Summer 2010 Murray Group Trip

Elisa and Sawyer are organizing the 2010 Summer Murray group trip. The votes have been tallied, and we will be going to Montana de Oro on June 18-20 this year!

This trip will be pretty free-form -- we will have some planned activities, but you will be in a central location from which you will have freedom to do any sort of play you want. (For instance, if you'd like to lie on the beach and explore tidepools the whole weekend, it's very possible!)

Details

We will be camping in Montana de Oro state park, 3.5 hours north by car from Los Angeles, on the ocean. Montana de Oro is one of California's largest state parks, and comes with rocky coastlines, tidepools, giant sand dunes and beaches. We will be staying at the Montana de Oro state park campground. A rough estimate for cost per person: $30 for gas, $10 for camp site, $15 for sleeping bag/tent rental, and we will calculate food after the fact, but probably less than $50 for communal food, not including anything you buy for yourself (eg., in restaurants).

Tentative itinerary

• Friday, June 18
  • early afternoon, before LA traffic: drive to Montana de Oro and set up camp. Short walk to beach, time permitting. Dinner at camp.
• Saturday, June 19
  • morning: your choice of activity. Maybe a trip to the dunes or swim or surf, conditions permitting.
  • afternoon: kayaking out to sandspit in Morro Bay, perhaps dinner there and kayak back in the twilight?
• Sunday, June 20
  • morning: horseback riding
  • afternoon: hike the loop (surfing if possible?) including Oats Peak and possibly Valencia Peak
  • evening: return by car to Los Angeles

Possible activities

• Walk to coralina cove tidepools (30 min walk each way)
• Watch sunset on bluffs
• Sandboarding on sand dunes (10 minute drive, 30 min walk)
• Surfing (wave size permitting. Sawyer will look at the forecast and rent boards accordingly. if you're interested and possibly want a board, let him know ($20) -- tips for catching a wave happily offered)
• Hike up valencia peak (1-2 hrs each way)
• Hacky-sacking
• Read a book on the beach

Participants

• Andrea Censi - Central Coast, any date (confirmed, +1 guest, needs bag pad tent space needed)
• Dionysios Barmpoutis - San Gorgonio, 21-23 May only
• Elisa Franco - any, any (confirmed +1 guest?)
• Floris van Breugel - any, prefers June 19
• Francisco Zabala - Central Coast, any date
• Mumu Xu - Central Coast, June 19 only
• Nok Wongpiromsarn - (confirmed, pad and tent space needed)
• Ophelia Venturelli - Central Coast, June 19 best
• Richard Murray - any, any (confirmed?)
• Sawyer Fuller - any, any (confirmed)
• Shuo Han - Central Coast, June only (confirmed, bag pad tent space needed)
• Tim Chung - interested, unknown travel schedule could have conflicts (confirmed, nothing needed)
• Ufuk Topcu - Central Coast, June only (confirmed +1 guest, bags pads tent space needed)
• Vanessa Jonsson - any, any

Old stuff

Dates: Richard's availability is for the following week-ends (Both possible trips involve leaving some time during the day on Friday, either morning or afternoon).

• (14-16 May is now out)
• 21-23 May
• 4-6 June
• 18-20 June

Destinations:

Option 1. Backpacking in San Gorgonio wilderness (with option of climbing to the top of San Gorgonio , Southern California's highest peak).

• • This will be a 2-night, 3-day backpacking trip. Don't worry if you haven't done this before. We'll make sure you have the right gear (we will rent from the Caltech Y) and we'll plan the hikes so that everyone can enjoy them.

Option 2. Camping near the ocean in Montana de Oro state park, near Morro bay (Central Coast): hiking , kayaking , surfing (including lessons from Sawyer if conditions are reasonable), and horseback riding on the beach.

• • This will be a more leisurely option with little mandatory hiking. We will do the various activities as excursions from our campsite.