I was so excited to do this hike again.  Mt. Wilson was the first peak I had ever hiked last year…..and I thought I was going to DIE!!  It was cold and rainy last year, I was so mentally exhausted, I was literally frozen when we arrived at the top.  We were offered a ride down the mountain by our amazing trail angel Cristi and my exact words last year were, “I am never hiking this mountain again”.  We finished that hike and I really thought it was the hardest thing I had ever done.  Then we went on to the next 5 peaks and they just kept getting harder.  This year, I was ready!!  My amazing hiking buddy Christina and I have been hiking together now for 3 years and this year we took on the Arizona Winter six pack along with the So. Cal six pack.  Every single peak has been such a wonderful experience and when Mt. Wilson came up on the calendar, I knew my mental and physical fitness were up to this challenge.  This year the weather was perfect and we got to hike during the week on a Tuesday.  So, truth be told, I'm kind of a prolific pee'er, and will drop trowl just about anywhere.  On this hike on the way down the mountain, I was doing just that and when I stood up to situate myself, I turned and came face to face with a magnificent deer….literally!  She was maybe 20 feet from me, I called Christina over and we just all stood there looking at each other.  She wasn't budging, then Christina told me to look up and just above us was her entire family.  AWESOME!!  In that moment I felt so blessed and lucky to be on that mountain.  We kept staring for a bit and we took a few slow steps towards her and she finally turned and went up where her family was.  Also, Christina and I have a joke about the fact that I always walk in front of her and usually, at least once, eat shit on the trail! I fall down, trip on a rock, go sliding on loose rock or a tree root jumps up and grabs my foot and boom, down I go.  I got all the way up and down Mt. Wilson without falling……until the very end….and ate it on some loose leaves.  My record is still intact!