Dirty and Smelly

That's me right now. I went on a pretty nifty hike about 8 miles from my house. It was 2.5 miles and 1400 feet to Echo Mountain, the location of an old resort and incline railway. It was also nearly 90 degrees and there was virtually no shade until the top. I realize that some people out there like to hike Squaw Peak when it's 105, but for some reason the sun really beats down here. Natalie will verify this. I think maybe it is magnified by the pollution. I seriously could see hardly anything. I would like to do this trail again on a clear day (hah!) and also start earlier and go on up to another mountain past this one.

Almost everyone was friendly. Except for this group of 3 young people. 1 girl, 2 boys. I said hi and only the boys were nice. After they passed I heard the girl making fun of people huffing and puffing on their way up. Which I'm sure referred to me. Okay well I can't breathe in LA. Seriously. It is polluted. And I have asthma. Give me a break, little girl in your cute strapless shirt looking like you don't know what a hike is. Some of us also don't stop every few minutes, we just keep on plugging. Whatever.

I definitely recommend this hike. I would say to go earlier but I suspect there would be a lot more people then, so it might be a toss up. At any rate, bring lots of water.

And for the record I had cell phone service the whole way, so hiking alone was a perfectly fine activity. I was impressed to see at least 3 other girls my age also hiking by themselves. Way to go girls!