Today’s hike, a longer one, about two hours round trip: Parker Mesa Overlook.
http://www.hikespeak.com/trails/parker-mesa-overlook-in-the-santa-monica-mountains/
Same area as the Los Liones hike we did a few weeks ago, starting near the western end of Sunset Blvd near Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), climbing into the hills, ending at yet another spectacular mountain-top vista, with views to Saddle Peak (the hike two weeks ago) to the northwest, Malibu to the southwest, Santa Monica Bay directly south, and the towers of Century City and downtown LA to the southeast.
Two unusual events were part of this hike. At the top, on the mesa, was a group of 20 or so people apparently engaged in some sort of transcendental meditation ritual, seated on the ground in yoga poses. When they finished they got up and were all speaking Italian. Tourists, I’d guess.
On the way down we witnessed what must have been the beginning moments of a brush fire, at the bottom of the canyon to the east, along Palisades Drive — an area we drove through for our Skull Rock hike back in March. We could see flames, and the start of a column of smoke. As we continued the hike back down, we heard the sirens of fire trucks and police cars. Latest report is that the fire is under control, contained to about 5 acres, and no structures were damaged. (It is warm today in SoCal, but there was no wind, or it could have been much worse.)
