Lazarow World-Hike-About

Early morning fire, about 6:10am. We are obviously slow learners. When a person(s) decides to hike to a mountain top to view a sunrise, the idea is to get to bed early in order to compensate for the 'short morning' sleep. Apparently, we haven't figured that out yet. Late night, early morning—not the smartest move. However, the six-mile round trip is very pleasant and the sunrise, together with thick clouds covering most of San Diego in the early morning, is a delight. If we were poetic and thought San Diego earned the privilege of having extra care from the Heavens, we might term the blanket cover as 'clouds of glory'. If not motivated by the exercise alone (hmm), watching one of the daily miracles occur is reward enough for us. Sit back and enjoy the consistently beautiful views from Iron Mountain in Poway: A mix of clouds (fog), water and a waking sun. Sun makes it above horizon and back mountains, warming the clouds. Clouds cover most of the...

Mount Shasta softened by the early morning sun, approximately, 5:45am. Without the heavy snow-covering, some of the beauty of the mountain appears diminished. The pictures fail to illustrate the atmosphere and 'beauty' of the struggle the hiker experiences. A haunting side of Shasta on a hazy day, appearing out the blue. Without her make-up (snow), Shasta shows a harsh side. Jack London felt the ‘call of the wild’. John Muir heard the mountains calling. We, more modestly, hear Mount Shasta summoning us from time-to-time. From the first occasion we met the ‘lady’, we have been taken in by her charm and accepted her temper. In fact, it must be genuine, for today, after spending nearly seven hours on the eastern side, without her mascara—read snow—we saw another facet of her. In fact, in June last year we did mention under that layer she is rugged, harsh and very rough. Her exterior has a soft covering although her insides are rock solid...the occasional 'h...