 |
SAN DIEGO HIKING GROUP & CLUB |
Welcome to the premier San Diego hiking club experience
The amazing beauty of nature!
When I'm not busy selling real estate, one of my favorite activities is exploring the beautiful beaches, inland valleys, mountains and deserts of San Diego County. It's a lot more fun to hike in groups with other people and over the years, I've belonged to a couple of San Diego hiking clubs. But, they had meetings to attend, their hikes were planned months ahead of time, they often filled up and they were usually on Saturdays - important business days for me.
The Seaside Hiking Club:So, in April 2010 the Seaside Hiking Club was organized with the goal of sharing safe, casual and regular San Diego County hiking group experiences. The hiking club was originally started through my church in Encinitas - Seaside Center for Spiritual Living. Later, it was opened up to all who want to enjoy hiking in San Diego and currently, about half of the active hiking club members are not affiliated with the church.  Click here to review the Purpose, Guidelines and Release of Liability.
Our purpose:
- To provide San Diego hikers and their friends with regular San Diego hiking experiences throughout the beaches, inland valleys, mountains and deserts of San Diego County.
- To provide a positive group setting for the exchange of outdoor information, education and knowledge.
- To educate and create an awareness, interest and understanding of the importance of preserving our natural environment.
- To share the essential spiritual and physical health benefits that hiking in nature provides.
- To provide a friendly hiking club for San Diego hikers and their friends to meet and connect.
- To perform occasional cleanup and maintenance projects of San Diego County hiking trails.
Club organizer and leader:
Neal Hribar has spent his entire life exploring the natural beauty of the outdoors. He discovered the attraction of nature as a child who played outside in the fields and woods every free moment.
As an adult, Neal has hiked in Colorado, Utah, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada and Southern California. Besides hiking, he has accomplished sailing, skiing, tennis, running, golf, racketball, bicycling, camping and ballroom dancing. He is currently studying Qigong and Yoga and spends time each week working out at the Tri-city Wellness Center in Carlsbad.
Neal has spent 26 years exploring San Diego County hiking trails. He finds peace and harmony in nature and loves sharing the outdoor experience with others. He knows that our bodies were designed to be active and move. He also understands that todays' stressful, sedentary lifestyle keeps many people from enjoying the health, vitality and well-being that hiking in nature can provide. Neal strives to maintain that physical conditioning and close connection with nature for himself and for others who join him hiking on San Diego trails.
The new science of being in nature!
It's well known that hiking in San Diego reduces stress and gives our bodies the physical workout it needs. Are there any other benefits from being in nature?
Well, it turns out that trees and many other plants give off compounds called Phytoncides. These naturally occurring chemicals, found in the forest environment enhance human natural killer (NK) cell activity, the number of NK cells and intracellular anti-cancer proteins in lymphocytes. They also reduce adrenaline - a stress hormone.
Science has shown that the increased NK activity occurs for both males and females and lasts for more than 7 days after being in the forest. In other words spending time around plants and trees boosts our immune system - amazing! Let's head for the woods and enjoy San Diego hiking trails!
Seaside Hiking Club membership:
- Open to experienced and responsible hikers and their friends and family.
- Be 18 years of age or older.
- Able to comfortably hike a minimum of five miles of varied terrain.
- Have certain minimum equipment as determined by the leader.
- Be willing to share in the cost of shared transportation.
- Reviewed and signed the Purpose, Guidelines and Release of Liability.
What kind of hikes are offered?
The Seaside Hiking Club has a hike almost every weekend. San Diego hikes are about 7 - 10 miles in length and they take the group to the best inland, mountain and desert areas. Hikes are also planned on weekday holidays except Christmas and Thanksgiving. Reservations are always required for our hikes and the Purpose, Guidelines and Release of Liability must be received prior to joining us for the first time
Upcoming hikes:
Past hikes:
How does it work?
The Seaside Hiking Club communicates with members of the hiking group via e-mail - there are no meetings to attend. Details on San Diego hikes are e-mailed to members a week or two in advance with a description, trail map, driving directions, weather forecast and car pool information. Click here to see a typical hiking club announcement e-mail .
How much does it cost?There is no charge to join the Seaside Hiking Club. Members are expected to share in the cost of group transportation when car pooling based on the AAA estimate of 0.70 per mile as the current cost of operating a vehicle.
Meet Lorenzo - our mascot!
In October 2010, a small multi-colored wooden fish began appearing in our photo slide shows. It was perplexing to have this mysterious creature stowing away with our San Diego hiking club - especially since he had not signed the Purpose, Guidelines and Release of Liability!
After several inquiries Paula, one of our favorite hiking club members, admitted to bringing Lorenzo along in her day pack and sneaking photos of him into the slide shows of our San Diego hiking group.
The story goes that Lorenzo was born in Mexico and after a hard life north of the border, he ended up in a Salvation Army store and was eventually rescued by Paula. He enjoyed a few months in Murrieta, CA before moving to Canada, where he practiced his French. He loved Canada but missed being near the ocean and now lives near the water in Carlsbad, CA.
We took a voteAfter Lorenzo came out of hiding, the Seaside Hiking Club members became enamored with him and he was voted in as our mascot in December 2010. Lorenzo will be hiking in San Diego with us and will appear in our photos on a regular basis.
A word on hiking equipment:
The Seaside Hiking Club explores all the San Diego microclimates and we run into a variety of weather conditions. Since the San Diego weather is so variable, it's a good idea to wear comfort-able, layered clothing that will keep you warm or cool.
Most people are low on Vitamin D and they will benefit from regular sun exposure. But, on really hot days, you may want to wear a wide brim hat and long sleeves for sun protection while hiking in San Diego. The newer hiking shirts by Columbia, REI and others offer built-in UV protection.
Unless it's very hot, many experienced hikers wear long pants to reduce scratches from vegetation and to protect themselves from accidental contact with Poison Oak.
Jeans are too tight and heavy for San Diego hiking. Instead, consider buying a pair of light-weight nylon hiking pants. They're loose-fitting for free movement and have lots of pockets with Velcro flaps to carry your small essentials.
Some people in our hiking club like convertible hiking pants with legs that can be zipped-off in hot weather. For others, the zipper feels uncomfortable on the leg. The North Face and REI both make great pants for hiking in San Diego.
Well-prepared hikers always carry a light-weight wind-breaker/rain shell.jacket in their day pack. Our San Diego weather can change quickly and having this extra layer of protection has proved valuable time-after-time. If someone is sick or injured and has to stay behind for a few hours, multiple jackets from the group will provide them with much needed protection. Or, if we get lost or delayed in the mountains at the end of a winter day, you will have one more layer of warmth in the chilly evening. Backcountry.com has a great line of rain shell jackets as doe REI, or my favorite, Adventure 16.
Good hiking shoes or boots are a must - tennis/running shoes are not recommended except for our urban hikes. New Balance is a favorite brand of hiking shoes because they're modestly priced and come in a variety of widths for comfort. Hiking Sandals and the Vibram Fivefingers footwear are becoming more popular, particularly with younger hikers. Teva is big into sandals. Going barefoot whenever possible is a healthy habit - hiking sandals and Fivefingers are a step in that direction.
A small back pack or waist pack will keep your hands free and your gait balanced. Here is the favorite Mountainsmith waist pack at a great price. Back Packs with shoulder straps have been shown to disrupt the energy flow in the body. So, find one that transfers the weight to your hips.
About a fourth of our hiking club members use a hiking stick or poles - it seems to be a very personal thing. The new poles are ultra light weight and collapsible which make them easy to carry while hiking in San Diego. They are very helpful for balance when crossing streams. However, sticks and branches can usually be found that don't have to be carried the whole day.
3 pints of water are suggested on every San Diego hike. Plastic water bottles are bad for our planet, the water doesn't taste good and the plastic residue is toxic for your body. 67 million water bottles are thrown away each day. That's a staggering amount of waste considering that only 10 percent are ever recycled.
Despite how good you feel about recycling, it's not always best for the ecosystem because it's highly labor-intensive, costly and consumes natural resources. And, just because you throw your used water bottles into the recycling bin, doesn't mean they are always able to be recycled. Another problem with bottled water is the huge amount of fossil fuel needed to transport the loads of plastic bottles to your local supermarket and then haul the empties away for recycling.
So, treat yourself and the planet well - buy a couple of 20-ounce stainless stainless steel bottles today! Here is the best buy in stainless steel bottles. Two of these filled with water will be enough for our outings.
For members only
Active members of the Seaside Hiking Club may get a password to access our membership roster by sending an e-mail request to: home@hribar.com.
The best way to find out if you would like to join the Seaside Hiking Club is to fill out this form requesting to be added to our e-mail list. This will give you the opportunity to see our San Diego hiking club announcements and get an idea of our activities. Then, if you wish to join us for a hike, just let me know via phone or e-mail. Click here to review the Purpose, Guidelines and Release of Liability
|
|
|
Carlsbad, California 92011