2024-02: San Clemente State Beach

Milestones:

• 14th time in 14 months to go camping. SHOW ON MAP
• 2nd time at San Clemente State Beach. (SHOW FIRST)
• 2nd time being “nearby” a restricted access, military location (SHOW FIRST).

I left an hour later than I planned, traffic along the 57 freeway was stopped a few places. Once I got on the 5 freeway, it was smooth sailing. When I got to my campsite, I was amazed at how empty the campground was. Last year it was jam packed. I only had one neighbor, and they left the next morning.

I had some snacks, unpacked all my gear, and ate an early dinner. When it got dark, I started a campfire and cooked a bratwurst on it. I love doing that.

The next morning, I made coffee. Then I unloaded my bike and went out for a ride. My goal was to explore more out of the way places. Last year I rode down this same route, but I didn’t stop to “smell the roses”. This time I wanted to explore. My first stop was “Trestles”, which is actually part of San Onofre State Beach. Trestles is known as the “Yosemite of Surfing.”

For many years this beach hosted the World Surf League (WSL) World Tour surfing competition, as well as the National Scholastic Surfing Association Nationals. Trestles is mentioned in the 1963 Beach Boys’ song Surfin’ U.S.A.

I passed at least a dozen surfers on bikes. Those guys looked pretty hardcore to me.

Here’s the train viaduct that you walk under to get to the beach.

Next I went to San Onofre Surfing Beach, which is one of the top surf beaches in the area with a long break and easy access. It has nicknames like “San O” and “Old Man’s”. I went up to the main gate and talked to the park ranger. He said access to the beach was closed due to recent storm damage.

I kept riding down the Pacific Coast Bike Route (PCBR), taking pictures as I went. The PCBR begins at the US/Canada border in Vancouver, and runs to the US/Mexico border in San Diego. The entire route covers around 1800 miles! I only went 1% of that.

If you read my first trip report to San Clemente State Beach, you will see how I violated U.S. Government trespassing laws and encroached onto military property. Apparently, ever since I did that, the Marines have been on the lookout for me… nothing to be scared of…

I then “stumbled” upon the Navy and Marine Corps Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems (PMA-263) west coast facility.

Here’s their insignia… nothing to be scared of…

Next up was a gate that blocked my path to the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), the decommissioned nuclear facility… nothing to be scared of…

Then I came across this sign warning me that I was in a Tsunami Hazard Zone. It says, “In case of earthquake go to high ground or inland“… nothing to be scared of…

Then I got off the Pacific Coast Bike Route in order to get closer to the beach. This is where I found this DANGER sign… nothing to be scared of…

After that, I rode parallel to the railroad tracks, and came across this DANGER sign… nothing to be scared of…

Then I went under a road, through a tunnel, with the following CAUTION sign… nothing to be scared of…

I decided that it was time to go under a railroad trestle, but I had to stop and let an 18-wheel tractor-trailer rig go by first because we both couldn’t fit through at the same time… nothing to be scared of…

Then I went over a bridge and looked back at where I had just come from. What a beautiful day!

I rode past the San Onofre Bluffs Campground, and I asked a park ranger what this cute 1960’s looking building was. She said it used to be a visitor’s center, then an office, then it was abandoned.

After all my adventures on this trip, here are some pictures of safe, beautiful plants. I think these yellow flowering plants are “Black Mustard”, an invasive plant that was brought from Eurasia to the Pacific Coast by Spanish colonizers. It was intended to be a spice crop but quickly spread.

I think this is a Century Plant…

I don’t know what this is…

Back at my campground…

Lessons Learned:

I have been to this campground before. I have ridden the same bike route before. So, why did I enjoy it so much? Driving home I realized that in 2023 I was motivated by stretch goal (12 camping trips in 12 months). I was excited to see if I could do it. But, I realized that I enjoyed this camping trip (and hopefully all the future ones) simply because I experienced 3 important things:

• Disconnected from everything else in my life.
• Reconnected to God in a deeply personal way.
• Emptied my head and heart from all my worries and just existed…. as a human BEING.

I also came up with an easy way to rate my excursions:

• Clean, Warm, Dry… pick 2 = GOOD… pick 1 = OK… pick NONE = BAD
• If I go camping and I’m totally clean, warm and dry… then I probably stayed at a hotel. (LOL!)