Full Moon Iron Mountain

Nothing like a little alone time and night hiking to refresh the soul. After my last post, I realized I simply needed to be by myself. Duh. I'm surprised I didn't come to that conclusion sooner.

This month's full moon is called the Cold Moon. Native Americans gave it this name because December is the month when the cold fastens its grip and the nights become dark and long. The weather was anything but cold though. It was a balmy 72 degrees when I started hiking. There was quite a thick cloud cover as well and I was worried the moon wouldn't be able to peak through the density.

I passed 30 people, most of them were coming down and only 7 were going up. I turned to look behind me periodically to gaze out over Poway, the pink haze of sunset brushing the tops of the twinkling city lights.

Pico adamantly pulled me up the mountain, never wanting to stop and take a break. He was a maniac.

I could see the glow of the moon behind the clouds but it was so very fuzzy. My thoughts and irritations dripped like raindrops and my mind cleared. I inhaled the sweet scent of sage and relished in the cool night air. Peace.

We were all by ourselves, almost to the top, when a helicopter started circling, sweeping the mountain with its swinging probe light. I froze, staring up at it with my mouth agape. Just like in the movies when people stand stuck to the spot, staring at whatever is going to attack them, instead of running. I figured I had nowhere to take cover and nowhere to run. Besides, why would I run? They might think I was an illegal and start shooting at me. So I just stared up at them and hoped that I looked like an obvious hiker and not whatever criminal they were looking for. The helicopter made two more passes and then was gone and I continued on my way.

We made it to the top and sat to rest for a few minutes. I gave Pico his salmon bisquits and water and I had a banana and Lara bar. He did not want to sit long or view the scenery and was fairly impatient with my lolligagging. He pulled me all the way back down, anxious to get back to the car and his warm blankie I suppose.

On the way down, there was a couple of dudes a few switchbacks below me. The guy was going into graphic detail about how he plugged up the toilet, the overflowing mess, and the general crustiness of the entire situation. Blech. Just know that your voice echoes out there and people can hear you even if you can't see anyone!

The moon did not make a full, non-fuzzy appearance until I was almost off the mountain. It took awhile to get up above that cloud bank. As is my custom, I waved and said "Goodbye till next time, Moon."

I didn't get many pictures because it got dark pretty much immediately.