The Rim Trail

Mt. Wilson: 5715 ft. (1742 meters)
Sturtevant Camp: 3200 ft. (975 meters)
Five hours (including a short visit with Chris)
Magnificent.

Sharon winces when she hears me mention the Rim Trail loop. I've been slipping it into our conversations of late trying to get her used to the idea of it so when the weather finally cooled I could suggest it without her being too surprised. Still, she gasps. It's not the winding six miles, gently dropping 2500ft into Sturtevant Camp that makes her uneasy but the climb out, being less than three miles straight back up to the top, which causes her resistance. I know we can do it, even if we suffer just a little, and I convince Sharon that thinking too much of it is the real enemy here anyway. So, we set forth to conquer with all we've got and hopefully have a few laughs along the way, if only at ourselves.

This is one of my favorites and the best part comes as we approach about 4,500 ft. We no longer have to think about poison-oak or rattlesnakes. The trees up here are more considerate and allow each other a little more space leaving us with the chance that we might see a deer or even a fox. I could lie down and smother myself in the scent of pine, the screech of the mountain blue jays and the gurgle of the ravens. In fact, I almost do so unwillingly, as the trail is covered with acorns like marbles beneath our boots. We climb higher and stop on a ridge with a view of Mt. Baldy just as I remember the tangerines in the bottom of my bag and dig for them. The trail becomes sandy and hot but the views become more spectacular and we remember the time, almost one year ago, when we surprised a big white owl.

Up on top, we conclude that it's all in the pacing and Sharon agrees to let me put it in writing that it wasn't that bad after all and she would definitely do it again. So, there.

High-fives and gingerbread men all around.