Usagi Yojimbo DojoBoard

Stan Sakai wrote:
December 9, 2014 - added 6 new photos

Long time FB friends may remember that I used to do a lot of hiking. I was on hiatus for about 15 months to care for Sharon, but I've started up again. I thought I would do only a couple of miles the first time back, but I did 3 miles with a 1,000 foot elevation change

Stan Sakai wrote: December 11, 2014 - added 2 new photos

Last hiking pictures of the week. We are expecting rain tonight. It was a beautiful sunrise.

Stan Sakai wrote: December 19, 2014 - added 2 new photos

I did not go hiking the last couple of days because of the weather, but did today. It was cold. Sunrise was beautiful, though.




The Christmas tree is still decorated on the cliffside of the trail.

Stan Sakai wrote: December 22, 2014 - added 2 new photos

Bear sighting today, but not by me. I did hear him, though. I usually bypass the First Water cutoff at the 1.5 mile point and continue on for another mile. When I was passing it coming back down I heard what I thought was a bear's growl and looked around. I continued down and was soon passed by a couple of guys going down really fast. They said, yes, there was a bear and they saw it.

Nice sunrise.





Eaton Canyon in Pasadena has a waterfall. It is a 3.5 mile round trip on relatively level ground.

It is not a waterfall, but the Mount Wilson Trail in Sierra Madre, where I hike, has a nice creek at the 1.5 mile point. That is where people saw the bear yesterday. It is a thousand foot elevation change to that point, so is a pretty good workout.

Stan Sakai wrote: December 24, 2014 - added 4 new photos

Did a short hike today, just up to First Water at the 1.5 mile point. There is a beautiful Live Oak tree with half its roots exposed.







A selfie with my new buddy. I don't think this relationship will last, though. I saw him after my hike at the main intersection in Sierra Madre.

Stan Sakai wrote: December 29, 2014 - added 4 new photos

No bears, but saw a bunch of mule deer on my hike this morning.

Stan Sakai wrote: January 5 at 12:13pm - added 2 new photos

My first hike of the new year.


Not a sunrise, but a moon set. It lit up the trail quite nicely.

THIS is the sunrise.


That is a dead yucca stalk in the right foreground. The plants send up a stalk, flower once and then dies. This particular one blossomed more than two years ago.

Stan Sakai wrote: January 8 at 4:28pm - added 3 new photos

Lots of cloud cover this morning. It was a good time for a hike.

Stan Sakai wrote: January 9 at 11:51am - added 8 new photos

I love early morning cloud covered hikes.

Stan Sakai wrote: January 12 at 2:55pm - added 4 new photos

The sky was not quite as dramatic as last week, but nice nevertheless. I took the stream cutoff because I wanted to see if the rains yesterday had increased its flow. Not really.

Stan Sakai wrote: January 13 at 8:45pm - added 3 new photos

The trail was really foggy this morning so I was glad I had my head lamp. Sometimes I like walking in the fog. You can see the beam of light as it reflects off the moisture in the air. All you can see of the trail is the small circle a few feet in front of you. Your breath comes out as steam and and quickly mixes with the fog. Really neat. I was above the clouds by the half mile point though. That is an elevation of a little more than 500 feet from where I started.


A late sunrise at about the two mile point.




Well above the fog here.

Stan Sakai wrote: January 20 at 2:43pm - added 6 new photos

I saw a great sunrise on my hike this morning. There was just enough clouds to give it color, but not so much as to cover the sun. Here is a sequence.

Stan Sakai wrote: January 27 at 1:17pm - added 2 new photos

Lots of clouds on the hike this morning.