When Alex Ketcham walks her dog, she tends to take “the scenic route” as much as possible. Rather than a casual stroll through their neighborhood, the 20-year-old and her 6-year-old pit bull, Jewels, usually opt for something a bit more adventurous.
“Being able to hike with my best friend is the best,” Ketcham told the Sun. “Jewels is just like me, she loves to explore!”
The most convenient hiking spot for Ketcham is Orcutt Hill, which is close to her home in Santa Maria, she said. But neither she nor Jewels are strangers to other local hiking destinations such as Point Sal, Bishop Peak, and Avila Ridge.
“I recently started teaching her to hike with me off leash, and it’s been awesome so far,” she said. “Luckily for us, the Central Coast is full of great hiking areas to wander around.”
Although most of Ketcham’s favorite hiking memories are those with her dog, she’s had her fair share of solo adventures as well. Hiking the southern rim of the Grand Canyon earlier this year was one of these exceptions, she said.
What made the Bright Angel Trail especially intense that day was the weather, she said, but it wasn’t heat that slowed her down.
“We went in February, which was a bad idea from the start,” she said. “There was ice all along the trail and we didn’t have the proper shoes to bear it. We kept slipping, and the trail seemed to get narrower and narrower.”
Apart from strenuous occasions like the Bright Angel Trail, Ketcham views hiking as a source of relaxation, she said. She compared the activity to yoga, which is what got her interested in hiking to begin with, she said.
“I fell in love with hiking about three years ago when my yogini, Jenya, hosted a class at the Old Orcutt trails,” she said. “That’s been my favorite spot to hike ever since. Both yoga and hiking give you the feeling that nothing else matters. The world around you just pauses.”
Between attending sessions at Hidden Gem Yoga, working at Natural Café, and studying Psychology at Allan Hancock College, Ketcham never fails to set aside time for Jewels and their hiking adventures. As for advice to aspiring hikers, she recommends “the bare necessities.”
“The best advice I can give is to bring plenty of water and sunscreen,” she said. “Oh and friends with positive attitudes, that can make a huge difference between having a good hiking experience and a poor one.”
This article appears in Jun 22-29, 2017.