Hiking Through Pictures

Last Thursday, I decided to take a day off to remember a very special person and I decided to honor them by doing something they would have liked which was to go on a hike to some old ruins and take a lot of pictures. A couple of things I forgot:

1. I don't like hiking. I like going downhill, lunch and waterfalls I can swim in.
2. I do not like uphill
3. I do not like sweaty
4. I am not a photographer.  If the shot isn't great the first time then it's not my fault and I'm bored with it already.

But, I do like the feeling of accomplishment I get at the end. It's the beginning and middle I'm not so fond of. I picked Solstice Canyon out in Malibu for my hike because you can hike in to see an old mansion called Tropical Terrace that was built in the 50's and burnt down in the early 80's. I like to have a purpose for hikes, just going up to the top of some big mountain thing and coming down is not good enough. Unless there is a cafe at the top and a chair ride down.

Perfect day for...not climbing up this.

More my style - nice and flat.  Could do with more park benches.  Also I peed under that tree.

The New Zealand Mudsnail.  Australia has its snakes and poisonous spiders, Florida has its gators and we have...the mudsnail.  You think Zombies are bad?  Wait until a mudsnail has you in it's sights and starts chasing you.  Although you probably have a fair bit of time to get away...

Safe to say this is dead.

You might think this is the top.  But you would be wrong...If there was a Suggestion Box, I would have suggested that this be the top.

It looked a lot steeper when I was there.  I think I have made this look too easy.  Can you see the path winding through the trees at the bottom?  I should have stayed there.

Some dumb tree thing.

There's a lot of dead up here.  No blackberries in sight.  Just climbing up a sodding great hill to look at dead plants.  Whose idea was this?

Photo of something you can't really see.  I have a lot of these. 

This is another one.  Boring, isn't it?

Ooh look!  More of the same. On the plus side I'm getting closer to sitting down

Closer...

And I made it.  Bit disappointing to be honest. 

And I'm not surprised it burned down, look at all the chimneys.

It was very tropical down at the ruins after the dryness of the canyon top above.  There were supposed to be parrots. 

Instead I got a snake.  Which I have identified as an Anaconda (the photo shows him as being deceptively small which is not helping to convey the extreme danger I was in).  I was about ready to go all Downward Dog on his arse but then he looked at me. 

So I just waited for him to leave.  Which he didn't but I didn't really want to go that way.

This is a SoCal waterfall - bit on the dry side.  Did not get the swim I was hoping for...

This is a very rare butterfly that I am the first to discover.  I have named it "Brown Butterfly".  Or Moth for short.

So this is what socks are for.

Get out of my picture.

Pacific Coast Highway

Hiking..with children

My friend has recently started hiking with her almost 3 year old. Which is going really well except for the part where he doesn't hike. More carrying, less hiking. He also isn't very good about holding on so on top of the toll it's taking on her back, her arms are also sore from making sure he doesn't fall off. I don't want to cast aspersions, but I don't think this kid is ever going to be as good as me at riding a mechanical bull. You have to grip with your thighs.

For an almost three year old, he's a pretty tall kid - about three Alberts stacked on top of each other high. Not sure compared to Albert when he's rearing up (I think that's horses but I don't know the cat word) because we've had some tape measuring difficulties. He also weighs a little under 4 Alberts* so she's getting a pretty good work-out in.

Anyway, I've been trying to help solve the problem of the arm and back ache - just so you know, leaving him in the car was not even considered by her**. I offered bungy cords, which weren't even given a test run, an old back pack with leg and arm holes cut out*** and a suggestion to try balancing him on top of her head - an old Ghanian practice, except with baskets not children.

Last resort - she's going to try the African wrap way of carrying your child. Apparently, you can carry your child until he's 18 and ready to leave the home****. Since I am a very helpful friend, I demonstrated this for her with Albert. I think this is going to work really well.

I didn't have an African wrap so I used a fluffy scarf that my Mum knitted.  It also looked nice with Albert's coloring.

Here you see him admiring it.

Here you see him resigned to his fate.  I have a very tolerant cat.  As regards results, turns out a stretchy scarf is not the thing.  I took one step and Albert unfurled.  Luckily he is a cat and landed on his feet. Unluckily for me, I tried to catch him and he reached for me.  With his claws.  I was able to staunch the bleeding with my African wrap fluffy scarf child holder.

*In case you're wondering, Albert has kept his figure over the years and consistently weighs a trim 11lbs.
**FYI Social Services people
***In case you're trying to steal this idea, it apparently has already been invented.
****Also, I might have made this up.