My dear friend Marne and I had a great time this past Saturday out in the mountain area of San Diego. She was feeling the itch to get away from the city for a bit, and I having spent the last 4 1/2 years where there are no mountains, I was up for it too. We started out with a great hike along the Pacific Crest Trail up near Mt Laguna. The views down to the desert from 6,000 feet are captivating.

Afterwards, we were considering another hike, but I was starting to get a couple blisters. I had been wanting to go back out to Valley of the Moon for years since my first visit, and we were close enough, so we went out. The road in to the Valley is a bit sketchy (sketchy = fun if you have an X-Terra and like to let it loose), at one point Steve McQueen, my X-Terra, was up on three wheels about to do a frontwards wheelie coming down the hill into the Valley.

We found an excellent group of boulders to scramble up, and hung out in the sun, soaking it in for a while. It was great to be outdoors, and one with the elements. On the way back Marne used her camera to catch a video clip of the road conditions, as well as me singing along with some Pearl Jam (can you tell who’s voice is whose?).

And here are a few pictures:

And we finished the Epic day with an Epic beer!