Finally, some shade on top

I live in Eaton Canyon in Pasadena, so Henninger Flats is right in my backyard -- and I mean that literally.

Taking a brisk walk up a steep 2.7 miles is a great way to start the day: The phones haven’t started ringing, and it’s a way for my wife, Ann, and I to spend some time together before we delve into our jobs. It takes about 1 1/2 to two hours for the round-trip hike.

Every morning about 5:30 a.m., we take off with our dogs: Parker, a Chesapeake Bay retriever, and a lurcher named Sage.

Although the trail can be dusty and exposed in the summer, there’s a shady forest-tree nursery on top. It follows the Mt. Wilson Toll Road on a maintained fire road about a single car-length wide that rangers use to drive up to the flats. Starting at the gate, the trail plunges downhill for about 15 minutes to the Mt. Wilson Toll Bridge.

You get a variety of commanding vistas from the 2,600-foot summit: Altadena, Pasadena, downtown L.A., Catalina Island and the ocean.

At the top, there are campgrounds, a ranger station/visitor center and an old fire lookout tower.

The particulars

Where: Henninger Flats in the front range of the San Gabriel Mountains above Pasadena.

What: 5.4-mile round-trip hike with 1,300 feet of gain along a wide fire road.

How: Take the 210 Freeway, and exit on Lake Avenue in Pasadena. Go north to Altadena Drive and make a left on Crescent Drive and a right onto Pinecrest Drive. Follow Pinecrest to the gated trailhead. Check the signs for parking restrictions. The gate opens at sunrise and closes one hour after sunset.

Back story: John Muir was impressed with the experimental nursery when he visited in the early 1900s.