La Jolla Valley, conditioning hike #1

This La Jolla Valley hike was in preparation for three planned hikes on Kauai. I needed to evaluate how well my gear would work, to include an evaluation of my physical conditioning and to answer the question am I bringing along too much (weight wise). This trail was chosen due to the close proximity, the gradual elevation change and there were a few geocaches along the way. Below is the sign at the trailhead. As you can see, distance wise, it does not look too tough. This was the first time I went on this particular trail.

This is a popular trail. Knowing how hot it can get in these canyons in early August, I chose to get going around 7:45 a.m. Once I got going, the gradual incline was not too bad and the physical part is was just enough so I could concentrate on my gear load (packup) situation, location of GPS unit, weight of the water, evaluation of my Nike hiking shoes (several years old but holding up). I wore a long sleeve cotton shirt to protect from the sun and bushes. From the above sign, (and not really knowing where I was going) I eventually ended up at the La Jolla walk-in camp. Turned around and came back.

What makes this trail, or can make it interesting is the seasonal waterfall. Since this is the dry season, there was no water. At this time, it was pretty much all dried up mossy stuff and a few various and random insects. From the placement of the rocks, when this is flowing, it could be a challenge to get across.

So, overall, the distance traveled was between 4 to 5 miles. That accounts for where I parked out on PCH, a wrong turn or two and not taking the most direct route to the walk-in camp.

How did the gear work out? I found that the 2 liters of water was enough, the weight of my gear load was a non-issue. I never felt weighted down. The long sleeve shirt worked ok, it offered protection from the sun and bushes. My Nike hiking shoes held up well, lots of grip, the tread pattern did not accumulate any noticeable amounts of debris.

The way I fastened the Garmin Venture GPS to a lanyard (on one end) then to a D-ring (on the other end), worked out well. It is long enough to drape over a shoulder, and undraped to be hand held while navigating or getting close to a cache. There was initial preparation as this trail was evaluated by using the Internet to view satellite imagery, topographic maps and other informational sources like blogs, state park information, and other personal web sites.

Conditioning hike #1 complete, gear checkout passes the hike test.