It has grown on me!

Thursday, September 29, 2022

【Hike】Wood Canyon Trail - I Encountered A Mule Deer!

In late July this year, my husband and I went hiking Wood Canyon near Aliso Viejo. We found this trail in the book, 50 Hikes in Orange County, which I purchased to enjoy Orange County hikes.

Tips for Walking on Wood Canyon Trail.
・Apply sunscreen on entire body.
・Wear sunglasses and hat with high UPF.

・Apply DEET, a insect repellent, to protect yourself from ticks.
・Drink water often.
・You cannot bring your dog.
・It's moderately easy trail.

Aliso & Wood Canyons Wildness Park

My Wood Canyon Walking Summary (UA MapMyWalk App)

When I go hiking, I use Under Armour MapMyWalk App to track my walk.

My Wood Canyon Walking Summary (UA MapMyWalk App)

Recently, I've started using AllTrails App. I was pretty impressed at AllTrails App. It's easy to use and helped me to not get lost.

My Wood Canyon Walking Summary (All Trails App)

Parking

It was very easy to find a parking space along the street, Canyon Vistas.

Canyon Vistas

The street, Canyon Vistas, is located near the Canyon View Park.

Canyon View Park

Canyon View Park

22144 Canyon Vistas

Aliso Viejo, CA 92656

U.S.A.

Trail Hour

7:00 a.m. to Sunset

Aliso & Wood Canyons Wildness Park

In Orange County, mountain lions can be found in many cities. For instance, in May this year, a mountain lion was spotted roaming a residential neighborhood in Newport Beach, and it was also spotted on Laguna Beach streets. In March, it was spotted roaming throughout a shopping center in Irvine. Therefore you should know what to do if you encounter a mountain lion before you go hiking in the mountains.

What To Do If You Encounter A Mountain Lion

Wood Canyon Trail

Canyon View Park and Wood Canyon Trail

After parking, we started walking on Wood Canyon Trail, the large paved walkway along Canyon View Park.

Wood Canyon Trail

At the end of the Canyon View Park, the walkway heads downhill.

Wood Canyon Trail

You are at Aliso & Wood Canyons Wildness Park gate.

Wood Canyon Trail

Wood Canyon Trail and Cholla Trail

This is the junction of Wood Canyon Trail and Cholla Trail. We kept walking on Wood Canyon Trail.

Wood Canyon Trail and Cholla Trail

Wood Canyon Trail

It's an easy flat and shady trail.

Wood Canyon Trail and Lynx Trail

Wood Canyon Trail and Wood Creek Trail

This is the junction of Wood Canyon Trail and Wood Creek Trail. We decided to walk on Wood Creek Trail, which rises to a vista point.

Wood Creek Trail

Wood Creek Trail

The View from the Wood Creek Trail

The view from the Wood Creek Trail was beautiful. We looked down the canyon from the trail.

Wood Creek Trail

We walked through the narrow trail descends sharply via steep stairs.

Wood Creek Trail

We walked into a dense forest.

Wood Creek Trail

There was a wooden bridge you cross over.

Wood Creek Trail

We walked in a dense woodland, and I was a little scared of possible wild animal encounter. While walking there, I noticed the sound of a wild animal moving in the forest.

A Mule Deer I Saw from the Wood Creek Trail

It was a mule deer! She was eating something there. I wish that I had brought my Canon SL1 with telephoto zoom lens. I took these photos with my iPhone SE 2020.

A Mule Deer I Saw from the Wood Creek Trail

It was an amazing deer encounter for us. 😊

A Mule Deer I Saw from the Wood Creek Trail

She is beautiful. However, deer might carry ticks. When you hike in wooded areas, you need to protect yourself from ticks, which might carry Lyme disease bacteria. I wear long pants and long sleeves. Then, I apply DEET on my legs. After coming back home from hiking, I check my clothing for ticks and other insects.

Wood Creek Trail

Cross the wooden bridge, and you will be at the junction of Wood Creek Trail and Wood Canyon Trail.

Wood Creek Trail and Wood Canyon Trail

We turned right and walked on the Wood Canyon Trail.

Wood Canyon Trail

Wood Canyon Trail and Coyote Run Trail

When we hit the junction of Wood Canyon Trail and Coyote Run Trail, we decided to go back from here.

Wood Canyon Trail and Coyote Run Trail

Wood Canyon Trail

We kept walking on Wood Canyon Trail and headed toward Canyon View Park.

Wood Canyon Trail

Canyon View Park

Canyon View Park

We were back to the Canyon View Park. We walked through the path at the park.

Canyon View Park

There were so many agave plants planted there.

Canyon View Park

We were able to see agave plant flowers. The stalk was very tall. Agave blooms once in its lifetime.

Agave in Bloom

We enjoyed hiking Wood Canyon and Wood Creek Trails. I hadn't expected that we encountered a beautiful mule deer. It was an amazing hike for us.

50 Hikes in Orange County

I thought this book was great and am looking forward to trying more hikes. These are my entries related to hikes we have tried from the book.

1. San Gabriel River to Turtle Overlook

2. Dana Point Headlands

3. Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve

4. Bayview Trail

5. Crystal Cove Tide Pools

6. Aliso Peak

7. Pecten Reef Loop

8. Bommer Canyon

9. Laurel Loop

10. Mariposa Trail Loop

11. Little Sycamore Canyon Loop

12. San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary

13. Wood Canyon Trail

      These are my entries you might like.
■Walking Along Shoreline in Long Beach, Los Angeles CA (October 2019)

■Dana Point Headlands - Dana Point, CA (September 2019)

■Green Sea Turtles in San Gabriel River - Seal Beach / Long Beach (August 2019)

■Quail Hill Loop Trail in Irvine, CA (April 2019)

■La Jolla Cove in San Diego (March 2019)

■San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine (February 2019)

■Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach (January 2019)

■Swimming with Wild Dolphins (Big Island, Hawaii, January 2015)

■Dolphin Watching in Dana Point (July 2017)

■Our Whale Watching Trip (Dana Point, August 2013)

■San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine (March 2017)

■La Jolla Cove - Beautiful Spring Wildflowers and Wild Animals (2018)

       My entries related to wild animals can be seen here.

       My entries related to Orange County Hikes can be seen here.

       My entries related to sunset can be seen here.

   My entries related to hiking and walking can be seen here.

Thursday, September 22, 2022

How to Make Belgian Waffles

This month, I've made a lot of Belgian waffles for weekend breakfast. 😋

I Love Belgian Waffles!

If you've been following my blog for years, you might know that I love Belgian waffles. When I lived in Japan, I sometimes purchased Belgian waffles at Manneken Waffle, a waffle store chain selling freshly baked Belgian waffles in Japan. There are 42 Manneken Waffle branches in Japan, and also 7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan sell Belgian Waffle made by Manneken Waffle. You can check out my previous entry, 10 Popular 7-Eleven Convenience Store-Brand Snacks and Candies - Japan Haul.

Manneken Waffle in Osaka, Japan

When I visited Osaka in 2019, I also went to Manneken Waffle to get their waffle. You can check out my previous entry, What I Ate Around Abeno Harukas in Osaka, Japan.

Manneken Waffle in Osaka, Japan

There were so many kinds of waffles I could choose from, but I love the Plain, which is 130 yen, is equivalent to $0.90 now. (Japanese yen hits 24-year low against US dollar, so it's the best time to travel to Japan.)

Manneken Waffle in Osaka, Japan

In the U.S., when I go to Whole Foods, I sometimes purchase their Belgian Sweet Waffle.

Whole Foods Belgian Sweet Waffle

It reminds me of my favorite Belgian waffle I used to eat in Japan.

Whole Foods Belgian Sweet Waffle

How to Make Belgian Waffles

Anyway, I made Belgian waffles at home, and they turned out be so good! I thought that I should make ones more often. 😋 You might think, "What is the difference between American waffle and Belgian waffle?" While American waffle is made without yeast and has fluffy texture, Belgian waffle is made with yeast-based batter, which gives a crispier texture.