Hiking up to Mt. Gleason

The other weekend I had my first real hike of the year, up to Mt. Gleason. It was kind of a practice run, to get my lungs in shape for hopefully tackling Mt. Baldy later in the summer. Starting at 5000 ft. was not easy. I only went about 6 or 7 miles round trip, but right after I turned around to head back, I could feel the tips of my fingers tingling and my heart beating a mile a minute in my chest due to the low oxygen in the air.



It was a beautiful day, though, and the trail was nice and rolling. There was some kind of event where runners were actually running to the top of the mountain and back. I was doing good to just walk.



The shot above is looking down into the Mojave Desert and Antelope Valley, not far from Edwards Air Force Base.



I need to get back out there as much as possible, hiking in the San Gabriels is such a nice break from the city, and it's no more than an hour's drive away. The next shot is looking up towards Mt. Gleason.