Things To Do in Southern California

Where to begin? There are so many things to do in Southern California, we could easily create a big long list, but that would be overwhelming! So I’m going to categorize the things you can do in Southern California and list off some of the best, in my humble opinion.

Surfing- Huntington beach pier, where the US Open Surfing Championship is held each summer, Trestles, a world class spot just south of San Clemente, La Jolla Shores, a good break for beginners

Parks- Legoland is ok for kids but watch them trick you into buying stuff at every turn. Six Flags and Seaworld are incredible fun.

Disneyland! New attractions at California Adventure and Downtown Disney. Be sure to check out the newly-remodeled Space Mountain, as well as classics such as the Matterhorn and Sleeping Beauty’s Castle.

Orange County: Go to lunch at Ruby’s on the Newport Beach pier, have a nice day out at the beach.

San Clemente: great breakfast/lunch place, Waffle Lady. Pico exit, near Staples. They have a dozen different waffle choices and toppings and other stuff.

San Diego: Seaport Village and Old Town are terribly touristy and don’t offer too much. Seaport is a little better than Old Town. Try hiking Cowles Mountain. It’s pretty easy and offers a nice view. Cedros Design District in Solana Beach is fun for shopping. There’s a nice strip in Del Mar too. The San Diego Zoo, of course, does not disappoint- it’s world class.

L.A.: Griffith Park Observatory. Tesla Coil demonstration.

Want to relax or golf? Check out the La Costa Resort and Spa. Expensive but 5 star quality.

More outdoors stuff: Joshua Tree rock climbing is so good it draws travelers from around the world, Death Valley is a huge playground for jeeping but not in the summer, San Jacincto is full of great hiking trails and just north of the great romantic getaway town of Idyllwild, San Gorgonio hiking is beautiful and intense enough to use as training for Mt Whitney, Mt Woodson is a nice morning hike full of cool bouldering problems. Check out the pioneering outdoor retailer Adventure 16 anywhere in Southern California- 7 locations.

The Del Mar Fair is, well, a big fair in June. You oughta see it at least once.

Casinos are all over… seen one you’ve seen ‘em all.

International Surfing Museum - The International Surfing Museum located in Huntington Beach, California is home to a collection of some of the most significant artifacts in the history of surfing. With surf music and videos playing in the background, you’ll be in the mood to view the many fine exhibits.

There are just too many things to do in Southern California! You’d better move here and get a job that doesn’t make you work in the evenings and on weekends!

Scenic Kentucky Hiking Trail

"One of Kentucky's top hiking and backpacking byways, the North/South Trail, skewers the full length of the Land Between the Lakes national recreation area.

"The LBL is a relatively slim peninsula between huge Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, capped on the north by a lakes-linking canal near Grand Rivers. The federal area is 170,000 uninhabited acres of hardwood-bristling ridges and hollows as it stretches south, across the Tennessee line to an area boundary near Dover, Tenn.

Read more here...
and more about Kentucky's North South Trail at trails.com

How to Get Out More Often

We spoke with friends of Adventure 16 who seem to get out all the time. How do they do it? Some of their advice...

MAKING
IT A PRIORITY...

Jackie Paulson, Santa Monica

Longtime Adventure 16 outings instructor and globe-trotting adventurer Jackie
recently climbed Acongagua. When we spoke with her she was leaving for Colorado
for a round of ice climbing. She’s planning a Mt. McKinley ascent this
June and will also climb the Mountaineers Route up Whitney. “I don’t
see outdoor trips as a frivolous vacation or extra treat. I see it as something
that is a priority: A part of my life in the same way as eating properly, staying
fit and showing up for work. Fortunately my husband is ok with all this—he’s
more of an adrenaline junkie; skiing and such. I keep all of my most commonly
used gear in one giant duffle. I keep a file of places I’m going to go.
Every time I see something in Backpacker magazine, it goes into that file—I’m
constantly planning years in advance…That’s part of the joy. It keeps
me inspired.”

MAKE THE MOST
OF YOUR TIME

Jerry Schad, La Mesa

Author
of the enormously popular Southern California hiking guidebook series “Afoot
& Afield,” Jerry is an astronomy and physical sciences professor at
Mesa College. He’s usually out in the field each week updating his books.
Jerry’s newest book, “Trail Runner’s Guide to San Diego”
(Wilderness Press) will be out this year. It will contain descriptions of 50
runs. “The time of day and time of year are so very important around here.
Don’t go out in broiling sun in summertime. So many people can get the
wrong idea about day hikes when our area starts warming up in May. They hit
the trail at 10 a.m. and then it gets uncomfortably hot and they’re not
enjoying themselves. Confine your explorations to early evening or early morning.
My interest is based on the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid). It’s
so easy to slip on my running shoes and be out the door in a minute for some
trail running. Everything in Southern California is incredibly close. Rather
than drive for a day or two, I like to make the most of my time. My pack is
typically an average of 10 pounds (cameras are a big part of the weight), although
I can be over that at the beginning of a trip because of water. Sometimes in
Mission Trails Regional Park I just carry my keys, ID, Kleenex, and a few coins.
I don’t carry a cell phone.”

DREAMS
BEGIN WITH MAPS

Gwyn Benedict, San Diego

Adventure 16’s Solana Beach Store Manager, Gwyn is an avid flyfisher, hiker,
backpacker, and outdoor skills clinic instructor. When we spoke, she was off
for her third trip in recent years to Patagonia. “Maps are a special love
of mine. The adventure begins as soon as you buy a map. You start becoming intimate
with the area before you go. You can visualize yourself on the trip. Afterwards,
looking at that same map is like replaying a video—you remember everything.
I also like having one big long-term goal and training for it, staying in shape
for it. For example, the ‘8,000-meter challenge’—a one-day footrace
where you bag Southern California’s highest peaks—was a big challenge
for me. I did a four-month training program for that single day, but the training
got me into the local mountains ‘looking for elevation’ pretty much
weekly.”

GO
FOR THE ENDORPHINE HIGH

Corey Freyer, Los Angeles

Corey, the former Wilderness Outings Coordinator in West LA, has taught backcountry
cooking, map & compass and more. She is an avid hiker, backpacker, mountaineer.
She works as a salesperson for Adventure 16, and teaches clinics such as backcountry
cooking. “A continuity of exercise is very important to me. Even more significant
is the way I feel when I’m active in a backcountry setting: that endorphine
high, that peace of mind. Beauty is a big part of that, too. I’m planning
on doing a substantial backpacking trip at the end of summer, so training in
the Santa Monica mountains or Idyllwild and San Jacinto area—a genuine
mountain setting—will be a part of life until then.”

PACK
MAN

Robert Burroughs, San Diego

Robert is a freelance photographer for N.Y. Times, remains active in Boy Scouts
as a leader, and has become an ultra-light advocate. He trekked in Nepal/Everest
last fall. “I always have stuff around for overnighters or two-nighters,
but I don’t leave myself packed because I never know where I’m going.
In packs alone I own three Gregories, two Glen Van Peski G-4s, a North Face
internal, two external-frame vintage A16’s…Why so many? I loan them
out too. And I always have ‘backpacking food’ in the house because
I don’t go with freeze dried. I buy those Lipton dinners when on sale:
the ones that only need two cups of water. My favorite is a risotto and rice
cheddar broccoli. And I have extra food lying around. I could go on a hike right
now in an hour…I keep a list of places I want to go. Just belonging to
the Sierra Club and taking their Wilderness Basics courses is a great idea for
someone starting out or anxious to get back outdoors more.”

FULL HOG INTO
IT

Jeff Cooper, San Diego

Former
Outings Director for Adventure 16, Jeff started his outdoor career with Outward
Bound. His personal trips that have “nothing to do with my job” included,
in the last year alone, a winter mountaineering seminar culminating in a 5.7
all-day snow and ice ascent ‘mega-adventure,’ a whitewater ‘tour’
through California and Montana, a kayak trip around Elsmere Island north of
the Arctic Circle, and a canyoneering hike (see story page 14). “My trips
have everything to do with what feeds me: the nature of adventure—extending
your potential, gaining skills, and enjoying nature in all its raw essence.
I made a commitment to learn something new every year. I don’t mean read
a book. I don’t mean take one class. I mean get full hog into it. Devour
it. Be passionate. Eat sleep drink it. Get to know whether you like it and whether
it’s for you or not. For me that’s often been in the outdoors. I think
there are two ways to attack the challenge of ‘getting out more’:
examine what keeps you from doing it, and what attracts you to it. Are we motivated
by the possibility of negative consequences? Or a positive outcome? People start
to think about digging in a disorganized garage for their gear, the aches, the
possibility of rain, the worry that they can’t afford the time or money,
or that they’re too tired. Whatever the reasons, we all do it. But when
you do go, you think, ‘I can’t believe I waited so long to get out
here!’ I’ve done it enough to know that the latter is far more often
the outcome: almost 98 percent of the time it’s totally worth it.”

THE
EVERY YEAR THEORY

John D. Mead, La Mesa

John is President of Adventure 16, and stays active in the outdoors. He’s
been in the outdoor industry since his teens. “Ten of us go backpacking
every fall to a different National Park. It’s a guys’ week out after
our kids are back in school. Our busy schedules prevent getting together on
short notice and some of the group live far away, so to make it happen we’ve
committed to the next 50 fall seasons. We get a backcountry permit and lodge
reservation for the first night at least six months in advance. This gives us
most of the year to sweet-talk our wives, arrange our schedules, set aside the
dough, fortify our equipment arsenals, and get in shape.”

J.G. (Just Go!)

J.G. (Just Go!)

Our best tips and techniques for getting back on the trail more often. You know you love it...now just go!

If your gear could talk, it would be calling to you, maybe when you’re awake at 3 a.m. and staring up at your bedroom ceiling glowing in the greenish light of your alarm clock. You can almost hear all that spiffy outdoor gear you have in your closet or garage screaming, “Use me! How come you don’t hike more? Backpack more? Snowshoe more…?”

Because I don’t have time, you answer. Because I’m earning a living. Because my kids are too little. Because my kids are grown and gone. Because, because… It’s a common lament and hey, we’re with you. Yet we all know people just as busy as we are who get out on adventures—be they day hikes or treks in Nepal—all the time. How do they do it?

We went hiking the halls here at our main office and in our stores—where a lot of our staff and customers seem to be getting into the outdoors just about every week—and asked a pretty simple question: “How do you do it? What makes getting out more easier, more fun, more rewarding?”

Here’s the scoop. But we gotta add: for all the great ideas and gear that can help you make outdoor adventure a bigger part of your life, you still have to nudge yourself sooner or later and say, “Just Go!”

1.
Beat the Time Trap

Noted outdoor writer Tom Stienstra calls it “the time trap” and we agree: try to juggle time for work, time for family and friends, and time for outdoors, and outdoors is the dropped ball. His advice? “Treat your fun just like you treat your work.”

That means scheduling outdoor trips, be they a day hike or a multi-day trek. You keep your appointments at work, don’t you? Then follow Tom’s advice and calendar the stuff that’s really important—your dreams! Check out our selection of Tom’s guidebooks at Adventure 16, and pay a visit to his website at www.tomstienstra.com.


2. Too out of shape?

Then why not use the outdoors to get in shape? Last we checked, the local trails near you were a heck of a lot prettier than the mirrored view from a treadmill. Many of us feel daunted by the prospect of exercising at least 60 minutes a day (recent government recommendations). Start slowly and build strength back up by re-discovering those beaches, parks and canyon trails near you. Walk the dog. Pack some morning walks into each weekend, preferably ones involving elevation gain (of course, you should consult your doctor before beginning any exercise program). Consider choosing a lightweight pair of trail shoes from Adventure 16’s wide selection and wearing them from street to trail to office.


3. Leave the planning to them

Sometimes you might want to hit the “default” mode and sign on with an “active adventure” vacation outfitter/tour company—one that emphasizes hiking, bike riding, and rafting rather than cruise ships and Vegas. Many do all the planning, cooking, gear organization, even the heavy lifting. Here are a few well-known options (search the web with key words “adventure travel” and “active travel” for more): Austin-Lehman Adventures, 800/575-1540, www.austinlehman.com; Backroads Adventures, 800/462-2848, www.backroads.com; Class VI River Runners, 800/252-7784, www.800classvi.com; Classic Journeys, 800/200-3887, www.classicjourneys.com; Footloose of TrekAmerica, 800/221-0596, www.trekamerica.com; National Wildlife Federation, 800/606-9563, www.nwf.org/expeditions; New England Hiking Holidays, 800/869-0949, www.nehikingholidays.com; O.A.R.S., 800/346-6277, www.oars.com; The Wayfarers, 800/249-4620, www.thewayfarers.com; Distant Horizons, 800/333-1240, www. Distant-horizons.com; Wilderness Travel, 800/368-2794, www.wildernesstravel.com; Sierra Mountaineering International, www.sierramountaineering.com, 760/872-4929.


4. Get comfortable…and updated!

See our “Going Light(er)” story in this issue for advice on how to drop pounds off your back, feet, even belly and what a difference this can make in your energy levels, comfort, hiking range and more. This, perhaps more than anything else, may revolutionize and revitalize your outdoor habits! Likewise, the gear revolution continues, especially in the realm of clothing, flashlights, stoves. Smaller, better, lighter. Fascinating really. Pay us a visit at Adventure 16 and get your juices going, because you don’t have to carry the same sleeping bag you used as a teenager anymore.


5. Take a course, learn new skills

Some of us make learning a lifetime habit. Consider alternatives like tracking, advanced first aid, landscape photography. Start with an overview via Gordons Guide, www.gordonsguide.com and UK-based World Outdoor Web, www.w-o-w.com. Then check out National Outdoor Leadership School (N.O.L.S.), www.nols.edu, 800/710-6657; Outdoor Leadership Training Seminars (O.L.T.S.),

www.olts-bt.com, 303/320-0372; Colorado Mountain School, www.cmschool.com, 970/586-5758; Northwest School of Survival, www.nwsos.com, 503/668-8264; American Alpine Institute, www.mtnguide.com, 360/671-1505; Wilderness Medical Associates, www.wildmed.com,

800-WILDMED; Sierra Mountaineering International, www.sierramountaineering.com, 760/872-4929; Wilderness Outings, www.wildernessoutings.com, 877-4WILDOUT.


6. Create the “Gear Zone”

You put all your clothes and shoes in a closet don’t you? Then why is your outdoor gear scattered all over the house and garage? Set aside a home for your most-needed gear (daypack, boots, hiking poles) and an adjacent area for longer-term storage (larger backpack, cross-country skis etc.). Consider making an inventory list of everything you own—it will help you find things, plan trips, remember items. Clear plastic bins are best; or label boxes with numbers keyed to your inventory list. Note: Sleeping bags and self-inflating mattresses should not be stored rolled up tight. Store instead in large, loose cotton bags made from old sheets or laundry bags. Periodically take all gear out for a good sun-bathing session on a warm day—UV and heat helps kill microorganisms that cause mold, rot, unpleasant odors.


7. Avoid disappointment

One reason some people don’t get out more—or quit altogether, God forbid—is because of an unpleasant experience. Training, practice, common sense: these all help avoid danger. But we’re referring more to disappointment, things like the ranger saying, “Oh, that trail is closed” or “Sorry Charlie, no more permits available”, or coming back to your car and finding the radio gone. Always call park and forest administrators first, get a human being on the line, and ask key questions like: 1. What permits, reservations, and fees do I need? 2. Where’s a safe place to park our car at or near the trailhead? 3. What are current trail conditions between X and X? 4. How long does it take most people to hike between X and X? 4. What temperatures and weather conditions are common this time of year? (See Jerry Schad’s advice about weather on page 10.)

8. Be flexible

We once got snowed out of a backpacking trip in the Palisades Glacier area on the east side of the Sierra. So we headed for Death Valley and the Eastern Mojave instead. A few extra items of outdoor gear in the car made the switch easy (we had an inkling it would happen). Too much planning can be the death of spontaneity, so a flexible attitude serves as a good antidote to becoming a control freak. Besides, you can’t control mother nature.


9. Find a friend, join a club, be sociable!

Hiking alone was great for John Muir and Pete Starr, but you’ll probably get out more often if you find a companion or two. Get a friend, set a time for training hikes and stick to it, rain or shine. Instead of Starbucks, go to a mountaintop near you!

Sierra Club, Audubon Society, and the natural history museum nearest you all have active day-hiking programs, and sponsor field trips to Baja, the deserts, Channel Islands, Grand Canyon, and beyond. Many state parks and reserves have volunteer and docent opportunities: a docent training program is an especially good way to get to know a new group of like-minded people, as well as steep yourself in new outdoor knowledge. Ask for trail duty or backcountry maintenance jobs if you really want to get moving as a volunteer.


10. Read all about it.

Some of the best books ever written will get you to the edge of your seat—and then back into the outdoors. Start with Colin Fletcher’s “The Thousand-Mile Summer” (if you can find it). This may be the book that started the backpacking “craze” way back in the 1960s, and it’s still a great read. Great nature writing is inspiring: we love Ann Hamond Zwinger (try “The Mysterious Lands” about the American Southwest). Water lovers will enjoy Eric Sevareid’s epic canoe journey in “Canoeing With the Cree” and John McPhee’s “The Survival of the Birchbark Canoe.” The adventure classics, such as the list offered by the Adventure Library, are timeless. Whether you buy these handsomely bound and reissued books from the publisher/club itself, or find them at Adventure 16 or used book dealer, they’re all must-reads. Outside magazine published a great story in January 2003 entitled “The 25 (Essential)Books for the Well-Read Explorer.” Talk about seizing the imagination! Their number one? “Wind, Sand and Stars” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Others in the top five include: “The Worst Journey in the World” by Apsley Cherry-Garrard; “West With the Night” by Beryl Markham (hmm, lots of aviation); “The Snow Leopard” by Peter Matthiessen; “Desert Solitaire” by Edward Abbey. Yeah!