Last week, we went for a hike up Mt Woodson here in San Diego. Don’t bother looking, because it will not be anywhere close to the most mentioned hikes. As luck would have it, it was the hottest day of the long weekend. Hiking up felt awful in the beginning, but it got more comfortable as time went by – mind it, I said “more comfortable”, not “more scenic”. It was rocky and hot all the way through. What really kept us moving was to finish what we started, and knowing that this was no big feat. After finishing the Half Dome in Yosemite, I cannot think of giving up on any other hike.

Anyway, I decided not to let the weather be the ruling factor in my perception of the hike.

After reaching the top we saw how beautiful it could have been. We saw black, burnt down trees – so black and so stark that they almost looked like pieces of art. On an earlier day, much before the fires blackened San Diego, we had hiked up another local mountain called Iron Mountain, and it was such a beautiful and foggy day, that it was a hike to remember. Ironically, the hike up either mountain was not too different, but the differences created by wildfires were striking. Man and his needs have threatened nature in more ways than he realizes. Fortunately enough, the area was silently trying to recuperate from the disaster. Darwin’s concept of “Survival of the fittest” hits us time and again in life.

Another day, it is going to be a beautiful hike…till then, we need to use some filters for our cameras as well as eyes. And like all bad things in life, looking at the situation with a different perspective just makes the wine taste sweet…