For our anniversary weekend Nicole and I decided to go see what the mountains surrounding Los Angeles had to offer. We decided to hike Gaviota Peak which is about one and a half hours from Los Angeles or 20 minutes from Santa Barbara in the Santa Ynez Mountains. It stands at 2,458 feet above sea level which is nothing if you're from Colorado because when you roll out of bed in the morning in Denver you're already at 5,280 feet. It was an easier hike than some I've done in Colorado mostly because of the abundance of oxygen even at the top but it was still a challenging enough hike to make me really sore.
We brought the dog who seemed to have a good time and was just as tired as we where when we reached the top. On the way down we decided to see how he'd do without one of us holding his leash and for a while he trotted right behind me but then I guess the ground became too hot for his feet so he'd run ahead to the next patch of shade and wait for us to catch up.
We would see a group of hikers every 30 minutes or so and only a few of them had dogs. Even though it was Labor Day I would guess there wasn't more than 20 people on the whole mountain.
We reached the summit in about an hour and a half and were surprised to find we were all alone up there. We ate our lunch while taking in the spectacular ocean views in perfect sunny 75 degree weather and in total peace and quiet. It was an amazing experience. I'll post a picture once I get them off the camera.