Hiker's First "Real" Hike

As some of you may know from my other blogs, I adopted a dog on October 13, 2011. I named her Hiker and she is a Australian Cattle Dog Mix. She is just a little over a year old.

Today my friend Linda and I took Hiker for her first "real" hike over in Placerita Canyon. Hiker loves her walks and up until today, the longest walk she had taken with me was 2 miles, but today she did 4 miles and she did very well. She is really good on the leash and she was checking out all of the new smells and new sounds. She kept watching the trees because she would hear the birds.

Here are some photos that I took of the hike and also some that my friend Linda took.

 Linda, Me & Hiker

 Linda and Hiker on the Trail

 Hiker

 Linda on the Trail

 Me, Hiker & Linda

 Me & Hiker

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Linda took the photos below

 Linda took this one of Me & Hiker

 Here's another shot Linda took

 Me & Hiker in the sunlight

 Me and Hiker resting

I love how Hiker is tilting her head

Hike Along The Carpinteria Bluffs Trail

This trail runs along the bluffs of Carpinteria State Beach and also goes inland just a bit and follows the coastal railroad tracks. The views from the bluffs are beautiful and there is a spot where you can watch the seals come ashore and sun themselves. The day we were there was mostly overcast all day, so the seals did not come ashore.

If you are traveling either northbound or southbound on Highway 101 along the California Coast, take the for Bailard Avenue exit in Carpinteria. After exiting the freeway, head west. The first street you intersect, after less than a block, is Carpinteria Ave. You can see at the intersection a parking area straight ahead. Park here. The hike begins here. There is a bronze relief plaque of the ocean here, and some baseball fields.

We entered the trail from the other side on Linden Avenue at the entrance of the Carpinteria State Beach campground. We hiked 3.5 miles, but if you walk from one end of the trail to the other, it is 3 miles, so a round trip would be 6 miles.

The trail can sometimes be hard to find, but if you ask other hikers, they will tell you where to continue.

View at the start of the trail

My friend Linda on the trail

One of the views from the bluffs

Linda, Me & my brother Keith

Keith on the trail

The trail actually comes down to the beach at one point

Great view from the bluff trail

Where the trail runs along the tracks

A fork in the trail will take you down to the beach

Another view from the bluffs

Near the seal rookery, I zoomed in on this little guy

Another great view from the trail

Heading back toward where we started

We walked along the beach to get back to the car

The blue line shows the path of our hike

Rice Canyon Hike - 09/21/2011

My good friend Linda and I hiked Rice Canyon this morning. Linda had never been there before but I had hiked this trail back in October 2008. The first thing we came across was a young deer buck getting a drink of water. We took his picture and then he scampered away. The trail is a nice easy trail with several stream crossings and a lot of shade. The stream was mostly dry because it is still hot here and we have not had a good rain for several months. The trail is an "in and out". Just before you get to the end of the trail it starts to climb and you come out on a flat plateau where you have some great views of the canyon.

Rice Canyon is in the Santa Clarita Valley of Southern California near the city of Santa Clarita. It is just off Interstate 5 on The Old Road. There is also another trail there called "East Canyon Trail". It is a little longer and a little more strenuous than the Rice Canyon Trail.

 Linda

 Linda and Me

 Linda

Linda and Me