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Dripping Cave Hallow Oak Trail

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ALISO AND WOODS CANYON WILDERNESS PARK

Activity: Day Hike

7.5 miles, 975’ elevation change, 3.5 hour duration, rated Moderate

Date: 5-25-20

Aliso and Woods Canyon Wilderness is a wonderful area especially in the Spring when everything is green. It is very popular with hikers and mountain bikers. I enjoy the park mostly on two wheels, but it is fun to do some hikes as well, since you can see things at a slower pace and absorb the area in a way that you wouldn’t be able to with a bike.

Okay… full disclosure I went there to mountain bike with my sailing and mountain biking friend and his teenage son, but there was an issue with my bike. So, they went on and I did not want to waste the day so I headed out on foot. I saw them later on the trail ending their ride, and I was still just beginning. Lol, that is the difference between hiking and biking.

The Aliso and Woods Wilderness Park is a wonderful area filled with rolling hills, with some oak groves, and lots of fun mountain biking trails as well as hiking. Most of the time they are one in the same, but not always, so on foot you can see parts of the park that you wouldn’t on a bike. Case in point the famous “Wrecked Car”. I imagine that some flash flood from days gone by swept this car through the canyon depositing it in a place you just would not expect to see it. Then climbing around on some of the rocks and into some openings or over hangs such as Dripping Cave would need to be done on foot.

So Dripping Cave, first of all the only time this cave would drip would be during a rain storm. Also it is more of an over hang then a cave, but that being said it is still fun to checkout. It is sometimes called Robber’s Cave as it was a hideout for the 1850’s Old West Bandito Juan Flores. It did not end well for the bandit and his gang maybe they needed a bigger cave to hideout in?

Pursuing Balance Through Adventure YouTube Channel
A flash floods somehow delivered this wrecked car into this ravine from days gone by. Now it is a spectacle along the path.
The Hikers Code: Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing behind, kill nothing but time. 

Thanks for coming along to a area that is one of my favorites, mostly to mountain bike, but on this day I discovered that it was great to get out on my own to legs while ‘Pursing Balance Through Adventure’. Great day and there are many more great days so please stay with me by doing these few simple things LIKE, COMMENT, FOLLOW and SHARE. Get a shirt, buff, and hat like mine at SHOP APPAREL. Go to the menu and you will find more than a dozen PBTA sites in which to lose yourself or find yourself whichever you might be in the mood for. Each location is a separate website and thus needs to be FOLLOWED independently.

Happy Trails,

Roger Jenkins

Pursuing Balance Through Adventure

San Juan Capistrano Recreational Trail System

Las Ramblas Trail

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San Juan Capistrano Recreational Trail System

San Juan Capistrano

San Clemente

North Los Mares, Prima Desecha, and Ramblas Trail 

Activity: Day Hike

5.3 Miles, 885’ elevation gain, 2.25 hours duration, Rated Moderate.  

Date: 5-12-20

There were 180 degree panoramic views from the top featuring visual candy from Dana Point Headlands to the North and Oceanside to the South including white water views of San Clemente Beach and Doheny Beach.  I traveled through the green rambling hills of San Clemente enjoying a variety of wildflowers and the Blue Pacific.  

This hike goes into my urban hike category which to me doesn’t mean hiking through downtown LA, but the point of view that anytime you are in view and sound of urban sprawl than it is of the urban variety.  If you follow my blog then you know that I am all about the wilderness, but the reality is you can’t always be in the wilderness, away from it all enjoying the solitude and the solace of nature.  So hikes like Las Ramblas in San Clemente are the next best thing, because even as I looked down at homes instead of fir trees it was at least fascinating because the homes that butt up against nature are usually pretty darn nice and that was indeed the case in San Clemente, highlighting everything from fairly normal nice homes, all the way up to mini mansion and even a few of the full on variety of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.  

But the ocean views it afforded certainly put it in another category all together, so Las Ramblas was indeed a special hike and I look forward to hiking some of the other trails in the area.  Speaking of which: San Juan Capistrano Recreational Trail System.

Oceanside to the South, San Clemente in the center, and Dana Point Harbor to the North.
Hiking and outdoor activities is Mother Nature’s Gym. So I say, “Corona Virus Take a Hike”! – Pursuing Balance Through Adventure
It’s not hiking, it’s life (Transposed from it’s not fitness, it’s life)

Thanks for joining me ‘Pursuing Balance Through Adventure’ along the rambling hills of San Juan Capistrano above San Clemente on Las Ramblas Trail. Even urbanish hikes are good as long as you stretch the legs, fill the lungs, get outdoors and let your mind ramble, giving yourself a respite from the busy hectic, frantic, lives below. Keep in mind that person with the beautiful mansion, isn’t truly happy because they are rushing around like crazy paying for all of that lol. They probably wish they had more free time to hike and take care of their ulcer. So don’t fret about all of that because if you have your health in body, mind, and soul then you got quite a lot. If you enjoy PBTA then please show me by leaving a LIKE, COMMENT, FOLLOW and SHARE. Go to the menu and find some more location where you can become inspired and hike, enjoy nature and adventure. Keep in mind that each location is a separate website and thus needs to be FOLLOWED independently. Keep the sun out of your eyes with a hat from SHOP APPAREL which not only looks great, carries the mantra, but helps support this endeavor.

Happy Trails-

Roger Jenkins

Pursuing Balance Through Adventure