Looking at February (Madrona 15-20 Feb, vet job 21-23 Feb, Stitches West 24-27 Feb, vet job 28-29 Feb) I realized there wasn’t going to be much opportunity for a hike. Â I’ll do something in the Palos Verdes area, even if it’s just the Terranea hike/run, but it’s not like we’ll be able to really count on doing a day hike in the Santa Monica Mountains or the San Gabriel Mountains.
So…Sunday we did the Malibu Grotto hike. Â We did this last year, and it was a lot of fun. Â You hike downhill to the Grotto, scramble around on rocks, then hike back uphill. Â Lots of fun plants to look at as well. Â There weren’t many people at all on the trail, which was a nice change from the previous hike in Eaton Canyon.
I enjoy the scrambling in an adrenaline-pumping sort of way. Â I’m not a big fan of heights — specifically of the chance of falling, really, which is a quite rational fear given that I occasionally fall off curbs — and though the potential drops are only about 20-25 feet, the landing would be on solid rock.
I do like the fact that I get an upper body workout from this bit of the hike, enough to be a little sore the next day.
We stopped at Leo Carillo beach on the way back. Â I waded (COLD! but good to my tired feet) and checked out some anemones. Â The tide pools are better at Abalone Cove, but the water here is so lovely and clear that anytime we can stop along here I like to do so!
Because it’s a state beach, you can’t collect rocks or shells, but it’s fun to see all the different colored rocks. Â People do surf here, despite all the rocks; Â we saw a couple long boarders catching the (very small) waves.
Learn more about Leo Carillo state beach here and here.
Learn more about the Grotto hike: