Ho Chi Minh Trail
Ho Chi Minh trail was a trail I had been wanting to try for awhile, but I never got around to it. I jumped in my car and put it in my GPS. The trail also shows up as La Jolla Trail.
Once I got to the spot, I couldn't find a tail head. I stopped some hikers and asked them where it was. They pointed me in the right direction which was to a hidden trail between fences and behind trash cans! Two houses have fences lining their properties, and the gap between the two fences leads to the trail. I carried on.
Right away there was a fork in the path. The right one goes up to the tops of the cliffs where a trail leads you to a staircase. The left one goes down to the beach where you walk right until you hit the same staircase. I went left first.
The hike down is interesting because the cliff walls have been beaten with wind and sand into swirly, maze-like patterns. The path got narrow at some points too.
Bring shoes with tread because the sandy trails were slippery.
After walking through these wind blown paths, I came to the scaling rope. There is a rope anchored in the rock that goes down the final piece of cliff face to the beach. I went during San Diego's rainy season which was a terrible idea.
The cliff face was super muddy from the past rains and it made everything slick, including the rope.
A few ungraceful slides and a lot of mud later, I scaled the last piece of cliff and made it to the beach.
SURPRISE
It's a nude beach. I did not know the path leads to Black's Beach, but you learn something new every day.
The beach walk was roughly a mile and very beautiful because you walk next to large cliffs on your right and the splashing sea to your left.
Then, you reach the stairs.
I tried counting them as I climbed, but I would lose count after 60 or so. These would be amazing for a stair workout.
I managed to find the trail leading back to my car, but if you are unsure, everyone I talked to was very nice and knew their way around. I was hiking alone, but I do not regret it at all.
Once I got to the spot, I couldn't find a tail head. I stopped some hikers and asked them where it was. They pointed me in the right direction which was to a hidden trail between fences and behind trash cans! Two houses have fences lining their properties, and the gap between the two fences leads to the trail. I carried on.
Right away there was a fork in the path. The right one goes up to the tops of the cliffs where a trail leads you to a staircase. The left one goes down to the beach where you walk right until you hit the same staircase. I went left first.
The hike down is interesting because the cliff walls have been beaten with wind and sand into swirly, maze-like patterns. The path got narrow at some points too.
Bring shoes with tread because the sandy trails were slippery.
After walking through these wind blown paths, I came to the scaling rope. There is a rope anchored in the rock that goes down the final piece of cliff face to the beach. I went during San Diego's rainy season which was a terrible idea.
The cliff face was super muddy from the past rains and it made everything slick, including the rope.
A few ungraceful slides and a lot of mud later, I scaled the last piece of cliff and made it to the beach.
SURPRISE
It's a nude beach. I did not know the path leads to Black's Beach, but you learn something new every day.
The beach walk was roughly a mile and very beautiful because you walk next to large cliffs on your right and the splashing sea to your left.
Then, you reach the stairs.
I tried counting them as I climbed, but I would lose count after 60 or so. These would be amazing for a stair workout.
I managed to find the trail leading back to my car, but if you are unsure, everyone I talked to was very nice and knew their way around. I was hiking alone, but I do not regret it at all.
