunch of antennas at the top. It's called Mt. Miguel. I mentioned here that we did hike it yesterday, but wanted to post more details, mainly because there is very little online about this awesome hike, so hopefully this will help people find it.

**Directions to trail at end of post.

Mt. Miguel is 2,559 ft high. It took us 90 minutes to get to the top. 60 minutes back down.

This view is just 10 minutes off the street. Trail is narrow dirt and at some points very rocky.

The peak in the distance [showing in the sun] is Mt Miguel.
In one direction you can see all of San Diego.
In the other direction you see beautiful green mountains.About half way up and we can see downtown SD, Mexico, Sweetwater Resevoir, and Otay Lake. Whew!
We interrupt this post for a special announcement...........

Just kidding! (Do you really think that this is where I would tell you? You're right, maybe I would....but not now) Behind my big tummy you can see that there are a bunch of raggedy looking branches. Those California brush fires that we hear about every summer? Well Mt Miguel was host to one in 2007 (picture here). Although it is very green now, the burning bush skeletons remain.

We finally reached the last push to the top. See the antennas? Just a little further.
The whole trip I was keeping my eyes peeled for rattlesnakes. Instead I saw this animal print.

Ernesto said it was a dog, but unless this was a Great Dane, I think it's way too big to be a dog.

Yep, a mountain lion...that's what I thought too.

Awesome views, beautiful day!

**Directions to trail: Take the 125 to the H street exit. This turns into Proctor Valley Rd. The entrance to the trail is off Proctor Valley Rd between Duncan Ranch Rd and Coastal Hills Dr. Park on Duncan Ranch Rd (it's residential) and walk out to Proctor Valley and take a left, trail will start just off the sidewalk about 1/4 mile down on the left)

Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve, San Diego

San Diego is so dry.  I guess this should not surprise me, but before spending all this time exploring, I had spent most of my time at the beaches where lush plants are everywhere you look.  On recent bike rides and hikes inland, I have seen the diversity of this awesome city.
Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve is roughly 20 miles north of San Diego in Rancho Peñasquitos.

Los Peñasquitos, means little cliffs, and the canyon is full of them. There are also more than 10 miles of trails used for walking, running and biking. 

We started out walking, but the drill sergeant said "Come on, let's run just one mile"  UGH!  I obeyed!

There are over 500 plant species, more than 175 types of birds, and a great variety of reptiles, amphibians and mammals evidences the rich bio-diversity of the canyon.  As I sat in this field of straw, Ernesto told me to listen for a rattling noise.  The rattlesnake always gives off a warning before attacking.  What?  Needless to say, I got out of there quickly and kept my eyes peeled to the trail to be sure I didn't step on anything.

We completed a 6.5 miles loop, where there is a "waterfall."  I didn't even take a picture of it, that's how disappointing it was.  Compared to the falls I had visited the last year in Costa Rica, this did not qualify.  

What was amazing were all the huge boulders.

I'm not exactly sure what you call this type of landscape.  Help, anyone?

All I know is that we were alone, in the middle of no where and felt like we should have a piece of straw in our mouths.
This weekend we are taking our mountain bikes to these trails and doing the whole loop....maybe twice!