Remember back last summer when I wrote about how I went hiking into Chino Hills for exercise and personal fullfillment? I had used my trips as escape from the world, as time alone to enjoy my thoughts and savor the edge of innovation that comes with no human contact. I was out and about on my bike today with a friend and I decided to take him up into the hills as a little show-off thing of my knowledge of their geography. Plus, I'd be able to reminisce, as memories are often more tied to sights and sounds and smells than they are to our consciousness. Sounds like a good idea, right?

Wrong.

Due to some certain rainstorms California has been experiencing, Chino Hills has decided to grow it's own equivalent of hair. At the terminal end of our journey, my friend and I were literally wading through the brush and bushes and I touched so many plants I wouldnt be surprised if I wake up tommorow black and blue from poison oak/ivy. I guess this acts as a forewarning: dont hike in California after the rainy season. It's not the mud, it's the insanely dense foliage that'll kill you.

On the plus side, during the few moments when we got out of the meadows and were able to look out over the hills, it was absolutely beautiful. Reminded me of the song "Fields of Gold" by The Police, only without the girl and the sexiness.