posted by admin on Apr 23

I’ve decided to come forth to profess my admiration, respect and love of Sunrise “the hike,” not the daily event although both can be experienced simultaneously on a daily basis. The other day Lana, my partner and I decided to pound out the hike Sunrise located at 136th and Via Linda -well actually east of there. So we started out at approximately 9am from the parking lot on Monday morning – a damn fine day to hike if you don’t like crowds. The temps were border line “80’s” and it was quite breezy. Within ¼ mile we both had sand and particles in our eyes which we had to gouge out for a clearer field of vision. Lana achieved a second wind shortly thereafter, yet I felt out of sync and as far as getting in the zone with my rhythm I fought the wind even when it looked like it was at Lana’s back almost lifting and cradling her. It seemed to buffet and bitch-slap me; Maybe it was a feminine wind. Anyway, it’s straight up for 2 miles; we made it 1.8 miles when we turned back. I was hot, gritty, and thankful we turned back. On the way down it was pretty much the same except 2/3’s of the way down I almost stepped on one of the most beautiful snakes I’ve ever beheld sunning itself on the side of the trail. Lana had scampered right by it and the irony was I had warned Lana to be on the lookout for them because the temps and conditions were ripe for their appearance. Well anyway I called Lana back to behold this black snake with yellow bands as it crawled into its lair amongst some rocks. Although the hike was nothing more than arduores for me, the fact that I encountered one of the world’s most gorgeous yet frightening species and then allowed me to share this with my hiking partner made our day. We kept our eyes peeled on the rest of the way down and even encountered a chubby gecko and the wind and heat seemed to fade away. So keep your eyes open- it looks like spring is here, the snakes are warming up , coming out of hibernation and it can be a glorious beautiful time of year or frightful one depending on whether your glass is half full or empty. If you exercise it will eventually be full thanks to the endorphins!