Alta Vicente Trail

Kyong-Mi has gone to Palos Verdes peninsula, which is outside of San Pedro and Long Beach, California.  She couldn't remember the name of the trailhead she was on the last time.  She decided to just wing it with her GPS to find any trailhead at Palos Verdes Peninsula.

The trip was worth the drive.  It was scenic and the roads were under construction.  Because it is a Sunday, the roads were not being worked on, and the recently paved roads were windy and bumpy.  Some areas felt like going down a roller coaster.  

They found the parking lot to the trailhead at:
30940 Hawthorne Blvd
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
90275

The trailhead is a rocky path on the side of the parking lot and takes you down stairs.  Once passed the stairway, the trail takes you near a Canary Island palm tree.  There are plenty of flying bugs, the occasional lizard, squirrels and rabbits running away into the shrubbery.  

At some point, the trail inclines and you can see a beautiful view of the ocean and lighthouse across the street.  There is a steep trail going up the side of the hill.  Good hiking boots would come in handy on the hill.  Kyong-Mi learned the hard way by wearing an old pair of beat-up running shoes.  

At the summit of the hill is an amazing view of a lagoon below.  There is a parking lot and a cove where water pounds the side of the cliff.  You can spot a lot of tourists checking out the water.

Continuing on downard, there are old, defunct farming machinery.  Following the Alta Vicente trail down, it leads you to the street.  The "sidewalk" is paved like the trail, with sand, gravel, and rocks. Trevor and Kyong-Mi walked along the street until they came upon a church.  The church has a parking-lot that ends at a cul-de-sac.  To the right, in the cul-de-sac, is the trailhead that takes you back up toward the stairs they initially walked down in the beginning.

Kyong-Mi did not time their hike, and they stopped a lot to check out the view, and so she could snap pictures of the plants and scenery, and even talk to a couple ladies about the trail.  

Alta Vicente trailhead marker

Lantana flowers

Milk Thistle

Canary Island date palm

Snails on fennel plant

Fennel

Trevor to get a picture with the lighthouse behind them

Prickly pear cactus flower

View below us as we began ascending

Rocks aligned part of the trail

Sour fig succulent

Crown Daisy

Early 20th Century pull grader

1930s row crop tractor

The trail deadends at the street.  They continued down the street and around Alta Vicente.  The trail back to their car was found via a church parking lot while following the road.

Sea lavender

 

Rancho Palos Verdes Peninsula

Mike & Ku‘uipo feeling on top of the world at Del Cerro Park.
(Just before the hike started)

Due to the articles about residents in the Del Cerro Park area not liking hikers coming to Rancho Palos Verdes and parking on their streets, littering, etc, Kyong-Mi thought that was the perfect place to go (article 1, article 2, article 3), considering parking permits would be in the near future.

They parked on the street prior to Park Avenue.  There's a fence that overlooks the canyon called Portuguese Bend and Reserve, and few hikers were seen walking through there.  It's a long way down.

Kyong-Mi and Mike entered the park on foot, seeking the trailhead, but found picnickers at a bench and a couple cuddling in a corner.

The trail within Del Cerro Park leads to an overlook that can see into the canyon and beyond.  Visions of many trails below could be seen and they stood there for a moment deciding which trail would be best.

They left the park in search of the trailhead which is a gate to a rocky road on the side of the park.  A man named José was cleaning up litter, when Mike asked him if he knew where the trailhead was, and José was excited to tell Mike and Kyong-Mi how to get to the trailhead, where to go to get the first beautiful view on the right, and told them to enjoy their trip.

José talking about the book he read called "The Grapes of Wrath."

José telling Mike about the trail going that way is about 9 miles.

José telling Mike & Kyong-Mi about his time in the Army at the Vietnam War.

While walking the trail, just exploring, Mike and Kyong-Mi came to a fork in the road, and from the fork, José came up behind them and said, "Just go that way.  I've been hiking these trails every week for years.  I can tell you where they all go.  I've been picking up litter after all the young people leaving trash behind for years, too.  It makes hikers look bad.  I'm headed to the Trump Golf Club.  If you follow me, I can show you all the scenic spots, since they are all on the way to where I'm going."

Before leaving, José told Mike & Kyong-Mi they need to hike Mt. Wilson.  He said when he came back to California from Vietnam, he and buddies took up hiking and one of the first and most memorable hikes he took was at Mt. Wilson.  He said the view was amazing.

Returning to the car, Kyong-Mi spotted chip bags and trash next to the car.  Due to the neighborhood complaints of hikers littering, Kyong-Mi picked up the trash others left behind.

To make a long hike short...
The sounds of peacocks could be heard in the distance.  Depending on which trails taken, the hike could be a mile to 10!  Mike and Kyong-Mi lost track but took over 15,000 steps from the car back to the car.  There's not much shade, so sunscreen and long sleeves are suggested.  Kyong-Mi was sunburned.  It's not suggested to bring young children on the hike unless they are in an all-terrain stroller.  Kyong-Mi & Mike would not bring their 10 year old on this hike as seen.  Once you go down, you have to go all the way back up, and it can be tough on little legs.  A few piles of horse poop litter the trail, but all-in-all, a great medium to strenuous hike with a gorgeous view of the ocean, Catalina, and terrain.

To be continued...possibly.