Barbara and I returned to Mt. Washington for a new perspective on our Week 110 Elyria Canyon hike from last December. We needed to get back into nature, and this short hike on a busy day checks off another entry on our list of Charles Fleming’s L.A. Times hikes, this one posted on January 24, 2015. We began at the northern entrance at the end of Wollam St. and hiked a circular trail with a pretty view of distant Burbank and Glendale at the top. It was bittersweet to hike chaparral-covered hills after so many places in the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy have burned or are still burning. We’re thankful for the healthy, green plants and trees, but the dried brush and leaves are stark evidence of how dependent water-starved SoCal is on rain. Elyria Canyon is tucked between Cypress Park and Mt. Washington between DTLA and Pasadena. Though we were smack dab in the middle of the city, it was peaceful and quiet in the hills, only a runner and a bulldog with his master for company. So good to get outside on this mild, blue-sky-dappled-with-clouds morning, a Zen dose of gratitude for the trails, flora, and fauna untouched by disaster. Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the fires.