Nifty 50 Scavenger Hunt Challenge Details

• Hike 50 trails (5 hikes per category which will be listed on this page below, ex: beach hike, desert hike, etc. ) by July 29th, 2023
• At least half of the 50 hikes must be with the San Diego Ladies Hiking, Walking & More meetup group.  
• Can use a single hike to meet the requirements in multiple categories, i.e. the hike to Maidenhair Falls in Anza Borrego State Park could meet the Desert hike, Waterfall hike and Peak hike categories and you would have 3 of the 50 required hikes in the scavenger hunt completed on that one hike.  
• For the 5 ‘New To Me’ hikes category, the hikes must all be unique and cannot be repeated. 
• Can do the peaks in any order, at any time (1 a week, 2 a week, 3 a week, etc) as long as they are completed by July 29th, 2023
• All hikes are at your discretion; a list of example trails is provided on this page below, but you can choose any trail that meets requirements. Please research the hikes in detail before you go; the list has general info only and it’s up to you to make sure you are comfortable with the hike before you attempt it. 
• A tracking sheet is provided below on this page, to track and record your hikes. Scroll down and click the pink "Tracker Sheet" button.
• Submit your tracking sheet with dates and names of hikes at the end of the challenge time frame to be eligible for prize; can submit via email to:  Kathalmoc@gmail.com  and no need to send any other info prior to end of challenge. 
• All hikers who complete the challenge will receive a special prize from the San Diego Hiking Ladies (to be announced at a later time).
• Special prizes provided by Kathryn for the hiker who hikes:

                    1. The most miles in the challenge

                    2. Who travels the farthest distance in the scavenger hunt 

                        (i.e. someone travels to Machu Pichu and hikes there)  

• Challenge celebration will be in August 2023 to celebrate completion, achievements, and award prize(s).  
• You will need to be at the celebration to claim your prize(s), unable to mail out or deliver. You can also pick up the reward from Kathy at anytime in person after the event if you wish.
• Recommended to keep photos and notes to chart your progress; if you can please share the photos on our Instagram and MeetUp pages or on Facebook and tag the Nifty 50 Scavenger Hunt! 
• The goal of the challenge is to discover new trails and TO HAVE FUN…whatever you can achieve is great. You also certainly don’t have to join the challenge to do any of these hikes…it’s a challenge to encourage people to try new things, not requirement or a race or a competition. 
• Questions should go to Kathryn (Kathy) Ruiz via the meetup message feature or by filling out the contact form below, (email:  Kathalmoc@gmail.com ).

Click the button below to get the tracker sheet/template, hosted on Google sheets.

  Most of these hikes are described in the book “Afoot and Afield (A&A) in San Diego County”, 5th ed., by Jerry Schad and Scott Turner. Page numbers refer to this book (or as listed). They can also be found on AllTrails and many other websites. These are examples ONLY, you can choose any hike/trail which meets the criteria.

5 Desert Hikes: Any hike in a designated desert area, including Anza Borrego State Park, Joshua Tree, Palm Springs/Palm Desert, Yucca Valley, etc. We may need to travel for some of these! Hikes along the PCT in the Laguna Mountains looking out on the Anza Borrego Desert will meet this category. Examples:

· Hellhole Canyon to Maidenhair Falls Trail(Anza Borrego State Park); pgs 341-342 

· Palm Canyon Nature Trail (Anza Borrego State Park); pgs 334-337 

· Culp Valley Loop; pgs 342-343

· Garnet Peak; pgs 290-291

· Mastadon Peak Loop (Joshua Tree NP); A&A, Inland Empire, pgs 414-415 

5 Mountain hikes: Any hike with the word mountain or peak in the title OR at 5000 feet in elevation or higher (hikes in the Cuyamaca and Laguna ranges meet this category). 

· Harper Creek (Cuyamaca Rancho SP); pgs 274-275

· East Mesa Loop (Cuyamaca Rancho SP); pgs 277-278

· Wooded Hill Nature Trail (Laguna Mtns); pg 304

· Azalea Glen Trail (Cuyamaca Ranch SP); pgs 267-268

· Sunset Trail (Laguna Mtns); pgs 297-298 

5 Forest hikes: Any hike in a national forest (all parks or preserves within the forest count too, i.e. Cuyamaca SP, or Santa Ysabel Preserve); examples are in the Cleveland National Forest. 

· Morena Butte; pgs 318-319

· Long Canyon; pgs 303-304

· Agua Dulce Loop; pgs 296-297

· All hikes in William Heise County Park; pgs 253-255

· Nobel Canyon Trail; pgs 307-308 

5 Beach hikes: Any hike which is within 1 mile of the beach/coast. You don’t have to actually walk on the beach, though you certainly can! 

· Black’s Beach from La Jolla Farms; pgs 53-54

· Mission Bay, any hike of any length along the boardwalk. Not listed in book.

· Torrey Pines State Beach; pgs 46-48

· Annie’s Canyon/San Elijo Lagoon; pgs 40-41

· Batiquitos Lagoon; pg 39 

5 ‘New to me’ hikes: Any hike that you have never done before. Examples listed are some lesser known trails. 

· Santa Ysabel East Preserve; pgs 242-243

· Historic Flume Trail, Lakeside; not in book, but listed here: https://hikingsdcounty.com/the-historic-flume-trail/ 

· Mother Miguel; pgs 202-203

· Boucher Hill Loop, Palomar Mountain; pgs 213-214

· Hellhole Canyon County Preserve (Valley Center); pgs 97-98

5 Peak hikes: Any hike with a minimum elevation gain of 700 feet or more and longer than 3 miles.

· Monument Peak; pgs 300-301

· Mount Woodson; pgs 114-117

· Cuyamaca Peak; pgs 268-269

· Iron Mountain; pgs 119-120  

· Volcan Mountain; pgs 257-258

5 Waterfall hikes: Any hike that includes a waterfall. 

· Kitchen Creek Falls: pgs 304-306

· Cedar Creek Falls: pgs 247-249 

· Three Sisters Falls: pgs 250-251

· Green Valley Falls: pgs 282-284

· Cottonwood Creek Falls: pgs 306-307

5 hikes Six (6) miles or longer: Self explanatory. Places where there are trails to hike 6 miles or more are listed.

· Mission Trails Regional Park; pg 151

· Los Penasquitos Preserve; pg 132

· Daley Ranch, Escondido; pg 91 

· Lake Hodges; pg 86

· Walker Preserve; pgs 183-184 

5 hikes of your choice: ANY hike of any length, type, terrain, etc. Some of my favorites not listed previously:

· Cowles Mountain from Barker Way; pg 151-152

· Lake Murray; pg 151

· Calumet Park to La Jolla Tidepools; Not in book

· Oak Canyon in Mission Trails; pgs 159-160

· Blue Sky Preserve; pgs 113-114

5 ‘Puzzle’ hikes

Puzzle hikes will have clues/hints about the identity of these hikes. The hikes are familiar to most members as we have done them multiple times. None of these hikes are listed above.  There is a particular feature on the hike, which can also be found in the photo provided, please click button below for clues & photos!