When I am old and gray.. a day not far away..

We went on the Wunderlich trail today in the Portola hills. This place is famous for the horse stable and it is a place where they teach horse riding. The trails behind the horse ranch are beautiful! We went maybe 1400+ feet on a 7 mile hike. 

Parking was not easy. We should have started earlier. The trail was also closed at one point to skyline ridge because of slush and fallen trees.. so we went as far as we were allowed to go and turned back. 

We got a lot of pictures of me and San.. when I came home and saw them, it made me smile. There was a time when being empty nesters seemed a far fetched prospect.. we are almost there! Glad that we can still do things together and smile and share laughs. Somewhere, sometime, must have done something good to deserve this!

It was nowhere as steep as the other recent hikes and we were ambling along at a steady pace. The sunbeams through the clouds made for some amazing views!

We got to see an algae filled pond up in the flats! The photo does not do justice to how serene this place was!

This trail was great. Gentle slopes, steady climb, people on horseback going past us, some challenges with slush everywhere and the canopy and sunbeams that are a photographers delight! 

Reasonably sure we will be revisiting this one and go all the way to Skyline and back in the near future! 

Three additional miles

The most recent hike was to Saratoga gap trail and on to the long ridge loop trail. 

The plan, as explained to me by my darling wife, much along the lines of a squadron leader explaining the simple plan to attack the death star and return.. was to go through the gap trail and then to a point along the long ridge trail and return. Total miles approximately 7 and total elevation 1400 feet. 

I played along like a true rebel soldier and went along.. then the plan changed to doing the loop on the long ridge trail through a creekside walk and for a good 2 hours I kept hearing we were only 3 miles from the parking lot. 

At one point all I wanted was to see the car. We left before sunrise to start the hike and given my 60 day challenge and my inability to hydrate while being asleep, the extra three miles became quite a challenge. 

To top things off, had to come home and do a yoga class, which actually went better than my expectations. 

The gap and long ridge trail are actually beautiful and there is a turtle rock point with amazing views. However, there is a however.. there is a long stretch of the trail with no tree cover and if you are walking under the sun after having walked 8 miles, it can get to you. So if you are like me, take a water bottle on this one, wear a proper cap and pace yourself. 

This is one hike I feel would be better for late afternoon so that the return is in the shade!

Here are the pictures..

Usually I dont do stuff like this.. but with some encouragement I decided to do a small jump off that rock..

The trails alternate between shade and sun throughout..

The rolling hills have a view that is great in the earlier part of the day

by the time we were coming back on the loop through the creek, the sun was reflecting off the water trickles. this part of the trail is vibrant!

the trickles all add up to a lake.. there is a Zen budhist center inside the park. We walked along the lake and took pictures..

That was my last smile for another hour or so when I realized that there was still 3 miles to go.. 

In any case, all is well that ends well and after two days of enough hydration and yoga, I was back to my normal self.  My gums have also recovered resonably well now. 

Have also come to the realization that if I walk every day for 30 minutes at least, these weekend hikes are more bearable. If I skip walking because of the rainy weather for a few days, these things become ordeals. 

Practice makes perfect.. 

Here's to more hikes!

Forest of Nisene Marks State park

Went to another state park, this time in Aptos. The Forest of Nisene Marks, is beautiful. This is our first time visiting this state park in Aptos.

The trails were not too steep and we covered a lot of distance fast. The path got a little too slippery and muddy at one point and we decided to turn back. We were very very close to a falls view point but safety first and that was that..

The tall trees in this park everywhere are the first things I noticed. Nothing matches the majestic redwoods towering over us!

We will definitely be making multiple visits to this one to cover the range of trails we missed! 

Here are the pictures.. 

and we also got a great photo of the two of us as a bonus..

Outside the park was bright and sunny, but the entire hike felt cold because not much sunlight filtered in. Given the cold we didn't sweat much either and it made the hike pleasant. Perfect conditions inside the park for hiking!

There was water trickling through the park but not enough to make falls.. should be amazing to revisit when there is a lot more water going through the creeks.

Loved it!

Mt. Um from yet another angle -Quicksilver trail

We spent the day at Quicksilver trail in Almaden and got some clear views of the valley, and got to see another facet of Mt. Umunhum. By this time we have seen that building from every mountain around it..

First.. an MGR Saroja Devi moment captured for eternity..

The trails were steep and kept coming, maybe we should have come the opposite way. Nevertheless it was fun!

Direct sun gave us that orange glow!

did not get as many pictures on this trail as it did not have much room to step back and take pictures. Had to focus on the ground to be safe at all times! It was also busier than the other trails for the same time in the morning. So we tried to face the mountain side and let people pass every now and then!

The mansions on the hillside facing the trail were out of this world.. didn't realize there were this size mansions anywhere in our neighborhood!

A day well spent.. a nice hike that is definitely recommended if you go early in the morning before the sun is up high! 

The journey is what counts..

My fellow hikers have often heard me say that it is the journey that is more important.. so I take my time, stop for pictures, do the hike in an "alangaama kulungaama" way as my Grandma would put it. 

The hike marketing department (aka San and co.) sold me on the Lexington reservoir trail with the selling points being 

1. it is only a 5.2 mile hike compared to the recent 8+ mile hikes

2. It is part of the same preserve as Mt. Umunhum

3. It is a "moderate" hike per the all trails website.. so given recent history, a "piece of cake"

I am not allergic to the words "piece of cake" spoken in that sequence.

It turned out that this hike, while being 5.2 miles and in the same Sierra Azul preserve, is nothing but moderate!

It started off with a steep ascent like the ones they set you up on a rollercoaster ride.. except you think there is a drop after that.. in this case, it levels off for 100 feet and you go up another steep slope. By the time you went up to a lower grade, knees are shaking! 

At some points, I was pretty much trailing by a wide margin of a few hundred feet. we eventually crossed a quarry of sorts and made our way back on the loop trail. 

There were not many scenic spots or vista points with a view of the valley unlike other recent trails, but for once, the only sense of accomplishment was the destination.. the journey itself was not that great for me!

If you are one of those people who want to say "I did this trail".. then go for it. Try it when your stomach is not full.. I went just after lunch and struggled. My wife was also tired of my "are we there yet" questions.

There are always pictures..

A few more vista points or colorful paths might have made this more enjoyable for me.. I did have fun with the conversations and the occasional jokes, but not the hiking itself. Maybe a day with red skies would have made the lake views more interesting..

It is also possible that the previous hike to Foothills set the bar a little too high for this one to measure up..

and a pano of the view after we do the first part of the hike.. (after this there is no view of the lake)

At one point I was "offered" the option to go "just another 2.2 miles with a 1200 foot gain" to see Mt. Um from the other side and promptly passed on it before the sentence was finished!

Decent trail, but not enough vista (break) points for me..