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DISCLAIMER: SURFING IS HARD, YOU MUST BE ABLE TO SWIM WELL. (Otherwise this is dangerous for you and for us, and that's not cool. No prior surf experience is required, but we reserve the right to determine your swimming ability and to determine whether you can surf or not.)
Feeling SWELL? Dig the dirtbag lifestyle? On a mission to check off every beach name-dropped in the 1963 Beach Boys classic Surfin’ USA? This just might be the trip for you! We’re traveling to San Onofre State Beach’s bluff trails with Associate Dean of Religious Life Vanessa Gomez Brake for Peaks and Professors’ first surf trip of the fall semester!
This chill beach day will be a great opportunity to learn how to surf, make friends, and experience a mecca of SoCal surf culture!
We will depart from USC at 6:30, and arrive at San Onofre around 8AM. After a short hike from the trailhead, we’ll arrive on the beach for a glassy morning sesh while the wind and tides are in our favor. The hike is about a mile, so bring lace-up shoes in addition to your flip-flops. After surfing our hearts out, we’ll enjoy a lunch on the beach before heading back.
Bring a surfboard if you have one, and a wetsuit if you want one. Otherwise, we’ll handle everything else.
PACKING LIST:
Wetsuit (if you have one)
Surfboard (if you have one)
H2O (at least 2L)
Beach clothes
Day Pack (sunscreen!!!!!!/sunglasses/snacks/hats recommended)
WAIVERS
Boards will be supplied, and since the water’s warm, we won’t be renting wetsuits barring a surprise upwelling. Make sure you have a sturdy swimsuit that won't be easily knocked off by the waves (has ties / no strapless).
PROFESSOR: VANESSA GOMEZ BRAKE
DEPARTMENT: Religion
Vanessa Gomez Brake is the Associate Dean of Religious Life at the University of Southern California. In her role, she works to support and promote university religious and spiritual life broadly conceived and helps oversee nearly 100 student-led religious groups and 50 religious directors on campus. As an accomplished Filipino folk dancer and multi-instrumentalist, Vanessa has performed at the White House and Carnegie Hall for Filipino American History Month celebrations.
- 3 fun facts
I am a vegetarian, but my dog Tofu makes me feed him fried chicken regularly.
I am the first humanist/atheist in American history to lead religious life on a university campus.
I grew up on Guam, a small island in the Pacific with less than 100,000 residents.
PEAK: SAN ONOFRE -TRAILS
DIFFICULTY: 2/5
SCENERY: California pre-terraforming
FUN FACT: Spanning 7 miles of coast, San Onofre (San O for short) is one of the most wave-rich areas in the continental US, welcoming surfers of all performance levels.
TRIP LEAD: COLIN DUFFY