Posion Oak

We took a family hike at Eaton Canyon. Five-year-old Hikaru was preoccupied with mostly two items on his mind -- poison oak and rattlesnakes! He points out where the poison oak is located, and we carefully make sure not to touch it.



I haven't taken a close look at poison oak lately, but it's actually quite a beautiful plant. Almost makes me tempted to take it home. Just kidding.



As for the rattlesnakes, we looked and looked, but we didn't see one -- except one small guy behind the glass in the nature center.

Hiking Into 2009

Well, the year 2008 is closing down, and the new year 2009 is approaching! The rainy weather finally cleared, and the weather was beautiful today. We went for a hike nearby in Pasadena. The following is a short video documenting our walk. Please click on the image below to view it...



The hardest part of the hike were several stream crossings, and it wasn't so easy hopping over the rocks with 30 pounds of Hikaru on my back. But we had lots of fun, and it was nice to get some fresh air. As you can tell from the video, Hikaru especially enjoys eating a "snack" on the trail.

Hollywood Hiking

The past several weeks during Chinese New Year involved lots of eating. It's again time to work off a few calories and get back into shape. Yesterday, I went hiking at Griffith Park with members of the hiking club while Mommy and Hikaru went to Travel Town.

We did a three hour hike from the Travel Town parking lot to Mount Hollywood and back. The weather was perfectly "not too hot" or "not too cold" -- just right! Here's a photo of our club members.



Note how some of our members are outfitted professionally with trekking poles. They come in handy for all kinds of aggressive hiking -- including fighting off the wild coyotes, rattlesnakes, deer, and lizards.



As with many hikes, there are vistas and overlooks to absorb. The horizon is outlined with the hills and surrounding buildings of the Los Angeles. If you click on the photos, you can get an enlarged image.



This is a view of Mount Lee and the Hollywood sign in the background. This area was burned in a fire over a year ago, but there are signs of returning growth.



Here's a view of the skyscrapers in downtown Los Angeles from the top of Mount Hollywood. Again, you can get a larger image by clicking on it.



This is a geographical marker for Mt. Hollywood with "1619" which I guess is the elevation of the summit in feet. But I don't really know what "Monument Engineering" is...



This is a photo of members Mark and Hiroshi who are sitting on the railing at the top of Mount Hollywood. They are happily engaged in discussions and decisions about places to eat in LA. Hiking club members like to eat, especially after a hike like this one...

Life is a Beach

Happy Lunar New Year! One of the nice things about living in Southern California is the beach -- especially in the wintertime!

Yesterday we took a family trip to "Point Dume" near Malibu -- also called "Zuma". The name comes from an old native village called "Sumo" (meaning "abundance"). This is the land of the Chumash people.



Hikaru enjoyed scooping sand into various containers. He could do this all day.



Then he took a scenic hike up the rocks riding on Daddy's back.



Yeah, surf's up dude! Hikaru likes being a beach bum.



After touching the ocean water, he exclaims, "Water cold!" It is.



Hikaru explores the surface of the rock along the shore.



Indifferent to our presence, an egret searches for a meal.



Hikaru finds some seaweed!



Mommy and Hikaru have a race. Mommy won.



Hikaru finds and reaches for a sea anemone.



Here's a close-up photo. Yes, life is a beach!

Autumn Leaves

It's hard to believe that it's December already -- and fall is almost winter. Today we took a morning hike at Eaton Canyon which is about a 30 minute drive from where we live. Los Angeles doesn't have drastic seasonal change, but it was a cool and crisp day. It was great to be outdoors, and a welcome change after a hot and dry season.



Hikaru was mostly interested in watching the other people on the trail (with dogs and kids), but he got a chance to play with some leaves.



Places in the East Coast are known for their colorful autumn foliage, but LA has a "little" bit (not much, though). Most of the leaves were brown.



Hikaru grabs a fistful of leaves, and throws them up in the air.

Mount Zion

Last weekend, I went on a 5-hour 10-mile hike in the San Gabriel Mountains with six other members of the "Hiking Club". Our destination was Mount Zion, and here are a few photos to share.

In this photo, some of the morning clouds and haze is burning off, and the sun is starting to shine through.



Below is a view along a stream where my backpack took a sliding dive into the water while taking some of these photos. Fortunately, it was rescued by one heroic hiker. Yes, I need to figure out a better way to remove my camera without removing my pack.



Looking toward the city of Arcadia below from the top of Mount Zion, this panoramic view is not so impressive, but we did climb about 2000 feet in elevation on this hike.

Hiking With Hikaru

On Sunday we went for a short "urban" 3-mile hike with Bernard and Miu-Ying in northeastern Los Angeles at Debs Regional Park. For LA residents, this park borders the 110 freeway going north from downtown to Pasadena near Montecito Heights.

Hikaru had a fun time riding in the "baby backpack", picking up leaves, and scratching in the dirt. Daddy got some exercise carrying an extra few pounds to the top of the hill and back down again.

Well, here goes another home video with Hikaru running around. He's 21 months old now. We also did see some hawks soaring over the hilltops, and hummingbirds humming, but we were too slow in pulling out the camera to capture them. Please click on the image below to view the 3-minute video.

Survival Stories

Occasionally, there's a story in the news that redefines human survival. Mitsutaka Uchikoshi was walking down Japan's Rokko Mountain when he fell, broke his hip, and became unconscious. He was later discovered by a climber after spending 24 days without food or water. His body temperature dropped to 71 degrees F, and his pulse was barely discernible. When his rescuers brought him to the hospital, he woke up, and eventually made a full recovery.

Pretty amazing.

Summit Dreams

On Saturday morning I went for short 6 mile hike in the San Gabriel mountains with a group of community friends who call themselves the "Hiking Club". (Unfortunately, Hikaru stayed home, and didn't come along for this one.) In the photo below are two veteran members, Felix and Hiroshi.



In some ways, the club is part social, part exercise, and some might say, part crazy. Club members have hiked the local mountains in rain or shine -- like Mount Wilson and Mount Baldy (during the winter in a foot of snow).

But in the near future, there could be Mount Whitney. Some of the members are planning an ascent to the summit later this year. At 14,505 feet above sea level, Mount Whitney is the highest point in lower 48 United States.

So why climb a mountain? It's great to have a dream and the challenge to realize it to give whatever meaning we can extract from life. And of course, it's a great view from the top! For me, though, the hiking might provide a more immediate motivation to get back into better physical shape.

However, the after-hike lunch of a pastrami dip at "The Hat" (a local eatery) might not have been the best way to lower one's cholesterol level. But hiking club member Dennis claims it's the "best" pastrami sandwich in town.

Stream of Consciousness

We haven't posted to the blog lately. Things were busy. If it's still winter, we wouldn't know it here in Los Angeles. It's been quite hot and dry this past week. This Saturday, we took a short family visit to Eaton Canyon.



Hikaru enjoyed picking up rocks and dipping his hands in the stream's cold water. Perhaps we can call this the "stream of consciousness", since this is what blog writing is mostly about. The cold water trickling over the rocks puts one in a meditative state where thoughts suddenly appear in one's mind. Today's thought was mostly about "taking it easy".

Walking in Moonlight

This past Tuesday after work, the "hiking club" went for a hike at Debs Park in Montecito Heights. On this one, we had Nancy, Hiroshi, Veronica, Jun, Mark, and Felix. It was about a 2.5 mile loop trail up to the top of the hill and back down -- enough for an aerobic workout, but not too much...



A full moon was our guiding light in the sky, and we heard the occasional rustle of leaves from a surprised coyote or rabbit (that also surprised us). Our hike had a very "Christmasy" feeling with wonderful trail views of the nighttime downtown skyline and the surrounding city below. It was fun to point out streets and landmarks from their lights.

The "hiking club" is an association of co-workers at Little Tokyo Service Center and friends. We usually meet every Tuesday evening. The club has gone on hikes in Griffith Park, a section of the Mount Wilson Trail, and even to the famous Hollywood sign. We're looking for suggestions for interesting hikes (and night hikes) in the Los Angeles area, so please let us know (or post a comment below) if you can recommend anything. Thanks!