This was my first official 6-pack peak of the year …and ever.  The past couple years I’d gotten more into hiking—probably spurred on by recent quarantine conditions.  I’ve always been a believer of the idea that there’s a silver lining to everything.  This was one of the takeaways.  Until recently I wasn’t very interested in peaks or collecting badges.  Other women in my hiking groups were signing up for the SoCal 6-peaks and I watched them somewhat disinterestedly.  That all changed when someone from my neighborhood started undertaking a 5-month PCT trek and shared a story about meeting 2 elderly sisters (80 & 64, respectively) at the starting point.  It made me change my view on goal-setting and on starting to prepare my mind and body for my own adventure when I’m 80 (or thereabouts).  That gives me roughly 30 years to prepare!

On this particular day, my neighborhood hiker moms group and I met up at 6am to caravan over to the trail. It was overcast, possibly a bit sprinkly.  I had committed to go so I wasn’t going to back out.  And, frankly, I like an occasional walk in the rain—who doesn’t?  The highlight was feeling transported to somewhere else.  2/3 or more of the ascent did not feel like southern California at all.  It was humid but still cool. Canopies of lush green surrounded us.  It felt like the Pacific Northwest to me.  Someone else remarked it felt like North Carolina, which I had to take their word for.  Once we got to a high enough elevation and above the cloud cover, we were rewarded with sunshine and fairytale views of lower peaks poking through melted marshmallow clouds.  The realization that sunshine could be found on an otherwise overcast day (if u climb high enough) — a literal manifestation of that silver-lining sentiment from before — made me smile.

Another big highlight was passing a little old lady on the way down.  She was on her own, she had on a straw cone hat.  We stopped to say hello and, later, found out that a couple other members of our group chatted longer with her that day and again a week later — totally coincidentally!  These other ladies told me more about her because they thought she sounded like someone I was supposed to meet.  I didn’t disagree.

Because my knees are not in the best shape, I chose to briskly walk/jog down.  Despite the increased pace and thick mist, I could periodically see charred tree trunks surrounded by lush green.  I remember thinking how lucky we all are that the fires didn’t do too much damage and how lucky I was to live so close to this place.