Sunday Getaway

Just a quick little jaunt this afternoon to get out and about. I did a 6 mile loop trail with about 1400' of elevation gain near Glendale. The whole trail was along fire roads, and pretty easy cruising (2 hr total hiking time).

I ran into maybe 10 other hikers and a handful of mountain bikers along the way, which isn't too bad for this close to the city on a sunny, Sunday afternoon. One group of hikers warned me about about several rattlesnakes they'd seen along the trail, including a juvenile, but fortunately I was never able to confirm the rumor. Related, I put on my gaiters, thinking they probably wouldn't provide substantial protection in the event of a strike, but couldn't hurt nonetheless. I figure an extra layer of plastic skin might be helpful. Anyone with knowledge on this?

Looking north to the San Gabriel mountain range

Today was a hazy, smoggy one in LA, so the views were limited, but I did get nice vistas of the San Gabriels to the north, a peek of San Jacinto off in the distance to the east, and the Palos Verdes peninsula poking up out of the cloud. This picture shows a barely visible downtown LA. The creepy pink effect is a product of my malfunctioning camera, which needs to be sent back to Canon for repair.

Downtown LA through a thick haze and creepy pink camera effect

There were some nice spring wildflowers alongside the trail, as well as plenty of green afforded by the last couple months' rain. All in all not a bad Sunday in the city!