Lazarow World-Hike-About

One of the positives of Hike-about is meeting fine people. Many are interesting, stimulating to be with, and in some instances, we've been on the receiving end of great kindness while experiencing difficult situations. One realizes there are many fascinating, decent and amusing people inhabiting our world even, when at times, the system appears to be 'upside-down'. We count our blessings for and during these opportunities. In July, we met Barry Jahn in Oregon who struck us as someone full of energy, with considerable strength and endurance as well as a twinkle in the eye. We were impressed, especially after viewing some of his exploits via the internet. Unfortunately , this changed after our hike to the 'potato chip' at Mount Woodson, last Sunday. The picture, two below, with a humorous note attached, found its way back to us. Editor on early morning training session Snap, crackle and oops...at 2,300 feet above the ground. Nearly as frightening as B...

6:30am, Mount Woodson, looking towards Iron Mountain. Sun breaks through thick clouds. Little Iron Mountain pretending to be the Eiger under cloud. After a sedentary three days, we were raring to get out of bed this morning, or at least one of us was. As the gates at Lake Poway only open at 6am, we had a little sleep-in. Sometimes we sit on a mountain peak for a while and take in the sights. On other occasions, there is insufficient time and one touches the top and heads down within minutes. Seems silly to climb all the way up and return so quickly. However, that's another story. Just the other day we were sitting atop Iron Mountain, a wonderful training mountain with spectacular views when the valleys are filled with clouds and mist at sunrise/sunset. Anyway, we perched ourselves on a rock, looked into the distance and thought about children. We are experienced in this matter because of course, we were children long time ago. We remember a lot from our youth; w...

The second sunrise as the sun pierces the upper clouds Enjoying a superb atmosphere at the peak of Iron Mountain...yes, again. Clouds with a hint of sun, line of light at rear. Although we have no conception of Heaven, we do have our own thoughts and visions just like most do. Nevertheless, should someone ask what the entrance might look like, we thought the views from the peak today are indicative of our vision. Forgive us should this appear arrogant but we did see incredible beauty as the whole of San Diego, covered in white clouds, both to the west and east, portrayed magnificence. With the advantage of being relatively high up, we were sandwiched between clouds. The sun rose, peered through the cloud gap and then continued rising while being blocked at the higher levels before eventually breaking through for the third or fourth time. The rays pierced the dark upper clouds while coming to rest on the lower strata, in golden pools. Sun bathes the lower clouds in g...

After inviting many friends and family to an early morning hike, we're pleased to report back on the results of this endeavor to the peak of Iron Mountain, before sunrise. The editor and her mate arrived at the trailhead car park at 5.20am. Expecting the imminent arrival of hordes of friends, we switched from sandals to boots, did last minute preparations, checked backpacks for essentials, locked the car and waited. Time, of course, is of the essence as the sun waits for nobody, so they tell us. Sun makes its appearance over East County, outlining clouds. Picture below shows the commencement position, a well-lit parking lot with the mountain behind covered in darkness. A smiling editor and friends...to her right is Joe, then Gary, Colin and Brian. The latter is the fellow with the broad shoulders. Behind them is Merle, Gavin S and Nora. For the rest, a little imagination should do the trick. A number of fellow hikers offered the following excuses...hmm...reasons f...

San Diego is not all about beaches and an ocean...in our opinion. Editor crosses third of four peaks on San Miguel Mountain trail. The mind works better on some occasions than on others. We look forward to the time of 'some' as we are experiencing a lot of 'others' recently. On a beautiful day in La Jolla, clouds sheltering the city from the summer sun, a cool breeze off the ocean and temperature not rising above 74%, we thought how different could it be a mere twenty-miles east. The weather, unless one likes to tan on the beach or burn, is in our opinion, near-perfect. We are in rest mode as our editor keeps making the point. We counter that if we get any more rest, we will be so unfit that our next trip is going to be a struggle. So we walk and hike a little and try the occasional mountain during this short sabbatical. After a very frustrating spell at work, we set off for Iron Mountain as a training session, mid-afternoon. Sunrise and sunset are prime ...