Christy

My bouts of vertigo this year have really kicked my butt and kept me from doing some of the things I love. I’ve missed a lot of the regular weekly hikes I used to go on, as well as the occasional bike rides with that group. So, the fact that I was feeling good and had no scheduling conflicts was very exciting when a ride came up on December 2nd. I rode 16.44 miles with two friends, Sonya and Leslie. Here we are at the half-way point.

And here’s our route info.

Hopefully 2017 will bring better health for me!

My friend and hiking group leader, Sonya, arranged for a docent-led tour of Jasper Ridge last month. It’s the only way you can hike in the area, which is a biological preserve owned by Stanford. Here are some photos from the hike.

The large, but shrinking, reservoir.

The dam adjacent to the reservoir. Quite an interesting build.

Here’s another view of the dam, from down below.

Our docent pointed out lots of interesting things …

… including this rock with holes used by the Native Americans for cooking.

It’s a beautiful place.

We passed this giant oak on the way in and out. So majestic.

I’m going to combine my last two hikes in April into one post. The first, Arastradero Preserve on the 11th, isn’t the most strenuous hike, but we added a bike ride with one fairly tough spot to the hiking mileage for a good day’s workout. Here are a couple of photos, including our somewhat smaller group that day.

The second hike, Rancho San Antonio PG&E Trail on the 18th, was much more difficult. I’d been to Rancho San Antonio and remembered a pretty easy hike, but this was not the same trail. So much up hill! I guess the silver lining is that it makes for great views, if you don’t die of heart failure.

We had a big group for this one — lots of gluttons for punishment!

Our group tried a new hike last week — Mission Peak in Fremont. I didn’t do any research ahead of time but the description from our leader said it would be a tough one with a quick elevation gain. At least one regular hiker who did do more research bowed out, and several of us had serious reservations about half-way up. From the bottom, it didn’t look like it would be too bad, and the rains had made everything so green!

Turns out, it’s a grueling hike — nearly seven miles round trip, muscle-killing straight up for the first half and toe-crunching straight down for the second. The views, though, mostly made it worth the discomfort.

We could also see the snow-topped Sierras when we got to the other side of the mountain, but my picture of them didn’t come out. Here’s our group at the top; apparently, taking pictures with this post is all the rage on social media. (Who knew?)

Here’s one of just me.

And here’s the view from the tip top.

I’m glad we had such a lovely day because I can’t really imagine doing this one again!

This week’s hike was new to me, and was one of the more scenic trails I’ve seen. We weren’t even that far in when we noticed we had a peekaboo view of the ocean.

The trail was fairly strenuous in places but mostly shady.

I liked this stretch of manzanitas.

And they were blooming which was an added bonus.

There was a tribute to the crew of an airplane that crashed there in 1953.

And our lunch spot was a vista with another beautiful view of the ocean.

And here’s the group.

Our next stop on this sightseeing hike (as our leader called it) was the Tafoni Sandstone Formation which was pretty spectacular.

And finally we stopped by the Methuselah tree, an enormous old growth redwood.

It’s always hard to see the size of these trees without reference, so here are a couple of our hikers standing next to it for perspective.

Once again my tracking app showed this hike as 7.44 miles while everyone else’s trackers came up with more miles. Let’s say it was 8 and call it a day.

There was a 70% chance of rain on Wednesday so we opted for the fully-paved Dish Loop at Stanford for our weekly hike instead of fighting the mud on the regular trails. We managed to finish the 5.5 mile walk before the rains came but the cloud formations made for great views. And it was so green!

Here’s the group.

This was my second trip to Windy Hill, the first one was last March, but this time we took a different trail. We were in mostly shaded areas, which was good because it was unseasonably warm that day and would have been uncomfortable if we were in full sun. It was a long hike — my app said nine miles, everyone else’s said ten or more — and we didn’t stop very often so I don’t have many photos. But it was beautiful as usual.

And here’s the whole gang at the top when we stopped for lunch.

One month exactly after our family New Year’s Day hike at Foothills Park, I returned with my hiking group for a longer hike — about 7.5 miles this time. It was pretty chilly with temps in the 40s, but the sky was so clear it felt like we could see forever. I see views like this a lot when hiking but I’ve never seen it this clear.

There was actual rushing water in the stream.

Here are a few shots of the group.

And one last shot of the scenery.

Yesterday I joined my neighbor (and 10 other hikers) on her weekly outing. This week’s hike was a ten-miler in Wunderlich County Park in Woodside. I’d been there before and it’s a lovely place, but I’d never gone on this particular trail. I was feeling pretty nervous beforehand because even though I walk a lot, I’ve never done ten miles. It was a cloudy day, temps in the low 60s, and a bit muddy on the trail from recent rains. Here’s our group at the beginning of the hike.

I didn’t take many photos because I was too busy walking and trying not to slip or trip. But I shot a couple at this beautiful section of the trail:

And I got this one at a little offshoot from the trail in a section of redwoods.

Of course, since I’m a data junky, I tracked the hike with my Nike app.

It was a great hike! Even with sore feet and sore muscles, I couldn’t be happier that I got to go!

The weekend before Thanksgiving I got the chance to have an overnighter in Altadena/Pasadena. The official occasion was movie night for the final Hunger Games movie, but really it’s just an excuse for me to come down and hang out with friends. Altadena never ceases to amuse — here Jerri and I share the road with a horse.

Saturday included a quick visit to Lavender & Honey for toast with avocado and marinated jalapeños (yum!), pedicures, and relaxing at the Heffernans before dinner at El Cholo and the movie with the ladies. It’s always so great to catch up with everyone.

The next morning, Jerri and I hiked to Echo Mountain. It was a beautiful and remarkably clear day.

We took the obligatory selfie at the top.

And the hike pushed me to another Nike+ milestone.

After cleaning up, I met Kelly for brunch (no pictures) and putzed around until my flight that evening. I always enjoy flying in or out of LA in the dark.