Last Saturday we went hiking in Santiago Oaks Regional Park. Last time we tried to hike there but failed to enter. It was during the Pandemic, we were blocked in a very long line of cars in front of the gate. It was said that the Park had rules to limit the number of people in the park. Therefore it seemed hopeless to wait. We returned without a hike. This time there was very few people there. Of course, the park was not supposed to be crowded when people have millions of places to go for the weekend. We appreciated the anecdotal evidence that the Pandemic is finally over.
Most of the trails are short and easy. On the harder ones, we see a couple of mountain bikers going down hill, enjoying the speed and cool air. Lucy is definitely overwhelmed by the various smells on the trail and her nose is too busy inspecting each spot of animal waste, trees and leaves. She even had a taste of horse dump for the first time. Wife spot it and stopped Lucy when she just got the ball into her mouth. Unfortunately we forgot to ask Lucy how the taste was, so we couldn’t share her opinion.
Speaking of horses, many of the families in the neighborhood have horses and the trails are shared by people, horses, dogs and bikes. On the trail, you can hear dogs barking and roosters’ cock-a-doo·dle-doos from the nearby homes. It definitely can give your the feel of a rural village but it’s merely 20 minutes away from the city of Irvine.
It was a nice hike and we certainly will revisit.
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