Hike the Verdugos

My favorite part of hiking is "sun on pine." It's my favorite smell in the world.

The picture here is from May 2013 when we hiked the Verdugos as part of an organized event. Since then, we've taken many out-of-town guests and Glendale residents up there.  It's never a disappointment.

We most recently hiked with Walk Bike Glendale and Glendale Parks and Open Space Foundation We met at the Doctor's House and as the sun peeked over the mountains, it hit the plants and the most amazing aroma hit my nose.  It was like a $40 aromatherapy treatment at a spa.  Except it was completely outdoors and completely free.

As you can see from the color-coded elevation profile, it's pretty steady as far as the grade.  The official event page describes it as a 10% grade, and the data from my Garmin watch says that the grade ranges from 7% to 13% so that's a good description.

Here's a photo of all the families that gathered for the hike last weekend.

Here's a view looking down from the top.
You can see the trail we came up snaking downward (in the left of the photo).

Here are the happy hikers at the summit (about 2600').

I love hiking at different times of the year, and different times of the day.  The hike goes up high enough in elevation that you see the flora and fauna changing as you gain in elevation.  I hope our next collaborative event will be Deukmejian Wilderness Park.  Maybe it's because the name contains the word "Wild" but I've been afraid to go up there until now.  Having met the board members of Glendale Parks and Open Space Foundation, I know I have friends to show me the way.