Joy and Disappointment

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY EIGHT

After such a great hike on Saturday, today's hike was anti-climactic, VERY anticlimactic. Since it was a full moon, I waited until the end of the Laker game to go out on my hike. I was hoping to get some good pictures of the moon rising over the horizon. That didn't happen. It's not the first time the moon has disappointed me.

With the Laker game going into overtime I had to literally run to try and get into position to get some moonshots. I crossed over the storm channel and headed up to the hills.

I thought if I climbed up this little hill I might get a good view of the moon coming up. Wrong!

I started running up the hill, looking to the East, trying to beat the moon's arrival. I thought for a moment the moon was coming up but soon discovered the light came from cars driving on I-10 in the distance.

I got to the top of the hill and waiting...and waited....and waited. No moon. As has happened to me before, on other hikes, is that the moonrise is blocked by the mountains. To make it worse, the sky was cloudy and the clouds also shrouded the moon.

After waiting for a moon that never came, Kahlua and I set out on the trail for a little night hike. While I had hoped for some moonlight to guide our way, our eyes were well enough adjusted to see even without it.

Someone had some fun over in this area building all kinds of little rock formations like this little heart. How fun to be young and in love. I don't have time for that stuff now.

Kahlua loves chasing critters and she almost managed to capture something but it ducked under this creosote bush.

Much like the rest of life, hiking is filled with joy and disappointment. It is always a pleasure to go out and discover new places or to take comfort in familiar terrain. But things don't often work out as planned and you have to adapt and just keep moving. It's a lesson I apply to my life daily, whether hiking or not.