Riding the Heat Wave
The Circle X Ranch area in the Santa Monica Mountains can be a real beast in hot weather. I'd learned that before. But the weather forecast had been looking good yesterday. Yes, there was an excessive heat warning for today and the next few days, but the Saturday forecast had been cooler, cool enough that I thought I could take Emma out there. She'd had a health issue back in London a couple of months ago, and she wasn't really sure how much hiking she was up for, but she wanted to see one of my favorite hiking spots.
Little did I suspect that the excessive heat would roll in a day early, or that I'd be the who struggled more with it. Maybe there's a bit of poetic justice in that, a reminder that I shouldn't be overconfident of my hiking abilities. In any event, we did make it up to the top of Sandstone Peak, the highest point in the Santa Monica Mountains. It's only one of several good places to visit in the area, but it's one worth seeing, even in the heat.
I've noted before that there's something of a "temporary community" that forms on the more popular hiking trails. I first noticed it when I hiked up Mount Wilson three years ago. On Sandstone Peak I saw it again. People stopped to chat with us as we rested in the shade on the way up. A young couple with a large dog arrived about the same time we did, and we saw them again at the summit, where they asked Emma to take their picture with the dog. Just below the summit, we stopped to rest next to a young woman from Minnesota who had never been in the Southern California mountains before. I gave her some of the water I'd packed. We were cutting our hike short, so we didn't need as much, and she looked like she needed it more. The summit is a mix of rocks and trees, with various perches and ledges that Emma enjoyed climbing on. Some of the young men took turns posing for pictures as they sat shirtless on the scariest looking outcrop. "Future Tinder photos," Emma predicted.
After some time in the shade, resting and grabbing a bite to eat, we headed back down, sliding through a steeper patch and then trekking through alternating blasts of heat and puffs of relatively cool breeze. As we did, I looked out at Tri-Peaks and the Balancing Rock, two destinations I was hoping we could get nearer. They'll have to wait for next time, after the heat wave has passed. Fortunately, they'll still be there waiting for us.
Little did I suspect that the excessive heat would roll in a day early, or that I'd be the who struggled more with it. Maybe there's a bit of poetic justice in that, a reminder that I shouldn't be overconfident of my hiking abilities. In any event, we did make it up to the top of Sandstone Peak, the highest point in the Santa Monica Mountains. It's only one of several good places to visit in the area, but it's one worth seeing, even in the heat.
I've noted before that there's something of a "temporary community" that forms on the more popular hiking trails. I first noticed it when I hiked up Mount Wilson three years ago. On Sandstone Peak I saw it again. People stopped to chat with us as we rested in the shade on the way up. A young couple with a large dog arrived about the same time we did, and we saw them again at the summit, where they asked Emma to take their picture with the dog. Just below the summit, we stopped to rest next to a young woman from Minnesota who had never been in the Southern California mountains before. I gave her some of the water I'd packed. We were cutting our hike short, so we didn't need as much, and she looked like she needed it more. The summit is a mix of rocks and trees, with various perches and ledges that Emma enjoyed climbing on. Some of the young men took turns posing for pictures as they sat shirtless on the scariest looking outcrop. "Future Tinder photos," Emma predicted.
After some time in the shade, resting and grabbing a bite to eat, we headed back down, sliding through a steeper patch and then trekking through alternating blasts of heat and puffs of relatively cool breeze. As we did, I looked out at Tri-Peaks and the Balancing Rock, two destinations I was hoping we could get nearer. They'll have to wait for next time, after the heat wave has passed. Fortunately, they'll still be there waiting for us.
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