Cucamonga Canyon Hike

Although the weather leading up to weekend saw us getting reacquainted with our sweaters and jackets, mother nature reminded us again of who's actually in charge. Suffocatingly hot was the forecast for Saturday and this was just plain unacceptable.
The crew and I decided to be proactive in our search of relief from the heat. Relief came in the form of a short hike up Cucamonga canyon to a secret watering hole Shawziee had stumbled upon during one of his wanderings through the hills. On we went, braving temps in the high 90's to reach our destination.


Now, it wouldn't exactly be a 'Secret' watering hole if we showed you the way there. Besides that, it's awfully difficult to traverse slime-covered rocks, uphill, in knee deep rushing water, and take pictures while holding a beer in your hand. Multi-tasking at it's finest. We were rewarded for our efforts with this little waterfall area that was like something out of a story book. Beers and a babbling brook..just perfect.



Seriously, drinking Coors in the mountains? How cliche!



With the canyon walls shielding us from the sun's scorching rays, and our feet in the cool mountain water, our mission was complete.



Shanna found a nice place to rest. Dozens of spots up and down the stream just like this. I may never leave I remember telling myself..



With all the beer imbibed, and the sun beginning to retreat back to wherever it is the sun goes at night, we set off back down the mountain.



A quick break was in order to get rocks out of our shoes and to just look around for other possible spots for a repeat visit. Oh yes, we will be back.



Fat Guy in the water, trying not to find out if in fact he floats or not..



Trudging forward, hoping we wouldn't discover any water snakes or any other unpleasant surprises.



Finally back on dry land, walking back towards civilization. The serenity we had found within the tree-lined canyons rapidly evaporating with every step through the warm, hazy sunshine that lead us back to our separate realities. Reality sucks. What are we doing tomorrow?


photos by Shawziee

NightHike

The crew and I went for an evening hike up Burbank Canyon in north Claremont after work yesterday. We've hiked this trail numerous times, but this was the first time going this late in the day.



First cool evening in quite sometime..perfect for a stroll through the hills. The trail is 5 miles long with half of that straight up the mountain. It can be just a tad brutal if you're lugging a bit of extra weight with you. Stupid gravity.(Yeah ,I'm fat..so what you think you're better than me?!)



The views from the top when you finally make it are worth the struggle. As the sun did it's disappearing act on us half way through our journey, the combination of dark surroundings and the rapidly changing kaleidoscope of colors in the sky added to the zen-like feel of this adventure. Not to mention, not a single chupacabra in sight..(I repeated this to myself a few times as it got darker and darker).



Great views of the Inland Empire and LA from the top of the mountain. Perfect.



photos by Shawziee