The Mountain Hike

One day, not too long ago, my family and I went on a four-mile hike. We started our day by driving to the San Jacinto mountains. We found a ranger station where we got trail guides and maps. We studied the guides and chose the trail we would hike. We packed our backpacks with food for lunch and proceeded to the Scenic Trail.

We started down the path admiring the beauty of the scenery and deeply breathing the clean mountain air.

In time we stopped talking and became more conscious of the beautiful yellow and purple flowers, the busily buzzing bees and the occasional chipmunk or ground squirrel. I blocked out all noises except the sounds of nature.

After passing a small creek we came to the end of the trail. We were very hungry and started up the side of the mountain to find a place to eat. Spotting a giant rock, we climbed onto it and ate our lunch.

When we had finished eating and were rested we repacked our knapsacks and started back up the mountain toward the trailhead.

The creek was farther up the hill than it had seemed coming down the trail. When we finally did get to it, I took off my hat and dipped my head in the cool water. I cupped my hands and drank from them. It was clear and simply refreshing.

When we got back to the car my feet hurt, my legs ached, and I was tired of the blistering heat, but despite all that, I felt I had finally had my day of getting away from the city smog, rush, and traffic.