“Lovely Day” by Bill Withers played on my handheld speaker, setting the tone for the hike to come. With me was Khaled, our photographer, and Desmond, a friend from math class. The three of us had taken a short car ride to the El Scorpion Canyon Park Trailhead. The time was 10 a.m., the temperature a warm 65 degrees and we started our trek towards the Cave of Munits.
Two friends walk along a flower-lined path in El Scorpion Park. The abundance of bright yellow flowers certainly makes it feel like spring has sprung. Photographed by Khaled Al Duwaikat/BruinLife.
As we walked, tall grass and flower fields soon consumed us. Vibrant, yellow flowers dotted the hillsides and beset our narrowing path. You know those perfume commercials, where a woman slowly walks through a field of flowers as ethereal music plays in the background? It reminded me of that.
“White shoes?”
“They’re gonna be my beaters,”
“Gotcha.”
We walked in single file as the trail began to erode in some areas, all of us periodically singing along to the music. Desmond was into photography, so occasionally he and Khaled would partake in camera jargon that was unintelligible to me.
On the side of the path we saw a structure that looked like an old wagon. It was covered in graffiti and quite a bit off the path. Our curiosity got the better of us and we waded through the tall grass to check it out. As we got closer, it became more apparent that someone may have lived here, so we quickly returned to the trail before the resident of the wagon train returned.
“What’s that say?”
“Where?”
“On that log.” He pointed to a fallen tree covered in spray paint.
“Uhh ‘Baby Dawg’.”
“Ah, yes.”
Reaching the bottom of the hill, we looked up at the mountain and squinted as we searched for the cave entrance. Figuring it would reveal itself higher up, we walked up the steep hill kicking up loose dirt as we went. At the top, we were greeted with a view of the rolling, yellow hills and a rope dangling from the entrance of the cave.
“Hold this.”
“You want me to toss the camera up to you?”
“Hmm.”
“I’ll put it in my backpack.”
Riley and Desmond continue their ascent of the mountain. Photographed by Khaled Al Duwaikat/BruinLife.
Two hikers pause at the entrance of Cave Munits and take in the gorgeous view. Photographed by Khaled Al Duwaikat/BruinLife.
Following the rope, we made our way into the cave. Inside, it was dark, though not too dark, and rocks along the ground made it difficult to move through. The cave had a high ceiling with several gaps allowing natural light to flood in. In the back of the space was a pathway to a higher level of the cave. This path led to a beautiful view of the hills and greenery below, framed perfectly by the tall, arching rocks.
“Woah.”
“Yeah.”
We sat there for a while, taking in the view. The clouds were giant and fluffy, and huge crows flew by us above the hilltops. Eventually, we decided to climb higher still.
We continued climbing up the rocks, which were slightly covered, but too exposed to be called a cave system. Passing a beehive, we reached a spot overlooking the trail we had taken. Again we rested there, breathing in the clean air and looking outwards towards the horizon.
“I like this bird.”
“Yeah, he’s following us.”
“I wanna get up there.”
“Hell no.”
“C’mon, that’s doable.”
“ … Fine.”
With mixed levels of motivation and excitement, we attempted to climb to the top of the mountain, which was a great deal higher than the top of the cave. The terrain was steep, loose and rocky. This wasn’t such a problem going up, though it proved to be more of a challenge on the way down. We rested once to catch our breath.
“Almost there.”
“We could start a campfire with this brush.”
“We could.”
“We’re not starting a wildfire.”
“I’m just saying we could.”
“Well yeah, it’s pretty dry here.”
After conquering the mountain, two friends enjoy the lush, rolling hills. Photographed by Khaled Al Duwaikat/BruinLife.
After conquering the mountain, two friends enjoy a seat at the top. Photographed by Khaled Al Duwaikat/BruinLife.
With one last push, we made it to the top of the mountain. Hands on hips, we balanced on the rocky peak and looked down. It was quite the way down, but for now, we enjoyed the scene before us. Trees made to look tiny, yellow hills, fluffy clouds and a distant city skyline.
“Boys, pose for the camera.”
“What should I do?”
“Pretend to look through a telescope, I’m gonna point to the distance.”
“Modern-day Lewis and Clark right here.”
Before heading down, we stopped to look at a beetle crawling over the rocks. It felt rather relatable. Going down was tough with the loose ground, and we found ourselves slipping quite a bit. By the time we got back to the top of the rocks, our clothes were covered in dirt and we had even acquired some cuts on our hands.
“Is this the way we came?”
“ … ”
For a second, the rocks were unfamiliar, but we found our way down. The rope greeted us once again and we made our way out of the cave.
“That was pretty dope.”
“Yeah, that was sick.”
“Popeye’s is gonna hit.”
