Lynn Lawler's Creative Artists' Blog

Hello everyone and welcome. I want to thank you for visiting last week. It was great to see you all. I hope you have had a very nice summer. I went out and did something I love to do a lot – hiking in nature in the early morning.

Years ago when I lived in AZ I used to take my truck up to Flagstaff and go hiking alone in the San Francisco Peaks which are located just north of the city. I would go up and camp out in the forest. Then I would wake up at 5 am and hit the trails. My favorite one is the Weatherford trail. It starts out at the bottom of the mountain and goes up to the top. It is rated moderate since there is some rough footing along the way. But at the top, you have a 360-degree view of the mountains and northern AZ. I found the site to be very beautiful and serene. I could spend hours just sitting there enjoying it.

While I was trekking, I was amazed at the Aspen and pine trees. It is such an experience to be there and see it. Along the way, I saw wild animals such as deer. I was always told to watch out for black bears, but I never witnessed one.

I’ve found some trails here in the Los Angeles area that are great. I go with a friend and we’ve been to some trails in the Santa Monica Mountains. The trails are marked moderate since they do go up an incline. But the views along the way are spectacular and I felt a similar feeling as I did when I was hiking in Flagstaff. These pictures below were taken in the Santa Monica mountains.

For me, it is important to get out into nature. I enjoy listening to the bird’s chirp and seeing other small wildlife such as lizards. Also, the plants here are really cool. I’ve seen cacti, eucalyptus, and sage plants. I am careful to stay away from the poisonous plants and thankfully, I haven’t had encounters with them.

I like to travel on paths that do not get a lot of traffic. I love the serenity when I’m alone from other hikers. I feel the path that I’m on and am one with my surroundings. Even when I get lost, I’m always able to find the path or my way out with not much effort. I like to go in the early morning because that is when the views are at their best.

I would love to take a day drive to a place and go do an early morning hike just like I did before in Flagstaff. I have my eyes set on spots like the Angeles National Forest. There they have a trail that leads to a waterfall. I’m planning to hike there soon. I always pack in a lot of water and some trail mix. And of course, what I pack in I take out with me. It is sloppy to leave stuff. Doing this extra step helps out others who want to experience the trail.

The pictures below were taken in Franklin Canyon which is located in the Santa Monica mountains.

My hiking buddy and I also go hiking in another place in the Santa Monica Mountains that has breathtaking views. This place is more remote than Franklin Canyon and is a pretty strenuous walk. It goes up to the rim of the canyon and the incline is steep. Be prepared with lots of water and trail mix to do this trek. The path divides into others which we are going to explore soon.

What about you? Where have you gone hiking? Do you have any trails that you love that you’d like to share? Feel free to do so in the comments.

Be sure to stop by next week when I will be presenting my review for Pascal Scott‘s ‘Hard Fall.’

Until next time,

Namaste,

Lynn

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Photos subject to copyright