Listen to your heart, not a review.

If by chance you’ve read multiple pages/posts of this website, you’ll know that the free app, AllTrails has really changed my life and perspective of Southern California. Hiking, planned or spontaneous has now become a regular part of my life and I am thankful. It has become this nice companion to Uber/Lyft driving where I can end up just anywhere in LA County because of a passenger and then decide to stop, open AllTrails and see if there is an interesting trail somewhere nearby.

This particular morning brought me to the west side of LA (per usual) and I take the chance to explore Malibu as often as possible. The app showed information for the Corral Canyon Loop Trail just off of the PCH, near the ocean. Thankfully this year (2019), LA has seen a lot of rainfall meaning our wildflowers have been in full bloom. One of the many features of AllTrails is that other hikers will leave comments and reviews of the various trails they have hiked. When getting a feel for Corral Canyon Trail, I read a review from a hiker that essentially said, “Don’t go! Trail is overgrown with wildflowers! You won’t be able to see anything!”

…(silently breaks the 4th wall and looks into the camera)….

Trail is overgrown with wildflowers? This does not sound like a problem. This sounds AWESOME. The unknown hiker’s review did nothing more than make me more excited to explore the trail. Surrounded by wildflowers sounded like a great way to start the day. I eagerly began.

Before beginning however…I had parked on the west side of the PCH, facing the ocean, and before crossing the highway to get to Corral Canyon (not as treacherous as it sounds), I noticed some beautiful algae on the rocks below on the beach. I took a moment to enjoy the views:

After safely crossing the PCH, I found the start to Corral Canyon Trail and started the hike. The reviewer was 50% accurate. The trail was overgrown, and wildflowers were everywhere. I was constantly putting the camera down to push my arms through brush in order to move forward. But the part about not being able to see anything? I don’t think so. Beautiful morning: