30 Before 30: #17. Hike Mt. Wilson

Mt. Wilson: check!

Mt. Wilson is one of the most historic peaks in the San Gabriel Mountains. It's the most prominent peak (covered in antennaes) that is visible from Pasadena. It's literally in our backyard! Mt Wilson is 5710 ft high, just shy of the highest point in my home state, Virginia (Mt. Rogers at 5728 ft). It's certainly not the highest peak in southern California (which would be Mt. San Gorgonio at 11499 ft) or the toughest climb (arguably Mt. San Antonio, aka Mt Baldy, 10064 ft). I've wanted to hike it for a while, so adding it to my 30-Before-30 list seemed appropriate.

I saw on facebook that a friend of a friend had started a local hiking group, so I joined the group and saw the first hike planned was summiting Mt. Wilson. I was free that day, so I invited myself along. So yesterday, July 7, 2012, I picked up my friend Janice and her friend James at just after 6am. We picked up their friend Dan, who originally posted about the hike, and drove up to Chantry Flat to park. We got to the parking lot at about 6:35am, and got one of the last parking spaces. That place is busy on summer weekends! After getting all our gear in order, we started out on the trail by 6:45am.

The first part of the trail is quite familiar to me, as it's the same trail that leads to Sturtevant Falls, which I've been to several times. Hiking to the falls after work is one of the joys of long summer days! At the split in the trail, James and I hung out while Janice and Dan continued on to the falls because they hadn't seen it before, then rejoined us about 20 minutes later. I won't go into the gory details of which trails we took where because we basically followed the hike Mt. Wilson trail via Chantry Flats, and this isn't a hiking blog. But I will say that we hiked about 13 miles in 9.5 hours total, including breaks.

The network of trails in the San Gabriels is pretty astounding, with lots of back-country campgrounds and even cabins scattered throughout. The first half of the trail up was fairly busy as it leads to other peaks and good hikes. We chatted with a few other groups, with hikers of all ages, who were heading for different destinations. We were surprised by how much shade the trail afforded, as one of the complaints is that on fire roads and other more exposed trails, it can get hot very quickly! We hiked in full shade for 3/4 of the trip up, and partial shade after that. We were especially grateful since the forecast high temperature was 85 degrees. I'm not gonna lie, I got really tired by the end. The "up" stretches (as opposed to the "flat" stretches) were very slow going for me. My water was out, and I focused my energy on getting to the next shady spot, then resting a bit. I could feel my pulse in my ear drums. The others went on ahead, and James thankfully lent me his hiking poles. (Side note: hiking poles will be my next camping/hiking investment! They were awesome, and it would have been MUCH harder without them! I'm a new believer!) I finally joined the others at the lookout point by about 11:10am.

We had made it! The view from up there was amazing! I had driven up Mt Wilson on previous occasions, but this was the first time I entered the complex and had seen the eastern side of the peak. I had seen some of the views on the Mt. Wilson webcam, though. We wandered around the observatory grounds for a bit, found a drinking fountain, and refilled our water bottles and Camelbak bladders. The Observatory has a collection of telescopes and has quite the history! Hubble and Hale were two of the big-name astronomers who did a bulk of their work at the Mt. Wilson Observatory. There were signs in front of most buildings, and even a small museum for visitors to learn about the work and history of the observatory. We contemplated waiting around for a tour at 1pm, but decided to get home sooner. We then headed for the picnic pavilion, where Janice, Dan and I ate our packed lunches, and James got a sandwich from the Cosmic Cafe. I had developed a blister on the back of my right heel, so I pulled my shoes and socks off during lunch, put a bandaid over the blister, and enjoyed the chance to rest.

We started back down about 12:30pm, after enjoying the views from the west side of the peak toward the Santa Monica Mountains, across the city and toward the Pacific Ocean. Dan and I were in the lead, and we were on the trail no longer than 5 minutes when we spotted a 4-ft long rattlesnake! I had seen one before (while hiking in Ventura County, ask Danielle and Nate how loud I screamed after almost stepping on it!), but this one still took us by surprise. We heard the rattle, but it sounded to me like a louder version of a cicada, so it didn't even register until Dan quickly turned around and walked back up the trail towards me. It slithered into the bushes and quit rattling, so we laughed and kept hiking. However, the section of the trail we were on was switchbacks, so we kept our eyes peeled as we headed down, knowing the snake could make it downhill faster than we could. Ten minutes later, Janice and James caught up to us (they had stopped to take more photos) and we told them about the snake. No sooner had we told them than they saw one just off the side of the trail, slithering downhill. We thought the chances were pretty good that it was the same snake!

The trip down was pretty tiring, but slow and steady wins the race. James had picked up two sticks to use as hiking poles when he lent me his. We switched "poles" at the top of the mountain, so I was grateful for the two sticks on the way down! Again, we were surprised and grateful by the amount of shade on the trail! It was a much quicker descent, of course, but still not record speed. When we got to the trail split at the Upper Winter Creek trail, we remembered that the very start of the trail would be the end of the trail taking that route. Which was a steep, open, paved incline that we would have to hike up to get back to the car. Suddenly, the longer-by-a-mile route that descended to the parking lot sounded a lot better. Only we didn't realize that it also included a climb in the first mile, rather than in the last. The climb on the Upper Winter Creek trail wasn't nearly as steep as the Sturtevant Falls trail would have been, but it was still not very welcome. I was pretty tired and ready to be done by this point!

I finally caught up with the others at the top of the fireroad at the top of the campground/picnic area at Chantry Flat about 4pm, maybe 4:15pm. What a day, but we made it! I was quite proud of myself, but also quite exhausted. I don't think I've accomplished something like that before: 4000 feet of elevation gain in one day, or a 13 mile trail in one day. Before this, I think my longest day hike had been about 10 miles. Woohoo! Today, the day after, my calves and hips are pretty tight, but I'm not as sore as I might have expected!

Generosity

I want to be a person know for her generosity. This stems from a variety of impulses. For one, generosity is a trait that is in short supply in my generation, and in society today. It is so easy to act out of my own self-importance or selfishness, but that's not how I want to be. Generosity is an act of character, and represents a life overflowing. To be generous is to remind myself that I am not a world unto myself, but I am an actor in a community. To be generous is sometimes an act of sacrifice, proof of love for others.
Even in writing that paragraph, I see aspects of my personality. "Gifts" is a love-language that I enjoy operating in. I don't want to give the appearance of being materialistic, so this is an area that I have suppressed for a long time. But it's true! I want my friends and family to know that I was thinking about them as I traveled, or when I saw something at a store that I think they would love. I appreciate when someone does the same for me, though I don't expect gifts. I also have "connectedness" as one of my top 5 strengths in the Strengthsfinder realm. So of course I would see myself as a part of the bigger picture, that we're all connected and rely on one another.
I also used to life off other people's generosity. I've been on at least 7 mission trips that relied heavily on support raising. As a Starbucks barista, I used my paycheck to cover basic necessities, and used my tips as food and fun money for the week. As a result, I try to give good tips in restaurants, even if the service isn't great.
I am now a single, employed adult in my late 20's. I have no kids to care for, no mortgage to pay, and a decent, steady income. I have margins in my life - extra space that can be carved out to serve others, do things I'd always wanted but lacked the time, money, or vacation days, or learn to just BE. Why not use my free time to volunteer for a cause I care about, or offer to watch a friend's kids while she runs errands? Why not use my steady paycheck to show up at a friend's yardsale with a bag of bagels and a gallon of coffee in hand? Or actually purchase something cute I notice at Target for my friend who would love it? Or regularly support my local public radio station? I'm still not so great at the budgeting thing, but I do know that I have room to be generous.
Spiritually, generosity is not a fruit of the Spirit, per se. I do believe that it is a byproduct of love and kindness. I want to love others well by blessing them with things that I have been blessed with. I want to show kindness to my sick roommate by bringing her chicken noodle soup, a box of nyquil, and a silly redbox movie to kill the time with. I believe I am sowing into the ministry of my friends who are missionaries by giving them monthly support. God has been good to me, and I have no right to hoard the things I only have because of His generosity to me.

And that's who I want to be: a woman known for her generosity, because God has been generous to her.

Update:
My pastor, Megan, spoke on generosity in church tonight. She spoke on Luke 3, where John the Baptist spoke to the Pharisees and tax collectors and others who came to him to be baptized. His message to them was essentially, "Just be generous, be honest, be fair." If you have 2 coats, give one up. If you have extra food, shared it. Your. Rees are met, so help out those whose needs are not met. I haven't said much about church, yet, but hearing this tonight was kind of a nice little confirmation for me.

Back in the Saddle, Starting Today!

It's time to get back in the saddle. After finishing grad school, it was nice not to be required to write, so I didn't write at all. Plus, I work on a computer 40 hrs a week; I didn't want to even turn my personal computer on! My personal journal hasn't seen much activity, either! Now, nearly 2 years later, it's time to start practicing something I claim to be good at. Not amazing, mind you, but not terrible, either. If I want to be able to tell my boss I'm a good writer, I know I need to keep working at it. So in this area, among several others that I shelved for a while, it's time to get back in the saddle.

As a means of commitment, whether or not I have any readers at all, I'm laying out here a few things I want to tackle in the coming weeks and months. Writing helps me to process my own thoughts, as well as document my experiences, so here's what I plan to blog about:
1. Stewardship - including tithing, generosity (today!), and areas beyond finances
2. My 30-Before-30 list - items already accomplished as well as what's next
3. Church. I'm still not sure where this one is going, but I committed months ago to thinking more deeply about it, so it's time I start. Eeek. 
4. General life goings-on - new position at work, LOVING Southern California still, and learning (still!) the slower rhythms of life as an adult 

Join me if you dare.

Quote

"It's slightly disappointing, but I never heard the workers sing on our site (where they were building our house in Haiti). Perhaps we live too close to the city, where modernity has trumped tradition: they listened to battery-powered, static-drenched radios instead. I'm grateful first for their friendship and for their profound influence over my choices. Though they don't sing aloud about my stinginess or generosity, they still have a sort of lyrical power over me as my neighbors. This wasn't the case when I gave my money to the cashier at Wal-Mart or the local drugstore and then walked out with a product that was put together by who-knows-who in who-knows-where in what-kind-of-conditions on the other side of the globe. Globalization has important efficacy advantages but also helps us evade the discomfort of knowing the people we do commerce with (to our advantage). And it's not that personal connection necessarily precludes exploitation, but at least when it's personal the exploiter has more chance of understanding and changing--or at minimum might feel how much the exploiting costs his or her own soul."

- Annan, Kent. Following Jesus Through the Eye of the Needle: Living Fully, Loving Dangerously. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2009. p170-171

Lost the plot

I kind of lost my vision for why I was writing this blog. So I just didn't write for a long time. And I'm not sure where to go from here, so it's just my ramblings, which is actually quite easily described by "my journey in heart and space", so it all fits, in the end.

Today, I saw the (beautiful and amazing!) wedding photos of a girl who was an elementary school camper when I was a counselor for church camp. I felt a) old and b) very single. Ouch.

Tonight, I went to the going away party of a couple (and their kids) who I got to know fairly well as part of my cohort group the 2 years I was in school. One of the options they are looking into is to join a c-planting team in northern India. My heart leapt into my throat! A flame sparked that has been hidden for a long time.

I went on a road trip with Judy last week. Judy's pretty quiet, and she told me from the get-go not to expect her to talk that much. I was happy to chat enough for the both of us the first few days, but by the last 2 days, driving over half of our 1724 miles, I started projecting onto her my own reasons for silence. I clam up when I'm hurt, annoyed, angry, or irritable. So I started wondering if Judy felt like that, and I had to remind myself that she wasn't mad, she's just quiet. She actually can and will be pretty forthright and honest when something isn't right, and I had to trust that she would have communicated something to me if I had offended her. (Right, Judy, if you're reading this?!) So it was a good self-awareness lesson.

I am now working (and have been for over 8 months) for a large, international, Christian, non-profit organization. About half our budget comes from child sponsorship (where a person sends in $35/month to sponsor a kid from an impoverished country and keeps his/her photo on his fridge). I like my job, to a large degree, but it's definitely a stepping stone to something else. Trouble is, I don't exactly know what that "something else" is. I do know I plan to live overseas in the future, hopefully doing more on-the-ground project management-type stuff. But my current position as an admin assistant isn't specifically going to open the doors that direction, so perhaps there are a few more steps between here and there. We shall see.

I'm going home for a few days in August. My sister, brother-in-law, and my new niece will be there! I'm excited to see them all, and of course my parents and cat, too. I also am looking forward to reconnecting with old friends, one in particular that has been a bit of a rocky relationship in the past year. We'll see if that person makes time to see me or not. But at least the beach will be there! And a NIECE!!