Start a summer hike at the first sign of dawn’s early light. Don’t wait until sunrise!

Don’t get waylaid or distracted by the attractions, lights, restaurants and air conditioning when you stroll through bustling downtown Redding, CA, at 6 a.m.

Head directly for the Sundial Bridge and take advantage of the noticeably lower temperatures on trails along the Sacramento River.

Walk quickly (a little faster than three miles, or five kilometers, per hour) but don’t be in a hurry. Remember Aesop’s The Tortoise and the Hare fable? Stop and meditate with the turtles in the Turtle Bay Exploration Park for a minute.

Hesitate occasionally to admire the beauty of the river, and the river bridges, while walking upstream at dawn on the Sacramento River Trail.

Practice walking meditation and be so calm that you don’t frighten the deer crossing the Sacramento River Trail.

Imagine that you’ve stopped for fifteen minutes to have an ice cold drink on a shady bench without actually stopping for fifteen minutes to have an ice cold drink on a shady bench.

Don’t fuel your inner temperature by worrying about the fire-scarred landscape (from the Carr Fire in 2018) when you cross the Stress Ribbon Bridge. Instead tell yourself that nature will ultimately rebound. Chill!

Look mostly at the river, not the scorched landscape, when you head downstream on the Sacramento River Trail. You’ll feel cooler.

When it gets seriously hot, call it a day and take a siesta on one of the benches not destroyed by the devastating Carr Fire in 2018.