Harbor Island Walk

Sometimes a great hike is right in the middle of the city. Today we had to pick up Cheryl, my mother-inlaw, at the airport so there was not time to plan a mountainous adventure. Urban hikes are just as valid as any hike in the wilderness in my opinion. They remind you that nature is everywhere. In an urban hike nature wheres camoflage to blend in but it forces you to really pay attention so you can pull out little spoonfuls of plant and animal life. There were no major hills and the walkway was cement but Christa, Renie, and myself forged ahead to see what we could find. Todays hike was the entire span of Harbor Island in San Diego, CA across from the San Diego Airport. To the North stood the line of hotels that serviced the airport area. A marina separated the hotels from the airport. To the South was the Navy base on Coronado Island across the entrance of the Big South Bay. The panoramic scan included the Coronado Bridge, the Downtown San Diego Skyline with the local mountains as a backdrop. Of course, lets not forget about all the different boats moving around the busy bay from sailboats and speed boats to ocean liners and navy ships. Amidst all of this there was infinite nature to enjoy and observe. About 10 different types of birds inhabit the area like the California Gull, Pelicans, we even saw a family of ducks swimming around. Sea lions and seals call this bay home and there were many sitings and noises to enjoy. This is an active place for people. Jogging, walking, bike riding, and fishing are amongst the most popular activities. My lesson this week came from my wife. I was enamoured with snapping photos of the obvious when at one point my wife requested the camera and had found a beatiful red flower in a restaurant garden. She got up close and captured its elegance. I instantly tuned my eye to key in on the less obvious as I was letting it pass me by. I was amazed at how much there is. We literally pass by so much and tend to forget the little bits of life going on right underneath our eyes. I found irony that I always try to find amazing places out in the woods but this lesson was learned that nature is everywhere and you can seek it whenever you want whereever you are.

Goodan Ranch Preserve

Pretty much the whole country was being blasted by blizzards or extremely cold weather according to all news outlets-even Florida. Southern California was really the only comfortable place in North America to enjoy the great outdoors this weekend. With my wife and I both having roots in the Midwest-she from Wisconsin and I from Minnesota-we felt an obligation to jump in the car and find a place to explore nature. Christa, Nick, and 17 month old Irene piled into the Ford Focus after a brief search on the Internet to a piece of land preserved by San Diego County for our little adventure. Our Point of destination was Goodan Ranch Preserve which is in Poway, CA. This place is a valley of sage brush and the beginning of the local mountains for the county. As we got out of the car unsure of what lied ahead we could hear a coyote in the distance howling. With a little apprehension, we buried our stupid fears and forged ahead noting that there are coyotes in our own neighborhood. This was very peaceful and I instantly felt relaxed with green sage brush all around. This area was engulfed in flames six years ago and the charcoaled branches were a grim reminder of the 2003 Cedar Fire that threatened most of San Diego County. With that memory floating to the forefront of my mind, I was pleasantly surprised and encouraged at the re-birth of this area. It had come back very nice in a short period of time and you got the feeling that nature is extremely resilient despite how fragile it can be. We decided to take on Cardiac Hill for some reason...I think it was the name. This hill was named correctly. We headed up and realized quickly that if we persevered we would be treated to a panoramic view at the summit. We chased this dangling carrot and were rewarded with a brilliant view of Mount Laguna to the West beyond Sycamore Canyon Preserve and just below we could view the entire Goodan Ranch Preserve. Their is signage that describes how this habitat needs fires every 20 to 50 years to evolve. This of course was not to excuse or inspire a fire but it sort of makes you understand how small of a role we really play. My thought is that although that fire was caused by humans, it could not have happened without the proper conditions. Sagebrush becomes overgrown and needs to burn out to provide new nutrients to the soil and regenerate. The view and day were amazing considering six years earlier this place was completely wiped out. I suggest this as a great local hike in the winter months and I hope that anyone who goes there can perceive how amazing nature can turn itself around after a catastrophe. It made me believe we all can learn something from nature-not just because of the times we live in-but we all have bad days from time to time but they allow us to grow and prosper in the end.