The Hike Up Poly Mountain

The Hike Up Poly Mountain

Our journey begins on a foggy and cool Monday morning in late

September. The group of freshman English students wait eagerly at the gate to

Poly Canyon anticipating the adventures to come. Once Professor has taken

roll and explained what is in store for the impending hike, we start walking

up a rocky path. Immediately I feel like I am in nature. I am reminded of all

the camping and hiking trips I went on as a child and I feel at peace. But

something in the sky keeps bothering me, the fog. I was expecting to be able

to stand on top of Poly Mountain and see the entire city of San Luis Obispo. I

brought my camera along hoping to take beautiful pictures of the city and send

them home to my family. But the thick fog above my head reminds me that this

probably will not happen. I try to take the ominous fog off my mind and

continue examining the land.

We walk past the dry creek bed of Brizzolara Creek and it becomes

obvious we have not had a significant amount of rainfall in months. A fellow

hiker points out several deer on the canyon side, the first sign of wildlife.

I can hear birds chirping in the distance but cannot see any because of the

dense fog. I am hit on the nose with a drop of dew falling from a Coast Live

Oak and another drop falling from a Eucalyptus tree. The air is still and the

sun remains hidden behind the fog. We walk farther into the canyon and come

across several manmade structures. A small footbridge over a gentle stream and

a rock arch inviting hikers into the hills are reminders of what man can do to

enhance nature’s beauty. The path gets steeper and narrower and as we climb

higher, the fog gets thicker. I am still hoping the fog will fade away enough

so that I can experience the beautiful views I was expecting.

Our hike up Poly Mountain becomes much more strenuous and we stop

every few minutes to catch our breath. We are no longer hidden underneath