All I wanted to do was run, hide, and act like nothing of consequence was about to happen. But then I thought back to my childhood and what my grandpa said to me before my first soccer game, "Just take a deep breath, relax, breathe in, and breathe out, let it come to you."

The cold air wrapped around him, constricting his breath as if a snake had worked its way around his lungs. He struggled to breathe in and let out a painful exhale. The air was so cold that I could see his breath. My grandfather was struggling for air, as if he was adrift in the ocean, desperately trying to get his head above the waterline to breathe. I could see the pain in his eyes, and the concern in my mother's, as something was seriously wrong with my grandfather.

The concern was justified as this was the day a fuse was lit on a ticking time bomb with no way to defuse it. A million different thoughts ran across my mind in the coming months, none of which were correct. As months later, on July 22, 2002, my family's world was turned upside down as my grandfather Donald Dunlap, was diagnosed with a terminal form of mesothelioma cancer.

It starts off slowly at first, a single ornament drops, a day later another, suddenly it sounds like you're living under a buckeye tree in the fall.

Fast forward to Christmas morning, your kids run down the stairs like a stampeding herd, ready to tear into their gifts, when to your horror they let out a bellowing scream. You scurry downstairs to find the Christmas tree is nothing more than a wooden skeleton, devoid of full figure, green needles, and ornaments.

If you're thinking the culprit of this is a lack of watering by the family, you're wrong. The true culprit is Mother Nature, and her lack of watering. And this is a scenario that could play itself out in households all across Northeast Ohio this Christmas season.

The crunching of leaves beneath your feet. The chill of a cool, crisp air. Perfect weather for a hike.

Fall is the best time to get out and experience Summit County's trails. The trails are quiet, the ideal place to get away from the stress of everyday life. And the trails are changing every day.

"The weather, it's a little cool, trees are turning into vivid colors, and it's just a lovely time to take a hike," said Nancy Grof, a member of the Akron Metro Parks Hiking Club who has hiked more than 15,000 miles in her lifetime.

There are lots of different hikes locally. Here are my picks for the top five hikes in the Akron area based on fall foliage, panoramic views, uniqueness and seclusion.