Health & Fitness
A Hike Through Torrey PInes
The Misplaced Midwesterner returns to Torrey Pines on a more casual adventure and learns the park is more pleasant to walk up than run.
For those of you who didn't already know, I am not a big fan of Torrey Pines. My first and, at the time, only experience of the park was during the La Jolla Half Marathon 2012 where at mile 4, the elevation climbed exponentially for nearly two miles leaving my legs and my time in pain. I hated that hill and I vowed never to return.
That vow was broken last month. Two of my great friends were visiting and after watching a video about how gorgeous the hike through Torrey Pines was, were convinced we had to hike it. My husband and I were a little sceptical; my friends are not the healthiest individuals and from our experience this hike could be difficult.
After a rough morning, we headed to the park. Street parking was unavailable, so we paid the $15 to enter the property. We ate a packed lunch at the car and then started out on the hike.
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Let me tell you, that hill is so much easier to hike up than run up. My friends couldn't believe that we ran up the hill for two miles. Ha!
The four of us hiked the twisting dirt paths and took in the beauty of the ocean and surrounding landscape. It was gorgeous. Our final path traversed was one that lead to the beach and yet again, we were in awe of the beauty. The water matched the sky, blue and clear. The beach was nearly uninhabited and the sounds of the crashing waves was soothing.
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After walking along the beach, we doffed our duds and took a dip. The waves were large that afternoon and I had so much fun splashing and running into the crashing waves.
As we were walking back to our belongings, my husband fell into some misfortune. He became the third of four stringray incidents that afternoon. We walked to the nearby lifeguard station for a bandage. Blood was dripping out of the two-inch cut. The lifeguard simply asked him if the wound stung to which my husband replied, "Yes." He was stung.
For 45 minutes, my husband sat at the ranger's station with his foot in a bucket of water, hoping the warm water would neutralize the sting. Luckily, he acted quickly enough before the sting could do any real harm to his body. He suffered some swelling and discomfort for a few days, but he's fine.
My hike through Torrey Pines made me reevaluate my perceptions of the park, but just when I thought I could enjoy the place, a stingray had to go and attack my husband. That just brought down the curve.
