Peace In The Big City

When I found out I was going to be moving to Southern California, all I could think about was how many people there would be and how horrible the traffic tends to be. Both of these things are bad for a person like me but I figured that I could tough it out for two years. Easy right? Well I'll have to get back to you on that part but I will say that so far things are going alright. But it hasn't taken long for me to miss my mountains and wish I were wandering my way through their countless hiking paths leading to beautiful vistas and waterfalls. Well you can guess at how red in the face I was when I found out how many places there are here to go hiking and how close they were to my own home.
  With a quick Google search we narrowed our options down to a trail just fifteen minutes from the house and just off highway 14. A former cattle ranch belonging to the Walker family in the early 1900's is now the site of a small trail system leading into the mountains (they call them mountains but from where I come from it's a stretch. Jk.) All that remains of the ranch today are some old troughs scattered through the trees. I didn't see any but they tell me they're there. The hike to the Walker Ranch site is 1.5 miles and is relatively easy so it's good for the kids and those that are just trying to get back into hiking as we are.
  At the ranch the road splits into two more trails allowing you to extend your hiking experience a little further if you choose to do so. We were interesting in taking the fork that would lead us to a waterfall but since California is still in a drought there is no water in it right now and we got a late start so we opted to head back. But I can't tell you how good it felt to feel like we were away from the city. Sure we could see the highway every once in awhile and you might hear it a bit but it was good enough to quench my thirst for some seclusion. Sort of, there were quite a few people out there but everyone we came across was pleasant and seemed to be having a good time as well.

Tiny frog we found at the trail head

 We look forward to coming back on a day we can get started earlier so that we can make it to the waterfall and explore more of the surrounding area. You just don't know what you're going to find until you get out and lay eyes on for yourself. I've since done more research and found even more areas here in the Santa Clarita area and even more down in Los Angeles. I guess I'd have to say that the moral of the story would be something like not judging a book by the cover or some other cliche thing to say but in this case it's pretty much the truth. Stay safe in your adventures this weekend folks. See you next week!
Brandan