周日(12/11)醒来，窗外阴阴的，走到楼下院子，地面是湿的，昨晚下过雨了。吃过早饭，天空依然不见太阳。想着家里的小鸟过一个星期该归巢了，想着这样的天气、自由或许也是马上就要暂告一段落了，想着昨日在阴天里爬过的八mile老路，尚觉得不过瘾，遂央求家里领导一起去探条新路。LD犹豫着，答应着，查了查地图，确定了一处离家23分钟车程的峡谷。十点多一点，我们上了路。
开着开着，半个小时了，还没到，才发现可能错过了前面的一个路口。车子走进了弯弯曲曲的山路，两边树木遮蔽，稀稀落落有些房子和住家，不远处是高耸的山峦。只四十分钟的车程，我们仿佛来到了一个截然不同的世界，一个远离了城市喧嚣的安静之处。车子到了一个dead end, 居然是个国家森林公园的入口处，我们事先也没有买parking pass，也不知哪里有卖, 只好停到远处，误打误撞地走了进去。
近十一点了，偌大的山谷空旷无比，没有行人，偶尔偶尔有几辆自行车从后面骑过，一声"good morning"后马上又消失的无影无踪。这儿冬天的谷底，更像秋天，橡树松树依然苍翠，梧桐树叶则早已泛黄凋零。四周静悄悄的，只有我们的脚步声孤孤单单地在山谷回荡。似乎连鸟叫声也没有，更没有见到任何其他动物，脑海里此时冒出那两句诗是，“千山鸟飞绝，万径人踪灭”。 走在两边高耸的伟岸群山和峭壁下， 人很渺小。我们没有地图，手机也没有信号，一路没有任何路标。望着这似乎永无尽头的路，我心里打着鼓，不知这样的路有多长，它将带我们走向何方？(万一碰上门口告示警告的山狮怎么办呀？)
LD开始发话了，“我们走一小时，如果还是这样的路，就往回走”。一小时到了，还是这样的路，LD又说他不甘心就这样折回，只好又硬着头皮跟着他往前。这时，迎面终于走来一位女士，一副装备齐全的样子，我们连忙打听情况，她拿出她的表之类的东西，说我们大概走了2mile(我自己觉得不止), 前面还有1mile这样的paved road，然后就是上山的土路, 一共是来回十四多mile的trail。我们高高兴兴地聊了聊，谢了人家，继续上路。太阳已经高高晒着，我汗流浃背，脚步也越来越沉重，坡也好像越来越陡。虽然信息有了，可走着走着，还是这样一望无际的路，又开始摇摆不定了。问LD，万一那个人说的不对呢？LD还是不甘心，说，这样吧，再十分钟。就这样过了两个这样的“再十分钟”,终于走到柏油路的尽头，走出了山谷，看到土路蜿蜒，向上盘旋。我俩站在高处，望着蓝天，和不远处雾气蒸腾的山峦，拍了几张照片，这才准备打道回府。在三个多小时的行程中，只碰到另外三个徒步登山者和七位自行车骑士。
走在下山的途中，只觉脚步轻盈。山谷的风习习吹来，凉爽清新。一路在想，其实人生何尝不像今天的旅行。走在低谷时，看不到尽头，看不到希望，沮丧，孤独。而一路上，即便有人相助，这种帮助也是短暂的，如果你自己没有信心，放弃了，一样走不出人生的低谷。但一旦你能坚持下来，峰回路转，人生的转折就在眼前。
Woke up to a rare gloomy morning on Sunday, I asked my husband if he would like another hike, in addition to the Saturday’s eight- mile one. He was hesitant, and I was not sure either. After the breakfast and his research, we were in the car, heading to a new trail that is supposed to be 23 minutes drive away. However we found ourselves missed the entrance after about 30 minutes drive. We did not want to turn back, as the deeper we drove, the more appealing it was. Within such a short distance, there is another world, so quiet and rustic that it contrasts strikingly from the hustle and bustle of the city we come from. At the end of the road is a gateway to a National Forest. Unplanned, but without much thought, we got in, thinking it will be just another trail we have been hiking every week.
The trail starts from the bottom of the valley and leads upward to the depth of the mountains. It is paved with alsphat. Old big oak trees, still in their dark green color, stand tall among the bushes and among the yellow brown sycamore trees leaves. The sun came out, shedding the light on the misty mountains and the serene valley. The air was crispy fresh, and there was no other sound except the echoing of own footsteps. We were the only two hikers on the trail. Once in the first hour, three young girls biked by and greeted us "Good morning", and then quickly disappeared out of sight. Walking mostly on the paved trail, and occasionally on the leafy road under the canopy of trees, we did not have much pleasant surprise as we expected. Unlike any other trails we have been to, where we are familar with almost every twist and turn, or where we always run into people, this one was so empty. "Why aren't there other hikers? How deep the valley is? Will there be mountain lions as warned at the entrance? " With no map, no cell phone signal, no road sign at all, what is ahead of us and where are we going? I couldn't stop worrying.
“Let’s hike for about an hour, and we will turn back”, said my husband.
The road ahead seemed endless, and with the towering mountains by the sides, we were like two ants inching upwards. Every turn looked the same to me. We did not see any animals, hardly any birds either. It was boring. The eerie quietness gave rise to loneliness, and I felt depressed somehow. I did not know if this kind of road would go on forever. I asked my husband if we should stop here. He was obviously not content, and persuaded me to hang on another ten minutes. One hour passed. Finally, we were relieved to see a lady coming downhill towards us. We stopped her for some information. She told us that we had hiked about 2 miles from the entrance, and there was another one mile paved trail ahead and then it should be connected by a dirt road leading to the mountain top. We thanked her gratefully and then continued our way.
I was sweating and my legs were feeling heavy. There's not much scenery at the valley, different from the view we would normally have at the ridges. The lengthy road finally came to an end when we stepped over the divided line between the end of bottom valley and beginning of the mountain top. The view changed, from barren mountains a few hundred yards away to the nearby misty moist side where Torrey pine trees abound. Our mood lightened with the elevation, as we were overlooking at the valley down beneath us. There would be another four more miles to the very top. Not prepared, we decided to turn back.
We walked briskly downhill. The route was no longer daunting, as we knew clearly this time where it would be taking us. This mini-adventure, like any unknown journey in our life, caught us off guard and tested us profoundly.
