hiking in the san gabriels

i went hiking yesterday morning with 2 friends, courtney (also my roommate), and joy. joy posted on her blog about it, and she has a fun way of describing it, so i'll just copy what she said. the original post can be found here.

"The hike. Three of us, the RN, the meteorologist and I, headed up to the foothills for a bit of exploring around and the chance to catch some views. We just drove north a couple miles until we hit the foot of the hills and started walking. It was not as majestic as the drive into the midst of the San Gabriels, but it was fun in a nostalgic sort of way. And the smell of oak brush! The scenery was dry and and russet-y and the trail was thin as a sliver. We got to jump across an intermittent creek here and there, but the best part was scrambling.

After following a trail that thinned down to about the size of my ankle and grew more questionable as we went along, we turned around to head back. Now for the record, I think that that questionable trails are some of the best kind. I don’t mean that I’m looking to add to erosion by tromping along through all of God’s green earth like a mule in a garden, but I just really enjoy my trails not too certain or pretty or sure. So I was mildly disappointed when our weather woman decided our path was looking more like a precarious wash out than a trail. But on the way back said hiker suggested we scale this crazy incline of dust and roots to try to check the view from overhead. Delightful. Please ask me to scramble up the least accommodating terrains or send me bouldering along a rock face over the incoming tide or send me on any errand that requires any sort of crawling, contortion and grappling about like a raggedy nine year old. I’d be so pleased to oblige. So with a combination of dousing ourselves in our kicked up dust, clutching breaking sandstone, and grasping the gnarly oak roots that held what they could of the hillside in place, we made our way up and down the hill. Did I say delightful already?

Why go for a run when you can scramble? Do you think that scrambling could make it into the olympics? I bet it would be kids favorite sport to watch. Mine too. And then when kids came home covered in dirt with rips in their new pants and their hair full of twigs, the could just say “I was training.” And their parents would be so proud. "

she's pretty fun, that joy!
also, pics are on facebook, or they can be found here.