Hiking at the Turnbull Canyon Trail

A map of the trails available at Turnbull Canyon

Hey there. It's been awhile since the wife and I have gone on a hiking trip. We've been meaning to check out some of the awesome hiking spots here in Southern California but we just haven't found the time.  To be honest, I don't think we've gone for a hike since we last went hiking at Escondido Falls!  That has got to change!  :Last weekend, we decided to get up at 6:30 in the morning and take off to a trail.  Our destination?  The Turnbull Canyon Road Hiking Trails in Whittier, CA.

The wife about to embark on our hiking journey

First off, the place is pretty damn cool.  There was plenty of hills and valleys to hike up and down.  There are also several paths that you can take.  Each ranging from a mile or two to about 4 miles.  We decided to go down one of the first paths we saw.   According to the map, we took the Turnbull Canyon Trail and hiked for 1.3 miles each way.  The scenery is pretty cool there.  It's definitely a gem of an area that not too many people know about.  Even though we were there early, we did bump into a few dog walkers, cyclist, and fellow hikers.  It didn't seem as if we would walk into anyone at first.  There could be long stretches of road where you just won't see anyone.  And the fog/mist didn't help.  If it were any darker, I swear we would have been on the set of a Silent Hill movie filmed in the woods.  lol  It was pretty cool to see some fog but it was disappointing as well.  As we climbed higher and higher, the fog thickened and reduced our visibility to the ground below.  I would have LOVED to have taken in the view from up top!

Here I am, taking in the scenery about half to the top

The wife overlooking a cliff from the top

We were hoping to get there in time to catch the sunrise.  Two reasons why that didn't happen.  First off, the sun was set to rise at about 7 am that morning.  We probably left the house at that time.  lol  The second reason was the mist and fog that clouded the hills.  It just seemed to get more and more dense the higher your elevation.  The funny thing is that you could actually tell where the most dense parts of the fog was.  It was pretty spooky, actually.  It reminded me much of Stephen King's, The Mist.

The wife is about to enter... the mist!  lol

While hiking, I'll admit that I wondered if there was something cool at the top.  You know, some kind of monument or something like that said, "You are awesome!  You made it!"  When we got to the top... well... we kind of ran into something like that.  lol

Check out the, "You are awesome!  You made it!" monument!  lol 

 You know... I can't say that I was disappointed but the tagged out water tower (I think it's a water tower...).  There are more than a few places in Southern California where graffiti litters the landscape, but you know what made this one different?  There were words of encouragement, there were signs of happiness, there were shout outs, there were "... was here" in marker and I even stumbled across a Twitter handle and Xbox GamerTag!

Shout out to Twitter user @RogelioBatson and Xbox 360 gamer DaddyZone562!

All in all, it was a pretty great hike.  The trails themselves can have some pretty steep slopes but nothing that is too difficult to handle.  I love that the trail also is not a straight path and it's in the middle of a canyon.  I also heard a woodpecker somewhere in the trees and you can spot a squirrel here and there.  The scenery is breathtaking but that early morning fog limited the visibility from up top.  If you are looking for a good hike that's going to work those legs, you have to check out the Turnbull Canyon Trails.  There are more than one so you can come back several times and go down a different path to change it up.  Who knows, maybe I'll bump into one of you guys there one of these weekends.

You know, if you are looking for a hiking trail, what better place than to check out this article about some of the best long distance hiking trails in the US.  Since I'm in California, I'm looking at the Tahoe Rim Trail as on option for me and the wife sometime soon.  Hiking is more than just a nature walk.  It's a great way to get some exercise, connect with oneself, and experience the wonders of the great outdoors.  Happy trails, friends!  Later!

Happy hiking from the wife and I!