It has been almost a month since my last practice hike, and although I’ve been staying in shape through this awesome workout program (I’m currently on day 48) or by surfing with my friend Nick, nothing replicates a long hike like…uh, a long hike.

Anyways! Yesterday I set off from home towards Del Mar, with the goal of detouring through Torrey Pines State Reserve. For the first 6 or 7 miles I kept my camera in my pocket, since I’ve already trekked through this part of San Diego. By the time I reached Torrey Pines Golf Course, I was getting pretty sweaty, so the breeze that crests off the top of the ridge was more than welcome. It was a beautiful day to hike down to the beach, and although the path I took ambled for a while, the payoff was definitely worth it. I even took a self-portrait, which required a lot of fiddling with the timer on my camera and about 5 different camera angles. Blogging is definitely a pursuit for narcissists. After taking my vanity shot, I made it down to Black’s Beach, and then began the long trudge upward. After looping back to the top, I went on a brief hike up to an overlook point, where I captured a really nice shot of Torrey Pines State Beach. After another 25 minutes, I made it down to the shore and was picked up, sweaty and smelly, by my gallant brother Eli. This hike was a little shorter than the ones I had done before, but I also kept a much faster pace and managed to finish in a little under three hours. All in all, it was a great day for a hike and was a pretty solid gauge of my abilities at this point. Bring on the Camino!

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