Booty Shaping

Top of Los Pinetos trail. Oakwood. Pic by me

This past Saturday, I have been shown hell and heaven. Bryan took me to a trail not too far from my parents' house. In fact as a kid, I used to go to these mountains for school field trips.

The Los Pinetos Trail is by far the hardest trail I have done so far. So many times I wanted to quit because it was super steep and hot. Bryan was really good at knowing when to gently push me or stand back and let me deal with the battle of trekking up the trail.

The first part of the trail was chapparel. This is the part of the mountain where more sun is shining down so the vegetation is more dessert and apt for dry climate. I saw lizards and snakes. Tons of bees and flies that seem to play kamikaze dives into my cheek.

Because it was hard I didn't take too many pics so the following pics are by Bryan.

Wildflowers and brush

Chaparell and Oakwood

Looking like Sleeping Dragons

As you go farther and farther up, the incline gets easier and cooler. An oakwood forest tops the mountain. It was so beautiful, walking underneath the canopy of branches. It was so quiet and the only thing you can hear are birds and your feet on the ground.

Pic by me

Because this was an intermediate trail, there were less people and no families. I am truly happy to have at least finished the trail, reaching to the top and feeling the breeze. Trekking down was just as hard because if I went too fast, I would be slipping all the way down.

Bryan thinks it is time for me to invest in actual hiking boots.

Griffith Park

Kat was Spitty-less this weekend so we decided to go to Griffith Park for more inclines. After finishing Los Pinetos the day before, Griffith Park is now cake!

But it still hurt, and I was so super sore from yesterday's hike.

There is something about reaching the top and looking at the view. It is the reward that I look forward to. You can see how far you have come and learn that when you push forward, at whatever pace, you will eventually get to your destination.

I realize that in every hard trail, I will hate it but I will keep walking forwards and I will be open to the lessons. That the pain is temporary and rest comes after the work is done.

Along with losing five pounds and strong muscles, I have a couple more goodies from hiking and training outdoors. 

I treated myself with new mango colored Nike LunarGlide +3.

and a new tan! going to enjoy being golden brown because when fall hits, i will lose all the melanin again.

Wisdom from one of my childhood idols.