Run DMZ

Sometimes I wonder if we establish New Year's resolutions now because of how hard winter holidays hit. The angst of family gatherings. The aching reminders of those we've loss. The accumulation of gifts in need of a place to go. The scale that doesn't budge (at best) due to the uptick in treats. The end-of-year work assignments weighing on us. The exercise routines uprooted by inclement weather or injury. Even under the best of circumstances, something always feels off right about now.  That's why in 2024, I'm committing to less. Less junk work that dilutes quality. Less negative thoughts. Less mindless scrolling. Less yelling. Less sugar contributing to inflammation. Less carbs that make me crabby. Less caffeine that impacts sleep. Less trips to the store because I'm bored. Less guilt saying "No." Less talking. Less sitting. Less bad TV. Less social media. For me, this has less to do with consumption and more with capacity. I don't want to quant...

Some mornings you wish to put on repeat. Yesterday's was one of them. At the start of fall -- the false fall, where temps dip a day or two and then shoot back up to unbearable -- my friends and I created a master list of hikes we wanted to do when mornings cooled for good. I created a Google Doc and "as an example" filled the first set of tables with a hike at Volcan Mountain near Julian, with breakfast at a downtown diner afterward. Julian , for the uninitiated, is a popular, post-Gold Rush mountain town with a quaintness we city folk crave. Nestled in the Cuyamaca Mountains, one of the area's bigger natural attractions is the Volcan Mountain Wildnerness Reserve . My longtime hiking pals Deborah and Mary and I carpooled to the trailhead in Mary's year-old Honda Passport. There was little traffic along CA 67, 78 and 79 at that hour and we found ourselves pulling on our packs and adjusting our poles at the same time a festively dressed group was embarking on a holi...