Join Veggie Hikers, Vegan Spirituality, and the “No Meat & Mingle” communities at Leo Carrillo State Beach for our annual hike and vegan cookout! If you can’t make the hike, please attend the cookout (and vice versa). The cookout / potluck portion of the event starts at 2PM. Leashed dogs are welcome at the beach, but not on the trail. See details about the hike and where to find us below.

**** In order to participate in the potluck portion of the event, you must bring a ready to eat vegan dish to share or vegan items to grill and share (8-10 servings). Not doing so may not seem fair to those of us that do. Vegan means no meat, fish, eggs, dairy or honey – No animal products at all.

***This is a free event. Donations are welcome and not required.

***NOTES FROM HOSTS: We will meet at the North end of Leo Carrillo State Beach near Lifeguard Tower #4 at 10am. You can park for free on the Pacific Coast Highway near the stairs leading to Tower #4 or pay to park your car inside the park and drive along the beach to the lot near Tower #4. From here, we will start our hike by walking south on the beach to the Nicholas Flat and Willow Creek Trailhead. Then we’ll walk up the Willow Creek Trail to the short Ocean Vista Trail to a beautiful viewpoint.

For a gentle hike, we can descend on the Nicholas Flat Trail toward the beach or continue uphill for a more strenuous hike toward another viewpoint. The gentle version is about 2 miles roundtrip with a climb of 500 feet. The more strenuous version is about 6 miles roundtrip with a climb of 1770 feet for the first 2 miles. Both trail options will be available during our hike.

At 2PM, we will return along the beach to our meeting spot at Tower #4, where we will start our cookout. Since tables are first come, first serve, we will stake our spot early in the morning. Ideally, someone will volunteer to hang out at our spot so we don’t loose it while we’re hiking. Please let us know if you’re willing and able to hang out at the beach while others hike! You can bring your dogs and play on the beach. Otherwise, we’ll fire up a portable grill in the parking lot. Either way, we can enjoy our food on the beach together!

Bring: sunscreen, water, vegan dish to share (and/or vegan item(s) to grill or vegan s’more ingredients), skewers (if you wish for kabobs and marshmallows), reusable plate & utensils, cup, bathing suit, towel, windbreaker, hiking gear. Additional items to consider bringing: grille, beach umbrella, beach blanket, folding table, beach chairs.***

Please invite your friends. Non-vegans are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Organic, chemical free, GMO free foods are encouraged. Both cooked and raw vegan food are welcome. You are invited to mark your dish raw if every ingredient in your dish is 100% raw (pasteurized foods, commercially canned and most jarred food are not raw). .

Please bring an ingredient list (or recipe) to help those of us with allergies.

If you need to call or text the day of the event, contact Lisa:[masked] or Dave:[masked].

VEGAN RECIPE RESOURCES:
http://www.cok.net/lit/recipes/
http://www.vegweb.com/
http://www.happycow.net/
http://www.vegparadise.com/
http://www.vegsource.com/

VEGAN ALCOHOL RESOURCE:
http://www.barnivore.com

VEGETARIAN DATING AND NETWORKING RESOURCE:
http://www.veggiedate.org

DISCLAIMER / RELEASE OF LIABILITY:
The hike host is a volunteer and not responsible for the group. By participating in any posted event, you are taking responsibility for your own safety and well being. Please treat this meet-up as hiking with a group of friends. It’s best to maintain line of sight with other members of the group at all times and let the hike host know if you choose to leave the hike for any reason. Veggie Hikers Meetup group and its organizers are released from all liability in case of possible injuries. All participants must be 18 or older, or accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.