Trails Worth Taking (May, 2020)

Stough Canyon finally finished being “maintained” and opened back up to the public in mid-May. Stough Canyon is my go-to hike because it starts at the bottom, meaning there’s no risk to venturing too far. Go as far as you can, and then it’s all downhill from there.

So for the month of May when the skies were grey, or when the day was cool enough, we took a drive to our old stand-by rather than walk again the same two mile stretch of bike path that is our evening walk.
​
Being in the canyon meant if we went late enough in the day, we’d be in shade the whole way up and the whole way down.

Our usual end has always been what I term Three Corners—the “top” for most in which you could turn around or head west up to picnic table and watch the sun set (or the planes take off—depending if you’re looking skyward or landward), or head east further into the mountains.

I had never ventured much east, so with time and cool air on our side, Tucker and I explored further up the mountains, hoping to find the end of the trail one day.

We often found the ravens and other inhabitants who were seeking the quiet as much as we were. Seldom did we see any other humans up this high.

It was still upward momentum, and unfortunately the first time, I mis-judged the angle of the sun and the trail around the mountain tops, so we were in sun a little too long. But I eventually figured out the geometry and time coordination, and we were able to trek up further than ever before.

The trail winds upward, and oddly ends up winding back where we can almost oversee the original parking lot, a few hundred feet down below.

We never made it beyond the cell towers, as I wanted to get back before dark. Perhaps I’m a bit paranoid, but when parks close “half hour after sunset”, I don’t want my trusty steed to be fenced in because I took too long to come down off the mountain.
​
Sometimes we explored some maybe-not-trails when we got bored of the obvious wide trails.

Tucker and I spent a good amount of time up here in the hills, mostly under overcast skies. With June comes hotter weather, so our ventures up mountainsides would have to come to an end for a bit. But at least we have somewhere worth going back to once weather is on our side again. And honestly, with views like this only minutes from our basecamp, I can’t really complain.

But in the end, it's not the views I'm truly after. It's all about spending time and having adventures with this smiling kid. No matter where we go: up mountains, across meadows, walking along the beach, or driving coast to coast across the country, as long as we're together, every trail worth taking.