Discuss The Good Earth and hike up Chumash Trail (Simi) for Discussion on top

What did not change (again): Time/Date Jan 17 1pm sharp. We will leave the trailhead by 1:07pm.

What did change: The place. PCH is still closed due to mudslide damage so we will hike the Chumash Trail to Rocky Peak or other nearby nice spot to share snacks and talk about the book. This is an intermediate hike of about 7 miles and about 1200' of gain. Please make sure you can hike at an intermediate level before joining.

The book is still The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. Here is an Amazon.com description:

"Nobel Laureate Pearl S. Buck’s epic Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and Oprah Book Club selection about a vanished China and one family’s shifting fortunes.

Though more than seventy years have passed since this remarkable novel won the Pulitzer Prize, it has retained its popularity and become one of the great modern classics. In The Good Earth Pearl S. Buck paints an indelible portrait of China in the 1920s, when the last emperor reigned and the vast political and social upheavals of the twentieth century were but distant rumblings. This moving, classic story of the honest farmer Wang Lung and his selfless wife O-Lan is must reading for those who would fully appreciate the sweeping changes that have occurred in the lives of the Chinese people during the last century.

Nobel Prize winner Pearl S. Buck traces the whole cycle of life: its terrors, its passions, its ambitions and rewards. Her brilliant novel—beloved by millions of readers—is a universal tale of an ordinary family caught in the tide of history."

The hike: 7 miles, over 1100 feet of gain. This is up a single track trail with significant gain (a great workout) to the Rocky Peak fire road. It's a great hike with a great view of Simi and the San Fernando Valleys near the top.

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Directions to the Trailhead: In Simi Valley, exit on Yosemite Avenue. Drive 0.4 miles north to Flanagan Drive and turn right. Continue 0.8 miles to the trailhead at the end of Flanagan Drive.

Rain, famine, flood, or clouds of locusts will result in rescheduling of time/date/place yet again.

PREPAREDNESS: Bring 1-2 liters/quarts of water (or other suitable liquid) and snacks to share with your fellow lithikers. Please wear appropriate footwear (preferably hiking boots) and be prepared with extra clothing, sunglasses and a headlamp for our return hike. Hiking pole(s) and a camera might come in handy. It will be around the mid 70s at the start of our hike may plummet into the 60s by the time we finish, depending on how long we choose to Wang Lung tonight (sorry) and conditions as the sun sets. Sunset: 1731 PST. Chance of precip as of Tuesday: 0%. Chance of locust plague: 0.314%.

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