March 3, 2012 - Today's adventure was to visit the Limestone Canyon Wilderness Area, which is part of the Irvine Ranch Conservancy. It was a beautiful day and we figured to walk in a mile or two and then return to our car. However, we found out that the major site here, called "The Sinks," requires a little more than that.
The locals refer to "The Sinks" as a little Grand Canyon located in Orange County, CA. Well, the bottom line is that we walked the entire loop of trails around Limestone Canyon in order just to see the Sinks and the total distance that we covered was about twelve miles! It was no small effort to complete the loop! Or, putting it another way, we walked a half marathon over mountainous terrain (in street clothes) going up, up, up those hills and down, down, down, and back up again for four and one-half hours nonstop. Whew!
This is the approach to the Sinks, which is simply a limestone formation eroded by wind and water over the eons.
On our return we were able to see Irvine, Newport Beach and Catalina Island in the distance.
What an unlikely spot for a bird's nest!
We're both going to sleep well tonight.