Meditation by Foot

Today was my longest hiking day thus far. I think I came in somewhere around 9 miles. It was cloudy out so I didn't feel the hot sun burning my skin until well after I was home. I have a nice reddish tint with a nicely defined line on my forehead where my hat's protection kicked in.

When I got to the top of Sunrise I decided that now was the time to sit facing a new direction. In the past I have always perched myself with a view of the trail I had conquered far far above the city landscape of roads and buildings I knew.

Today I decided I have dwelled enough on the past and it was time to face the East to the mountains and hills I've never explored. What lies ahead of me?

After 45 minutes of basking in the accomplishment of my summit I was inspired to keep treking along the Sunrise trail instead of turning around and heading back the way I came. If I was truly leaving the past behind, why double my steps? Instead I chose to go full circle. I came out of the hills somewhere near a millionaire subdivision named Hidden Hills.

Thoughts of irony passed through my mind as I walked down Via Linda the 20 blocks to the Lost Dog Wash Trailhead. In order to have some of the most pristine and "wild' views these rich people build sprawling mansions across thousands of feet of land, destroying the richness of the land and forcing the animals into smaller spaces. If the land and views are so desirable and so important to these folks, why do they insist on destroying it? Via Linda was littered with trash along the road. You'd think they'd see the importance in putting trash in a trash can. But maybe money buys you littering privileges as well.