January is a month that has always struck me as one that is so full of hope, despite the circumstances. January is so cold and dark, and yet it is when we create a fresh start for ourselves every year. We carve out time to work on our ambitions and dreams.
My intention for 2021 was (relatively) simple: 52 hikes. One for each week, although some weeks may have more and others may have none. I want to spend more time outdoors, soaking in the sunshine and the fresh air, moving my body. It’s where I feel the most free.
On a warm Saturday morning, my love and I set out with two of our friends to one of our local state parks: Henry Cowell. It was gorgeous, the way the morning light streamed through the trees and the birds sang overhead. The cold hit us instantly as we walked on the dirt path, so we got moving to keep warm.
We spent most of the hike talking about what we hoped for after the vaccine: we want to go camping, and visit Disneyland, the East Coast, and Europe. We were all so grateful for the chance to get outdoors and it made us look forward to the many adventures to come.
For those of you who are interested, this was called the Eagle Creek trail, and it ran along the creek, where we spied a variety of banana slugs, mushrooms, and even some small waterfalls, before we ascended further into the woods. It was a moderate, 3.8 mile hike that is perfect for a weekend morning.
I can’t wait for all of the adventures this year has in store, and I hope that we can all move forward from the nightmare that Covid has been, so that we can be with friends and family and go on many adventures this year.
Hike 2/52 complete.
caryn hewlett 
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