Fleming, editor of the LA Times' L.A. Walks section and our favorite hiking expert, posted this walk in the paper last November. The promise of clear skies and warm weather made it an easy choice for Barbara and me today. Located south of Foothill Blvd in Lake View Terrace, Hansen Dam was built in 1939-40 to prevent flooding from the Big Tujunga Wash. The surrounding grounds developed into a major recreational center with picnic areas, fishing ponds, water slides, and a golf course—none of which we visited today. We headed into the wild, leaving the Hansen Dam Ranger Station to follow a circular path through the dried scrub in the basin bed, barely a bird, lizard, or four-legged creature in sight. The humans were running/walking the dam crest line high above us. And although the temp was warm, strong, gusty, and dusty Santa Ana winds painted the sky—and us—in shades of clay. A peaceful hike through flat brush, our only challenge was standing tall against the wind. Came home covered in grit from my hair, eyes, ears, and teeth, to my skin and clothes. The hiker's badge of honor!