Friday, July 29, 2011

Must. Hike.

Some of us must hike, heat or no heat. The trails north of JPL have decent shade, and the streams still have water in them. The trails have recently been reopened after the Station Fire, though you'll find changes.

The cones on this bridge are lined up so neatly, don't you think? We couldn't figure out how they stayed that way until we checked. They're nailed down.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dayglo dunce convention hat park?
Excellent perspective - one your knees or stoop-and-hope-for-the-best?

dive said...

I thought perhaps it was a wizards' hat shop.
Happy hiking, Petrea!

Shell Sherree said...

I don't feel such a compulsion, Petrea, but I'm very glad you have plenty of wonderful places to work off your hiking urges. Nailed down witches hats? There's my something new for the day!

Petrea Burchard said...

They're on both sides of the bridge, too! I'm not sure why. We're allowed to cross, but maybe they want us to stay on the wooden reinforcements.

I must have sat on the ground for this one, JB.

Dive, I thought it was a shop but they wouldn't let me try anything on.

Shell, thanks. We're so fortunate that way.

Anonymous said...

This has been a fantastic week for Echo Mountain. Surprisingly cool, though I try to finish up by noon.

Now that you've decided not to train for the Boston Marathon, hope you make it out there.

Bellis said...

That bridge is collapsing - if you look underneath, one of the struts has come down. I'd never noticed that the cones were nailed down! They're there to slow traffic down, though only one person lives north of that bridge. I hope they'll repair it as it's the only historic wooden bridge left - the other one burnt down.

Hope you'll be back on the trails soon.

Trish said...

was wondering if we needed to go check on someone's OCD. Now we know they had help keeping those "hats" in line!

"As you were" and enjoy the hike!

Petrea Burchard said...

Echo Mountain (Sam Merrill) is a favorite trail of mine, Hiker. A bit brutal on a hot day and too crowded on weekends (we've had that discussion), but it's been nice this week.

I didn't realize the bridge was so damaged, Bellis. It shouldn't surprise me. The floods took out a cement bridge further downstream. I hope this one gets restored as it's the prettiest.

Trish, speaking of OCD, since they had to nail them down I'm glad they did an orderly job of it for my sake. If they weren't lined up and they stayed that way, it would drive me nuts.

Pasadena Adjacent said...

superfluous detail

Petrea Burchard said...

Ha! Well, it's not like they keep people from using the bridge. Maybe they say, "if the bridge collapses while you're on it, don't say we didn't warn you."

Sandra McLeod Humphrey said...

I love hiking through the woods with our dogs where there's a little stream they can splash around in. Just watching them cool off cools me off!

Maria said...

it is a beautiful day for a hike...hope you took the pooch. how are you mzzz. P. hope your summer is going magnifique!!!!

Petrea Burchard said...

Sandra, there's just something about a happy dog that rubs off on a person.

Hangin' in there, Maria. Nice to hear from you!

Susan Campisi said...

Now that Hiker has schooled me on the value of wood chips, I see they're being wasted on orange cones.

Those are wood chips, aren't they?

Perfect weather for a hike. Hope you make it out again soon, P.

Anonymous said...

Love your lower perspective here and how the cones lead your eye into the scene...

Petrea Burchard said...

Susan, I think it's just leaves and twigs and trail debris. There could be wood chips in it.

Dive keeps telling me we should all be down by the dam collecting silt for our yards.

Thank you, Madge. I like to get down for a ground level perspective every once in a while.

Ms M said...

Love the "Petrea perspective" with this photo. It looks like a lovely day for a hike! Interesting that the orange cones are nailed down. Maybe to prevent vandalism as well as provide a warning?

Speedway said...

"Aw-right ya blighters, stand yer ground now an' don' let th' foot-sloggers through!"

"Aye-aye, Cap'n! We'll stand forever, like awr feets stuck fast to th' deck!"

WV= perce. I dunno, it just looked like it oughta be something, like a handbag belonging to someone with a lot of body piercings.

Trish said...

P---some things bother me, like these cones if they weren't lined up just so and nailed down! But sometimes I can let it go if it's not my deal.

my sweetie worked for a gal who was wrapped tighter than one of those swirley rainbow lollipops. The staff decided to mess with her and dink each book on the boss's shelf, just a leeeeetle bit. Each picture, just a leeeeetle off level. Just to mess with the boss. The boss spent the day fixing everything and the next month checking things every day. Made the boss cranky, but that was no worse than usual and well, it kept her busy and out of their hair!

Trish said...

and, on the OCD side of things...

guessing there are at least 50 cones on that bridge, unless there's a LOT more behind you that we can't see.

A quick check of a supplier online suggests that's around $1500 worth of cones on that bridge. Might it not have been cheaper to get a couple of pieces of wood and construct a more permanent barrier for oh, say $1300 less? Same amount of nails required! Heck, take another $10 from petty cash to paint the wood day-glow orange! ;-)

Julie said...

I had more confidence in your countrymen than warranted! Here in Oz we, too, would need cones nailed down. However, some of my countrymen would simply regard that as more of a direct, personal challenge!!

Lovely perspective to this shot, Petrea.

Petrea Burchard said...

I guess people are the same the world over, Julie! That's funny.

Trish, OCD is a curse, but it's treatable, right? No need to go inflicting it on our co-workers. Though it came in handy when the co-workers can inflict it back.

I once lived across from a woman who had an elaborate ritual just for leaving her apartment. I'm sure she thought no one saw her do it. I felt sorry for her, but I recognized she was experiencing obsessive compulsive disorder. She had no power over it.