Mount Baldy to Mount San Antonio, May 16, 2021

Within the first mile of this adventure a young woman was hiking along ahead of me on a climb, and when she heard me crunch-crunching up the trail she looked back, beckoned me to follow, and started running. She pushed my pace for about a quarter of a mile and then, just as quickly, veered off without a word.

I thanked her, and she smiled and waved me onward and upward, which I was happy to follow through on as you can see in the video.

Ruperto Romero himself and company, super cool folks on all fronts, and meeting a legend started the adventure in a great place..