A fight with the wind in a golden wonderland.
First off, apologies to my wonderful blog for the long absence. Life gets a bit unpredictable sometimes but I am back.
My first sighting of O'Melveny, a public park in the Santa Susana Mountains, was during my search on how to embark on a journey within the golden mountains. At the time of this hike (Winter), the mountains had turned golden and currently green, in the spring. I love the gold colors, it always leaves me breathless to be close to one.
While standing on a hilltop at Aliso Canyon, I ran into a fellow hiker that pointed to a faraway tree that looked so tiny at a very high mountain top. She said that was the "three trees" at De Campos, and she has been there multiple times. I was in awe, as she was retired and looked in her 70's... I prayed silently to be as active when I make it to her age. I admire older generations that are active and in good health, it gives me hope that our generation can make it there.
Anyway, I decided to look up O'Melveny and discovered via reviews, that getting to the top of O'Melveny is one step away from getting to the trees, and even further to Mission Point and Peak.
I decided this will be my next hike.
What I didn't plan for was a battle against the wind. I was having a rough morning and needed a breather. Sometimes, no matter the preparation done overnight, life just has a way of throwing unexpected turns.
So, despite the weather seeming normal below, the higher I hiked, the windier it got. I didn't want to turn around because I actually liked the battle. It was a bit funny being unsteady due to the force and moving towards it. I am happy to report that I made it to the top of O'Melveny and was a bit disappointed because there was nothing waiting for me up there 🤪
I continued my journey to the three trees, hoping for a better view. It was better, it was windy, it was peaceful, the view was amazing!
Mission peak wasn't so far off from this point. I was tired but managed to make it up there. It was worth every ounce of strength within me. It had three summit markers, the De Campos stand, and a Widow's bench.
I finally was able to relax and had my Sahale at the peak. I made the bet to myself on ground level to do just that, if I made it to the top.
Eventually, it was time to head down, my phone battery was dying on me so that wasn't fun. The fun part was this motivated me to jog downwards. It felt like a never-ending jog, I also managed to fall and sprain my ankle in the process, and hopped my way to the car.
Overall, it was a wonderful and strenuous experience. I have managed to revisit several parts of O'Melveny ever since and will continue to do so, as it is truly a beautiful park with several trails of exploration.