UYE – Huy’s Hike of Death: Crystal Cove State Beach

Review #87/​365:
I’ve known about Unilocal for years. I used it to look up places to eat and look at food pics. Over the last year or so, I’ve learned about meeting up with people to try new restaurants. It became so common that I saw the pounds creeping up on me. I kept telling my «Yelp» friends we need to do more active things rather than eating things to save money yet spent quality time together. So when Olin C asked me if I wanted to participate in this hike, I confirmed right away even though I knew it was going to be a 40+ mile drive for me to get here…
Huy T. has done plenty of hikes and he didn’t think this was going to be that difficult. There were about 12 of us at different levels where Kim T even said she’s never hiked in her life. I’m sure this was a great way to start! I’m not a huge hiker, but I’ve been pretty active with workouts the last couple of years so I was pretty energetic and excited about it. Huy came equipped with a map. It was supposed to be a 6 mile hike completed in about 2 hours. We got turned around a little and decided to stop by the beach since we were there, so it turned into a 7.5 mile hike done in 3 hours!
Overall, the hike was good. It was a beautiful California day coupled with the ocean breeze. I think the only problem was that there was minimal shade. Even though I came equipped with sun protection, I still got a 50 shades of brown tan over my shoulders! There was some steep elevation trails, but overall it was pretty good. I liked that the path was pretty solid. I’ve been on some hikes where I had to climb up and down rocky areas. I’m a little clumsy at times so I try to stay away from those.
Anyway, the view was nice as well. Us being Unilocalers took advantage of photo ops and selfies and ussies to show our experience. After all, if you don’t take pics and don’t post it, your workout doesn’t count right? LOL This was a great hike done with great Unilocal friends. We were pretty hungry after those 3 hours though… so in true Unilocaler fashion, we ate nearby shortly after and took pics as well!

This is first of many thing for me.
I never ever in my life hike this long. The original plan was to hike about 5 ½ miles and we ended up hiking over 7 ½ miles ! (2 miles over estimated). Took us 3 hours to hike !

Thanks to Huys for suggest this hiking trail hehe. Yes it was kinda hell but and was very rewarding. You get a amazing ocean view and also beach in the end as well. The hiking wasn’t easy because is of many inclines and uphill that I don’t often see from a hike.
It wasn’t crowded and the weather was not too hot, but it wasn’t chill either. Our group people was mostly fit except few. I am very regret not bringing my hiking sticks in this hike. It will be very useful doing up and also downhill.
Our group were having a blast despite we almost drying after the hike. It was all good, we ended up going to very good poke place nearby and was worth all the troubles. Many familiar Unilocaler in the hike (John, Olin, Huy, Ryan, and Andy) also some new face (Mattew and his wife, kim, and huy 2 nephews.

11 Reasons why this hike was one of the best ones I’ve ever been on!
1) Title says it all… Huy’s Hike Of Death! Ryan P. coined the name of the hike and it was BRILLIANT! Huy and Olin organized this hike.
2) Hike started to become a Selfie Fest as we treked off the beaten track. It was like a band of thirteen brothers and sisters taking selfie ops at rest breaks whenever we had the chance. Spearheaded by Caroline.
3) It’s a love/​hate relationship with these rolling hills that gradually get steeper as you contine treking on. When you think it gets easier going down hill. You’re dead wrong… you might tuck, roll, and faceplant onto the unforgiven hiking trail if your aren’t careful.
4) Getting lost was fun. With the trusty human Unilocal compass, Andy, we were able to get back on the right path. He makes great noises and poses by the way! :)
5) Olin spotted a «Zombie», but it was merely a hiker that had a gait abnormality. Andy sarcastically said «Awww… you’re so pretty» to Olin. We all laughed!
6) You can count on me like 1 2 3. I’ll be there! And I know when I need it… I can count on you like 4 3 2. And you’ll be there… cause that’s what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah! What a supportive bunch! When someone was down, we pick them back up! That’s how we roll yo! They were all superSTARS! Matthew rolled his ankle, but he manned up and finished strong! He was a beast on the trail and so was Ryan! She kept on chugging and chugging like the little locomotive that could… Chooo Choooooooo! Awesome blossom Ryan!
7) Brought some fruits on the hike and Huy made fun of me! He told me that I was so Asiaan! hahaha It’s quite funny how when I said that… Huy’s cousins chimed in and said he brought cherries for the hike! lol
8) If you want to be a shade hopper, Kim is the right person you should talk to. Throughout the hike, she could be seen hopping from one shade spot to another!
9) Pretty view of the ocean as we were half way done with our hike. We also ventured down to the ocean where some of the group did flying kicks and jumps. The pictures look really gnarly!
10) Going back to the car was horrible. We had one last steep hill to climb to go and the post hike picture showed how dead tired we were.
11) Lunch was the cherry topper for me. I was a bit hangry, but the food at bear flag made things all better! :)
Shoutout goes out to all of you (Huy and his two relatives, Matthew and his wife, Olin, Caroline, Richard, Kim, and Andy)! Without you guys, there wouldn’t be a Huy’s Hike of Death UYE. Thanks for the fun memories guys. You’re all SUPERSTARS! :)

—AMAZINGLY AMAZING ADVENTURE—
I was invited by the very lovely, funny, Olin C. who i had met only one time for about 15 minutes a few months earlier at Maila Birthday party. I have to say I am usually a shy guy but Olin sent me a message wanting to do a group hike and I was like why not. Now when i saw that the location was Crystal Cove I wasn’t too excited because I have hiked there before and it’s a pretty strenuous walk /​hike but since we would be in a group maybe it might be different.
I asked my wife if she wanted to join and she said yes surprisingly. We all meet up in front of the Visitor Center and for me I only knew Olin C. barely and everyone else it was a first time. I was a little nervous because you just never know if people are going to be cool or not. As everyone started to show up we all introduced each other and everyone seemed really nice right out the gate. I was thinking this should be a good time.
We all took like a group photo and we were off. We starting walking the trail basically looks like a sandy fire road. The area at the bottom doesn’t really have a whole lot of scenery. It’s just muggy hot with the occasional breeze. We followed this road for about 2 miles up these gradual inclines until we reach a new trail which took us toward more hills. Crystal Cover = Uphill Battle. I would say we walked about 4 miles uphill but once we reached the top it was so rewarding. There was spectacular view of the coastline and PCH. There was a cool air and I felt like Kate Winslet in the Titanic Flying at the front of the ship and I was even sing that Celine Dion song. It was heaven up there. Once we all made it to the top we soaked up the moment, took another photo and proceeded down hill. Now sometimes walking downhill is just as hard as walking uphill. At this time my calf’s felt like there were going to explode. We walked down about 3.5 miles and right near the bottom I was felling the strain and I had major chafing and I wasn’t looking carefully and I slipped in the dirt and rolled my ankle pretty bad. I was like WHY GOD WHY. Luckily it was just a sprain and ill live to fight another day.
Once we reach the very bottom Olin C. wanted to see the Beach and the sea shells so we all headed down to the water. She seemed like she wanted to drive in and i wouldn’t have blamed her if she drove in with all her cloth on. It would make sense considering it was crazy hot out. I was surprised on how many people were on that private beach. It was packed. We all hung out there for a bit and then decided to walk back to the car but little did we know that the trek was not over and we had to hike up another long ass hill to reach the visitor center parking lot. By this time we all felt like we were going to die hense the name Huy’s Hike of Death!
We took one last group photo (nearly passed out) and said Mission Accomplished. I just want to say that i really enjoyed the company and all the conversations we had. Such a great group of friends and I really hope to join other future events like this one. Many thanks to Olin C. for the invite and the cool shoes, Coco for being the life of the party. (You go girl) Andy for the good ass powerbar (Lifesaver bro), Huy T. as our Tour guide, Huy T. family for sharing their cherries, Richard for the killer karate kicks on the beach (Bruce lee in the house), Ryan P. for Selfie stick/​amazing photos!, John T. for making me laugh and Kim T. for being so strong. That hill kicked my ass.
Overall It was good exercise and i made some new friends. I would say this was a perfect day, great memories minus the heat rash and the busted ankle.
Oh PS. Bear Flag was good but i didn’t like that long wait.
Thanks for reading.
Matthew Y. signing Off!

I LOVE HIKING so NOT sure why I don’t do it more but I should!
But before I write my review ummm… Let me take a selfie…#Selfie, #GroupSelfie, #SelfieStick, #WeAreOverSelfies, #AnotherSelfieMoment…Yes it was a day of selfies, partner selfies, group selfies, selfie sticks and GOOD olé fashioned FUN TIMES!
I got an invite from Olin for a hike and I was all over it! Sure when, what time, where, and whose going? She provided the date, time and location and the peeps that were going and I was set. We all arrive and met up, and pay for parking (which I hate to do and it wasn’t cheap $ 15) and we started on our hike!
Now I was told in a Unilocal message that this hike was…
Difficulty: INTERMEDIATE level due to DISTANCE, however, the trail itself just GRADUALLYy incline/​decline, wide, plenty of room.
Umm REALLY for who? CAN DO THIS? Not the old non-​hiking person! I mean I CAN DO THIS… RIGHT? Now I can walk all day everyday. I LOVE walking and don’t have a problem. Going up hills that NEVER end is quite another. GRADUALLY INCLINED! I swear at one moment it was LITERALLY and UP HILL walk as I hunched over and almost crawled my way to the top. I WAS NOT going to let this hill beat me or let some YOUNGINS get the better of me!
But everyone was GREAT! They waited for the old person (that would be me) as I huffed and puffed up the hill, sweating like a Hebrew slave, gasping for breath and dear life, encouraging myself to keep going because there was no way in HELL I could pass out IN THE DIRT, with the bugs and rattle snakes, spiders, and other four legged flesh eating creatures that like raw meat. A pretty good motivator even if I say so myself. Plus my AHHH-​MAZING hiking buds slowed up, slowed down, came back to get me and cheered me on along the way. They were so sweet!
Parts of the hike were easy and other parts were killer (for me), then some how with all the posted maps along the trail even few feet or so and we had a map with us we STILL got lost hahhaha! How many Unilocaler’s does it take to read a map? Apparently about 10 or 11! Getting lost was GREAT because we got to take mini breaks so I could collect my thoughts and catch my breath, make reservations in Heaven since I thought I was going to meet JESUS! Thankfully it wasn’t too hot out and there was a breeze!
In the end my reservations got cancelled and we managed to cover 6.94 miles and got to the beach on the other side and then back to our cars! I DIDN’T DIE! It was a GREAT HIKE and I would TOTALLY do it again! We all went out to eat afterward which was GREAT and the best thing is that because I am active I didn’t wake up in pain the next day! hahahha! Old People Rock! In case you didn’t know!
Let’s do it again but I gonna need a head start!

I was told that there was only a small incline! Yeaaaaa, right, lol!!! Granted, it was a torturous hike, but overall, a healthy and fun hike, especially since this was my very first hiking experience (and I survived 7.5 miles!) and I got to meet new some new Unilocalers and see some familiar faces :)
Thanks to Olin and Huy for organizing this event and for Richard inviting me. Crystal Cove in Laguna Beach is really beautiful and breathtaking. The breeze felt so good whenever we reached the highest part of the hike, and all the fun we had taking pics, heading to the beach and eating at Bear Flag afterwards. Now… about the torture, lol…
I’m generally an indoor gym rat, and today tested my strength and endurance, but hey, I survived the 7.5 miles hiking with my fellow Unilocalers cheerleading me on and I doing the same. The trails are like a roller coaster — ups and downs, and one area in particular that was super steep and sandy going up. Excellent for the lower body workout and heart rate, but still torturous, bwahaha! After our returned hike, we headed to the beach for a bit. It was nice feeling the ocean breeze as well as the smell of salt and seaweed *sighs*. Afterwards, we ended the hike with lunch at Bear Flag Fish Co.
Overall, I had a good time and making new Unilocal friends. Thanks to Olin, John T., Richard, Huy and his two nephews, Caroline, Andy, Ryan, Matthew and his Wifey for making this first timer’s hiking experience a fun one. Until we meet again! :)

Yeah! My first time trying to organize a Elite UYE and it just happens to be a treacherous hiking one! W00t Wewt! I’m thankful for all the brave souls that decided to join me on this adventure, players 2 — 13, press start!
Special thanks to Olin, she was really the mastermind behind this event, with her milkshake bringing all Unilocalers to the yard. Also props to John T. for strategizing and scouting.
This hike was filled with ludicrousy and hilarity, thanks of all the Unilocalers. Andy P was busting funny moves left and right, Caroline V was teaching us the art of selfie-​media, and Olin’s constant bubbly/​enthusiastic nature kept the group very entertained the entire time. I also appreciate how genuinely friendly and helpful the Unilocalers are, seeing John T motivate Ryan P (who kept us smiling) and everyone working to keep the spirits up even on the craziest of inclines. Matthew Y and wife for sharp jokes that made me laugh so much, water would come flying out my nose. Kim T, dude, how were you able to find shade in the most desolate areas? and Richard L for bringing all that wisdom to the table. I’m starting to appreciate these events more as they allow you to get to network and know your fellow elites/​Yelpers better.
Our path (appx 7.5m): Start at the Visitor Center — No Dogs Road — Part of No Name Ridge Road — West Cut Across — East Cut Across — Moro Ridge Road.
Now how the event earned its name. The Crystal Cove Hike was more intense than anticipated, there was no escaping the sun and mad inclines, inclines (and more inclines). You can run, jump, and wheeze on. Morale is key here so keep laughing and keep trekking because there is a grand ol’ time to be had. We were rewarded with fresh breezes and great views of the ocean, which you can walk through tunnel to get to at the end (like we ended up doing).
Lunch at Bear Flag Fish was awesome too (although I almost had a minor heart attack when I thought we lost one on the trail, after doing a headcount)! Time to wind down, share some bites, and laugh even more! What Unilocalers do best.
All in all, amazing way to spend a sunday morning (and afternoon)! Hope I did not scare the bejebus out of you Unilocalers and hope to see more new faces in the future! :)