We March From Here to There...

Jason was under the impression that he had a four-day weekend (Saturday through Tuesday) to celebrate Memorial Day but was then informed it was only a three-day holiday. Imagine our surprise when I went to drop him off at work early this morning...and we realized there weren't any cars in the normally crowded parking lot! Jason had the extra day off after all so we decided to take Lucy hiking in the Ojai Valley. It was about a 40 minute drive to find the trail but we were in the lower rolling part of the mountains which was gorgeous. It was fun to leave behind the cloudy marine layer at Point Mugu and spend the afternoon in the sun!

We hiked on the Sistar Creek Trail, which stays on a fireroad that mostly follows the Sistar Creek. A good half of the trail is covered by shady trees and you can hear the water gurgling along. The trail crosses the creek twice (at very shallow places) and it was fun to hop on the rocks to get across.

After the trail leaves the creek, it starts climbing up a mountain. The lookout point gave an incredible view of the upper Ojai Valley as well as a striking mountain view from behind. Although this part of the trail leaves the shade behind, there was a steady breeze the whole time that was very refreshing.

Lucy had a blast. We kept her on the leash for the first half of the hike but since we only met one other person, we let her off so she could explore on her own. On the way back down the mountain, at the point where the trail meets the creek again, there is a small pool. Lucy jumped right in the water and very happily cooled off.

The whole way up was uphill and I kept looking forward to the downhill return trip...ha! I think downhill felt even worse! And Lucy was just as tuckered out as us; she slept in the car the whole way home.