Blazin' Trails

I've been eyeing this hiking group on Meetup for months (ok, years), but I was too chicken to go out and try it. I was worried about (a) not keeping up, (b) not making friends, and (c) not being able to take pictures (because let's face it, taking pictures is still my biggest motivation to get up in elevation).

Today, I decided to be brave and go meet some new people. (Full disclosure, I asked a friend to go with me first, but she was out of town.) I joined The Weekday Trailblazers on a 6-mile hike through the Santa Monica Mountains. 

I loved hearing the stories from my fellow hikers. We talked about work, cocktail recipes, the dating scene, donkeys and snakes (the actual animals). I can't wait to get out and join them again!

Oh, and there was a killer view of Boney Mountain. 

Whoops!

Kanter Fire Road/Whoop-De-Doos, Pacific Palisades

I've had this hike bookmarked in my phone for over a year! It was a relatively short hike, but the views were spectacular! 

Downtown LA - Pacific Ocean - Santa Monica Mountains. 

There were a bunch of towers and this cool triangulation station box.

And at one point, I was even swarmed by a bunch of dogs! Pretty sure that's what heaven is going to feel like!

My favorite part: the benches at the top. I love finding benches on hikes. Something special about someone deciding they liked the view so much that they wanted to sit down and soak it in...