Silverado Canyon
Today I went hiking with a friend from college whom I had not seen in two years. We went to Silverado Canyon, about a 30-45 minute drive from my place. Once we got to the sleepy town of about 3000 people, we could have been in any sleepy, small town in America: it consisted only of a market, a library, and a bar. We didn’t feel like we were in Orange County at all.
We headed into the canyon on the Silverado Motorway trail. The elevation change on this trail is about 2000 feet in 3.5 miles. Very aggressive! We did not talk a whole lot on the ascent, other than to request a break to catch our breath and share the gallon water jug in my pack.
Once we got to the top 2 hours later, we sat down over some orange wedges and started to talk. The next 90 minutes that we spent up at the top and on the descent was open dialogue and very inspirational.
We talked about the choices we made over the past 5 years and how they brought us to where we are today. We evaluated the choices together and identified ways we could improve them.
By the time we got to the bottom, both of us had increased our level of self-understanding, inspiration, and motivation. The hike itself had much to do with the open nature of the conversation. We felt unburdened by the pressures of society being lost in the open skies of the mountains. The valuable experience left us wanting more.
