Hurray for fall hikes! Thanks to Valerie and “V” I got to go on another great hike with the Society of Outdoor Cardinals where we traversed three really awesome regional parks including Tilden, Sibley and Redwood.

This is our crew (all 16 of us). This was a shuttle hike so we'd all have to fit into a car that seats 7 and a car that seats 5. I was one of the drivers so at least I had room.

The plan was to start at the Steam Trains parking lot at Tilden Regional Park, shuttle some cars to our final destination (Redwood Regional Park) and then embark on our 18+ mile.  I’ve been on one hike with Valerie before and besides being an amazing hiker, she is also an incredible historian and enjoys sharing her knowledge with the rest of us.  Although it took more time because of all the stops it was awesome to learn more about the geology and history of the area.  Thanks Valerie.  =)

There were a lot of beautiful things to see along this trail.

Beautiful fall thistles...

My favorite picture of the day. I love the blue, oranges and browns. Same color as the scarf I bought at the Pumpkin Festival last year. =)

And some nature inspired signs of the season including a haunted house, well outhouse (I think it was haunted, I think I may have seen a ghost..ok, I didn’t but still).  =)

Ooo, it's a spooky old outhouse. With it being Halloween I think my imagination was a little more active than normal. =)

The hike was quite enjoyable and I was sad when we had to end it a bit early to accommodate Valerie’s social plans for the evening.  We made it about 14 miles in 7 hours and had a lot of fun.

Enjoying time beneath a canopy of rustling leaves and overarching branches.

After shuttling everyone back to their cars I started back down the road to CA-24.  Along the way I stopped briefly to capture the setting sun looking out over Grizzly Peak Blvd.  Really beautiful…

The setting sun sparkles over the bay from a turnout on Grizzly Peak Blvd.

As always, thanks to “V” and Valerie, our trip leaders, for a fantastic hike.  I can’t wait until the next trip.  =)

Lake Del Valle through the trees...

This last weekend Marshall was nice enough to take Sierra, Lotus and me to Del Valle for a nice little hike.  Fall has arrived in Del Valle and it’s absolutely beautiful.  I love it!  =)

Marshall isn’t exactly the hiker type (ok, he “greatly dislikes” hiking) but he still goes out with me because he knows how much I enjoy it.  To make the hikes more enjoyable for him he likes to listen to a TV show or book on tape on his iPhone (hence the FBI style ear piece he’s sporting with Lotus below).

Big pimpin' pimpin'...

I had seen, and picked up (yep, picked up) two tarantulas on Saturday and was hoping to see a tarantula on our hike but no such luck.  Instead I found this, an unfortunate toad who appeared to have gotten squashed and then was drying in the sun.  A spooky sighting to prepare for Halloween which is this upcoming Saturday.

Very unlucky frog. Normally I like seeing dead things (because I get to see these animals up close) but this one made me kind of sad. Sorry toady... =(

All in all we had a very nice hike.  I even got a picture of Marshall and me and he’s smiling!  =)

Smile for me Marshall, it's not so bad. =)

I’m off for an 18+ mile hike tomorrow at Tilden Park led by “V” and Valerie.  Should be a lot of fun and hopefully I’ll get some more great pictures of the beautiful outdoors in fall.  Goodnight…  =)

Wow, so yesterday work buddies Mike, Velimir and I embarked on one of the most intense, challenging, and ultimately memorable trips I’ve ever been on.  “V” had scheduled a 20+ mile hike from Del Valle to Rose Peak and despite the 102 degree forecast I knew I wanted to do it.   By the end of the hike I had gained a whole new appreciation for the power (and limitations) of the human body and an individuals ability to push past the pain.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.  Let me start at the beginning.  =)

At 9:45 Mike, Velimir and I met “V” and the rest of the crew at the Lichen Park trailhead parking lot.  It was already warm so we knew proper hydration was going to be key.  I had 2 liters of water with ice, Mike had brought 6 liters (we ended up needing it all), and Velimir had 3 liters in a new Camelbak so we were set to go.  “V” started out the trip by outlining our path which goes something like this “a steep ascent followed by a steep descent followed by another steep ascent and descent then we ascend again to get to Rose Peak.”  Make no mistake, these ascents/descents were major and it’s not like once you get to Rose Peak you’re done.  You’ve got to turn back around and do it all over again to get back.  Onward and upward (and downward)! 

"V" outlines the path were were to take with his finger while the eager crew looks on. There were 12 of us in total.

The first part of the hike seemed like a lot of uphill but it wasn’t incredibly steep so we were able to “ease” into it.  Along the way Mike and Velimir pointed out several dead deer and of course I had to take pictures of them.  They’re kind of beautiful in a way.

What appears to be a juvenille deer that became a meal for other woodland predators/scavengers.

While hiking up a steeper portion of the trail I realized how much I disklike hiking in boots.  I tend to hike very fast and power up hills on my toes however that’s nearly impossible in boots.  I was unable to get the correct size of tennis shoes in time for this hike so I was stuck hiking in my super heavy waterproof (ie. super hot).  Oh well, it may have actually been a good thing that I was hiking slower since the heat was seriously zapping everyone’s strength and energy.

"V" and me. Yeah I know, I'm wearing a bandana. Yar, it drives me nuts (my pirate impression).

After hiking for what seemed like forever we reached the first crest and were treated to a nearly level section to stretch our legs.  Then it was on to the first descent which seriously tested our knees, quads, and footing as it was nearly impossible not to slide down sections of the trail.  Let’s do this!  =)

Mike and Velimir at the bottom of the first valley in our hike up to Rose Peak. Nice hat Velimir. =)

After reaching the base of that first valley we had to hike back up.  About halfway up that climb we encountered a group of equestrians who had camped the night before and said we were the only other hikers they had seen on the trail.  They said they were glad to see us because then they didn’t feel so crazy.  Wait, they’re on horses.  Maybe we are crazy.  Nah… 

The riders offered to take a picture for us which was really nice. This was supposed to be the "fun" photo and ended up being the only group photo we ended up with.

More hiking and about 3 miles from the summit Mike, Velimir and I decided to take a self-shot group photo at nearly the same location as a picture I was in from March.  Velimir is so funny.  He totally directed this shot which was awesome.  =)

Velimir had the great idea that we should all look off into the distance. He's a natural at looking casual. Mike and I look kind of silly. =)

We were pretty much all smiles although Mike’s crazy calves and quads were starting to cramp up on him.  No one realized how serious the problem was until we were about 20 minutes from the summit and both of Mike’s legs cramped up to the point where he couldn’t walk.  At that point we sat down, forced Mike (he was being obstinate) to eat turkey jerky and drink water.  “V” had said that a lack of salt would result in cramping so it was super important that Mike try and replenish his salt levels.  We sat there for at least 10 minutes and watched Mike’s tortured leg muscles dance in the heat.  Seriously it was insane.  =(

The next thing that happened seemed equally out of this world.  As we were sitting on the side of the trail waiting for Mike’s muscle spasms to subside two horses came running around the corner and approached us with interest.  Velimir and I shoed them off only to have a bull, calf and cow follow their lead and pass right by us.  The horses then turned back to stare down the cows who then charged the horses.  It was like a horse/cow game of tag.  Wow……

Crazy "thestril" horses that materialized out of nowhere. Kinda weird but super cool.

What? Now cows? What do they know that we don't? What monster lurks at Rose Peak?

Crazy animals. I've never seen cows and horses play tag before.

Because we weren’t sure what exactly was going on with Mike’s legs and how long it might take for them to recover Velimir went ahead and hiked to the peak.  At a certain point Mike said, “Let’s go,” and even though you’d think I would have realized his leg situation was pretty serious and say no, I figured if he was going to make it back the remaining 9 miles to the car he could probably make it to the peak.  Stupid logic and now I know better.  You don’t “F” with that kind of stuff.

Half way up the last section of the ascent and about 10 minutes from the peak Mike’s legs completely seized up.  This time I realized the severity of the situation and put down my pack, told Mike to stay down and I headed to the peak to see if anyone was up there.  Nope, they had already headed around the corner to get water from Maggie’s Half Acre.  I ran back to where Mike was and found him still seriously cramping up so I headed back to the last junction to try and find “V” or anyone else from the crew.  Magda, Craig and Rajesh were at the junction and Craig had half a banana so I took that back to Mike and asked Magda to send “V” up when he got back from Maggie’s.

“V” came up about 10 minutes later and saved the day by massaging Mike’s legs so they would finally relax.  At this point “V” realized it would take quite a while for us to make it back so he gave everyone else permission to head back down as long as I could give him and Magda a ride back to Stanford.  Done and done.  =)

While “V” continued to work on Mike’s legs I ran down to the junction with Rajesh to leave Marshall’s phone number so they could call and let him know what was going on when they got within cell phone range.  I was very happy to see that Velimir had joined the group at the junction by this time (apparently he had washed his feet, hands and relaxed at Maggie’s Half Acre so it took him a while to catch up with the rest of the group). so after making sure Rajesh had Marshall’s numberMagda, Velimir and I hiked back

The next 3 hours was spent slowly navigating the steep slopes and taking breaks regularly to let Mike’s cramping legs rest.  When we got the first flat spot we took the opportunity to get a few last pictures before the sun went down.  Still smiling..  =)

Mike, me, and Velimir. Hiking buddies 4 Life man.

Sunset and still about 6 miles to go.

At about 8:15 with the sun long gone I had an opportunity to call Marshall on Velimir’s iPhone (yes, the iPhone is a quite useful appliance) to let him know we were going to be later than I had originally thought.  Apparently he had not gotten the voice message from Rajesh explaining what had happened so he was a bit worried.  Sorry about that babe.  =)

The rest of the hike was pretty crazy.  Even though it was mostly downhill Mike’s leg cramped incessantly and it didn’t seem like we were getting much closer to our destination.  =(  Fortunately at about 9pm with 2 miles left to go we were relieved to hear the beautiful sound of a pickup truck rumbling up the trail.  Oh thank God, we’re saved!  I guess the other half of the group had let the rangers know that we had an injury in our group so an hour after the park closed they came looking for us.  We all hopped in the back of the truck and enjoyed the dusty and bumpy ride back.  Best hike ever!! 

After getting back to the parking lot we parted ways with Velimir and I drove Mike back to the lab and Magda and “V” to Stanford.  It was 11:35 by the time I got home.  A long day but everyone got back safely so all’s well that ends well.  Oh yeah and I got two massive blisters.  So painful. 

My injuries were minor yet still painful. This blister appeared to have blistered twice over the course of the hike. Ouch!

Thanks to “V” for being the most awesome hike leader and making sure that we all finished the hike in one piece.  You’re the best!  Looking forward to another great trip soon.  =)

For the rest of the pictures check out my Picasa album here.

Woohoo, first backpacking trip of the year and it was awesome. =)  “V” was the official lead for this trip and because it was intended as an “Intro to Backpacking” he also mentored a number of us on how to lead the rest of the crew.  Speaking of, here we all are just before getting started on our trek.

Our crew before hitting the trail on Saturday

This was actually the first backpacking trip I had done without Ksenya (she already had plans for that weekend and wasn’t really interested in an intro backpacking trip) so I was eager to meet new people and see how the whole experience went going into it without knowing anyone (except “V” of course).  =)

One of the girls I really clicked with and ended up sharing my new tent with was Magda.  Magda’s been on several day hikes that I’ve been on however we’ve never really chatted much.  Turns out she is super cool, very outgoing and happens to play ultimate frisbee (I had brought my frisbee) so we had a lot of fun on this trip.  Magda also provided much entertainment for the rest of us as she thoroughly tested her hypothesis that a frisbee could be skipped over a smooth water surface.  For the record it can’t but it was sure funny to watch her try to get it to obey her wishes.  =)

Super cool chick and killer ultimate frisbee player, Magda, relaxing at the edge of China Hole

One of the coolest things about this trip was the amount of wildflowers in bloom along the trail and filling every meadow.  It was difficult not to stop every two seconds to stop and take a picture.  The nearly 30lb pack on my back made that a bit easier to resist as it is incredibly difficult to keep kneeling down and getting back up with that kind of weight trying to pull you over.  I think that’s probably how I strained my knee but it’s all good.  =)

A bug's eye view of some beautiful purple flowers and the blue cloudless sky in the background.

Super cool wildflowers (star lilies) in varying states of bloom

After the hike I worked to identify the flowers I had seen on the trip and came up with this link which is super helpful.  I had been trying to identify the Star Lilies for quite awhile and hadn’t been able to until now.  A very friendly ranger at the station told us we could bring our pictures to them to identify after our hike but by the time we were done, I was ready to head home to see Marshall.  I love the hikes but it’s great to get home to my family.  =)

I’m not sure when the next backpacking trip is or where it will be scheduled for.  Ilya is going to lead a hike to Henry Coe on Easter weekend so I won’t be able to make that.  “V” is also leading a trip to Yellowstone which would be awesome but it’s already full.  Maybe later in April or early May.  We’ll see.  Until then, here are some links to the photo albums from the trip.  They will have to sustain me until the next backpacking trip. 

• My photos
• Sam’s photos
• Saurabh’s photos – (really awesome photos)
• Magda’s photos – (awesome pictures of red-headed woodpecker)
• Video of Saurabh, Magda and me playing frisbee

After playing frisbee with Shaurabh, Magda and Justin I took the opportunity to snap a shot of me on the flower covered abandoned airstrip.

About a month ago, Marshall’s best friend since grade school and best man at our wedding, Darrel, invited us to go on an 8.5 mile hike in Inverness called the Estero Trail.  That trip had to be postponed once already due to rain so this Saturday was the new date for that trip.

The plan was to meet at the trailhead at 10am (just over 2 hour drive from Livermore) which we were on schedule to make except that we woke up to a dead battery and had to jump that before leaving.  We did take the Jetta so I was able to make up about 20 minutes of the trip but then got stuck behind a charter bus and a bunch of cyclists.  I know, share the road but geez, that’s really tough when you have to drive ~10-20MPH for miles.  Cleansing breaths..  =P

Group photo before the hike.

Once we arrived at the trailhead there were some quick introductions, a couple of timed photographs and then we hit the trail.

The trail was incredibly beautiful and because it was overcast, it was perfect for taking pictures.  Speaking of, how about a picture of Marshall and me.  =)

Marshall and me. I'm always happy to see him still smiling on the hike. Guess he had a good time. =)

We saw a bunch of cool things on this trip including leopard sharks, oyster farms and a green and red-sided gartersnake just to name a few.  There were also a number of beautiful flowers and because this was a short hike (comparatively speaking) I took my time taking pictures.  Check out the Picasa album for all the pictures (see link below).

Awesome snake (red-sided gartersnake) that several people mistook for a fake rubber snake. It was definitely real and quickly slithered out of the way after I got this picture. =)

Cool maze-like waterways that were revealed after the tide went out. Sweet!

Although the trip was a lot shorter than the other hikes I’ve been doing lately, it was well worth it.  Everyone was super nice and it was fun listening to Marshall talk with Darrel and his friends about the anime shows they’re into (Naruto, Naruto: Shippuden, and several others).  It was also funny listening to Marshall, Lio, and Darrel recall the storylines and characters from old-school cartoons like Transformers, Masters of the Universe, Gobots, and nearly every other action cartoon from the 80s.  No FOTC fans on this trip so I left the tv series talk to the others. 

So all in all another great trip.  Thanks to Darrel for getting us all together.  Marshall and I had a great time and are looking forward to the next one (well at least I am). 

Best friends for life, Marshall and Darrel. =)

For all the pictures from this trip (and there are some really nice ones), check out my Picasa album.

Oh man, I could really get used to this.  Can you believe that another 20 mile hike was scheduled for this Saturday and better than that, it was going to be led by my favorite trail guide, “V.”  Kick-ass…  =)

At first I wasn’t sure whether I was going to go because Marshall’s 30th birthday (yep 30th!) was on Friday and I knew it might be a late night.  I had also gone to see “Wicked” in the city and didn’t get home till 12:30am that night so I was already tired.  However Ksenya e-mailed me and was interested in going too so of course I was going to go.  Come on, I live for this stuff! 

When we got to Samuel P. Taylor State Park, we saw a number of familiar faces (Marek and his Jetta, Lothar, Elena, Magdalena, Tiffany and Andrew) but no “V.”  We learned this was because he had fallen ill and wasn’t going to be able to make it.  =(  Fortunately he had chosen a super awesome replacement named Valerie so we were set to go.  After shuttling Valerie’s Vanagon (seats 5 with some room) and a Toyota Camry (seats 5) to the end point we hit the trail at 10:45, an hour later than we thought and now with 17 people instead of 13.  Do the math, this is going to be fun coming back.  =)

All of us just before starting the hike. =)

As always there were amazing views, scenery and conversation to be enjoyed every step of the way.  Towards the beginning of the hike I hiked slower so I could talk to people, take pictures and hear all the great stories Valerie had to tell about the history of the area we were hiking.  Let me take the opportunity now to saw Valerie was so awesome and I’m really glad I had the chance to get to know her better.  As Ksenya pointed out, “Hey, she’s another “V”,” which is to say her name starts with “V” AND she’s also uniquely kick-ass just like “V.”  I’m definitely adding her to my list of people I like to hike with.  =)

Ok, so now on to the pictures.  First up, I found bones!  Yeah, a whole bunch of them.  This was just off the road so the animal had probably been hit by a car (or bike as there were tons of cyclists on that road).  I wonder what happens to the skulls of these animals.  I can never seem to find them except in the case of that seal at Marina State Beach.

Jackpot! Ah, we've hit the motherload, a full backbone and scattered ribs of some deceased animal. A small deer or coyote perhaps?

Next we saw some amazing wildflowers. I was especially excited when I found a big fat bumblebee clinging to the stem of this purple Douglas Iris.  Why?  Well because my buddy Mike has an extreme aversion to bees/wasps and his involuntary freakout reaction to “bee”ing in the same vicinity as a buzzing bee is downright hilarious (sorry, it so is).  I knew I had to get like 6 inches from this bee and flower to get the perfect shot.  Enjoy.  =)

Mike, this one's for you. A bumblebee on a wild iris. I had to get down REAL close to get this shot.

After enjoying the wildflower meadows and additional information from Valerie on how the beautiful yellow flowering shrubs known as Scotch Broom are actually non-native invasive species that are nearly impossible to eradicate, we came down to our next junction.  Dogtown, USA – Population: 30.  Had I known I would have brought Sierra and made it 31. 

Dogtown - Population: 30. Compare that with Strongbadia - Population: Tire. Dogtown is still ahead.

From Dogtown we headed into the Point Reyes park land our lowest elevation which meant lots of swampy muckiness to wade through.  I’ll admit, I squealed like a little piggy upon having my shoes sink down into the bog.  Although my feet were already wet from having to walk through a really cold creek, the sucky sensation of having your shoe sink into the mud is quite a different feeling altogether.  I still love it.  =)

After navigating through swampy waters Ksenyacat expresses her true feelings about that experience. Yuck! =)

After traipsing through the swamp land we headed back into the hills.  Here I found my next forest friend.  A little froggy.  Hey froggy!

A frog! Hey new frog friend. How about a close up. =)

Amazingly enough, even with us leaving an hour late we still finished the hike at 7pm.  Now we had to figure out how to get back to our cars.  Remember how I said two cars, 17 people?  Yeah, it was a very cozy ride back to the park.  Somehow we managed to fit 11 people into the Vanagon and 6 into the Camry.  Valerie was a little worried about the weight and getting up this one hill but come on, it’s a VW, it can do anything!  And it did.  =)

Valerie drove her totally kickin' VW Vanagon to shuttle all 11 (yes 11) of us back to Samuel Taylor SP. Go VW!!

Of course with Marek and me both being Jetta owners and totally obsessed with our vehicles, even though it was getting dark, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to show our love for these super sexy vehicles.  I had to laugh because I think Marek was almost as much in love with his car as I am with mine.  I mean who wouldn’t be, that’s a dang good looking Jetta (don’t be jealous white Jetta).  I actually think my Jetta was sad to leave at the end of the day.  It really liked Marek’s Jet.  Don’t worry Jetta, we’ll see them at a future hike. 

Two very proud Jetta owners. =)

So that’s pretty much if for this hike post.  We had an awesome time and I can’t wait for the next one.  Thanks to Valerie for her excellent leadership of this hike and for shuttling us all back in her awesome Vanagon.  I had a blast!

For all the pictures from this hike, check out my Picasa album.  Note: A lot of the pictures are out of focus but I still thought they helped tell the story so I left them in.  =)

So the original plan for this Saturday was for Marshall and I to join our friend Darrel and a couple of his buddies for a hike north of Mt. Tamalpais.  Due to the recent heavy rains, that trip was canceled (hopefully just postponed cause it sounds like a lot of fun).

Thankfully one of the girls I’ve hiked and backpacked with before scheduled a 20 mile hike from Del Valle (perfect) to Sunol so I was still able to get out of the house and get some exercise.  Sweet!  Thank you Rachel.  =)

The plan was to have half the group start at Del Valle and the other from Sunol.  We’d meet half-way through and then do a key exchange and have all cars meet near the 680/84 interchange.  I wasn’t sure who would be coming to meet me at the Del Valle Ohlone Wilderness Trail trailhead and was happy to see it was Rachel with her sister and a new girl from Stanford.  After introductions we hit the trail.

Rachel, Lauren and Rachel's sister Sarah

About 1/4 of the way through the hike and tons of steep uphill climbs (one section is called the “Big Burn”) we reached Murietta Falls.  Because of all the recent rainfall the waterfall was probably at peak flow and was absolutely beautiful.

We almost missed the trail down to the falls. Fortuntaly some other hikers directed us to the unmarked path. It was totally worth the steep hike down (and then back up) the hill. =)

I love the fact that there is such beautiful scenery and hiking experiences to be had so close to home.  Awesome.  =)

We hiked for another several hours and then finally met up with the guys.  We chatted briefly, took a few pictures including a group photo that didn’t come out so great (my camera kinda sucks sometimes), exchanged keys and then had to keep moving.  We still had a lot of distance to cover.  Next stop, Rose Peak!   =)

Me, Lauren, Sarah and Rachel (A.K.A. "The Girls")

Lothar, Brooks and Steven (A.K.A. "The Guys")

Let me take the opportunity to mention that this was an incredibly challenging and exhausting trip which made it that much more rewarding.  Thankfully I was hiking with some really cool people so it was also a lot of fun.  =)

We got to Rose Peak around 3 (I believe) and had more dark chocolate M&Ms, trail mix, apples and oranges.  I also made sure to add a rock to the “Rock Registry” at the peak before heading back down.  This is the second rock I’ve been able to add to the pile and I’ll keep on adding more as long as there are more hikes scheduled to that location.  =)

Adding a rock to the top of the pile on Rose Peak. Call it the hiker's version of a guestbook. =)

At this point we were pretty much home free.  There were still about 9 miles between us and the car parked at the bottom however we had already done the majority of the uphill part so it only took us about 3 hours to do the remainder of the hike.  I know, total cake right? 

We were nearing the end of the trail when Lauren suddenly stopped to point out a California Newt that was walking quite deliberately along the trail.  A newt!!

Aw, I finally got to see a California Newt on the trail. So cute. =)

I was really excited to see this little guy, at the same time I was kind of bummed that I hadn’t spotted him first.  I mean even though it was awesome to finally see a newt on the trail, technically I didn’t find him, someone else did.  Not to worry though, after hiking a bit further I found two other newts so I finally fulfilled my quest to find a sallymander/newt on one of my hikes.  =)

So that was our trip.  All in all it was pretty awesome.  I’m thoroughly exhausted now but in a good way.  Can’t wait until the next one and hopefully my buddy Mike will be able to make it out on that one.  =)

For all pictures from the trip, check out my Picasa album.  Until next time…

After several days of rain and freezing temperatures, an impressive amount of snow had built up on the mountains around our house.  Because Marshall had to work and I was kind of bored (I didn’t want to clean the house) I decided to take a drive out to Del Valle with Sierra.  I figured we’d see how close we could get to the snow and I’d get in some relaxation by driving the Jetta and enjoying a super strong coffee and spinach and mushroom piadini from Starbucks.

After stopping at Starbucks I cranked up my newly acquired Crystal Castles album and headed out in the direction of Del Valle.  Once we got to Del Valle I decided to purchase a backpackers permit (good for a year) so I could get the map that shows distances to Rose Peak on the Ohlone Wilderness trail.  Apparently it is 10 miles from the Del Valle starting point.  I’m game, anyone else?

After entering the park I decided to head to the west end of the reservoir and park so I could eat my food and check out the map.  Sierra was happy to curl up in the passenger seat and with the heater turned up and my music playing I too melted into the seat and became lost in thought as I watched the rain come down.  After about 15 minutes I figured it was time to move on to the next thing but I wasn’t ready to go home yet so on a whim I decided to drive to Mt. Diablo and see if we could get to snow from there.

Upon entering the park I learned that dogs are actually allowed in, they just have to be on leash and can’t go on the trails.  Sweet!  So even though I hadn’t intended on doing any hiking and it was totally pouring, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to hike to the summit with Sierra.  Fortunately I had my tennis shoes and extra layers of clothes in my gym bag so I was reasonably dressed for the ascent.  Did I mention it was POURING!? 

Sierra looks to the summit with slight apprehension. It was a lot rainy and windier than makes for a good hike but we were going to go for it. =)

We're getting closer. Look there's a lot more snow here.

Almost there! This is the sign at the "Y" below the summit.

We did it!! And managed not to get blown off the side of the mountain. It was crazy windy!

So we did it.  It was super cold, super wet, and super windy but we made it despite all that.  I was so glad that I actually followed through on this impulse and did the hike.  It was totally worth it.  I think Sierra enjoyed herself too although I think she was starting to get really tired of all the pictures.  Look, she wouldn’t even look at the camera. 

Best buddies Sierra and me at the summit of Mt. Diablo. =)

For the rest of the pictures check out my Picasa album.  Until next time…

Man, “V” is on a roll with planning and leading totally kick-ass hikes.  =)  Last Saturday was an awesome hike to Mt. Diablo (3849′) and this Saturday we hit Sunol/Ohlone park and hiked to Rose Peak (3817′) and back for a total distance of 20.1 miles.

We started the hike at 9am with “V” true to tradition, laying out his carefully folded map and tracing the route we planned to take with his finger.  It’s always good to know where you’re going.  I forget shortly after being shown (stupid short-term memory) however it is exciting to know for the two seconds that it sticks. 

Hikers (21 of us in all) gathered around "V" as he traces our planned route on a map

I’ve hiked Sunol/Ohlone a number of times and am familiar with the backpackers trail junction however I always start in a  slightly different location so when we encountered a trail marker saying “Ohlone Wilderness Trail” which pointed up the hill, I followed even though it was a different path than I thought we would have taken.  “V” never leads us wrong, we sometimes just take detours to our final destination.

We had hiked about half a mile up a rather steep set of hills when “V” stopped us to check his map again.  Apparently we took the left fork when we should have taken the right fork and were headed in the opposite direction of Rose Peak.  Doh!  No worries though, at least in retracing our steps we got to go downhill which evenly warmed up our legs for the intense hike we had in front of us.  =)

After consulting the map we realized we needed to turn around so everyone packed up their maps and prepared to head back down.

Once we got on the right track it was pretty much power hiking for me until we got to the backpackers junction.  We then did a very steep climb for about 2 miles that took us past the backpackers campsites and past the last stop for water before you get to Rose Peak.  Along the way I saw some wildlife which was very exciting although I’m sorry to say it was dead.  I’m also guessing that whatever ate the upper half of it’s body wasn’t in too good of shape either considering that I believe newts are toxic.  Anywho it was cool to see the newt up close (sorry if anyone was grossed out by this picture).

I would have preferred this newt been whole and live however I'll take what I can get (didn't literally take it, just took a picture).

The rest of the hike consisted of hills and more hills.  There were very few “flat” spots so our legs got an incredible workout.  Oh wait, here’s one.  Oh but not really.  That was still downhill but it was a slight enough grade to where we could stretch out our legs a bit.  =)

One of the few "flat" spots. It was great to be able to stretch our legs on these parts.

Unfortunately I failed to take any pictures from Rose Peak.  I was super hungry and my smashed peanut butter and jelly sandwhich (yep, it still got smashed even without getting punched) distracted me from my usual picture taking flurry.  One of the guys on the hike took a group photo of everyone which I’m hoping he’ll share.  It’s always nice to remember the people you hike with.

Speaking of, it was cool to see and chat with my buddies Ilya, Yin and Jackie and get to know a couple other people better (Michael and Rajesh) who I had met on past hikes but hadn’t had a chance to get to know very well.  Michael is a professor at Stanford who has the longest commute I’ve ever heard of.  His wife and family all live in Isreal so he travels there regularly to see them.  Rajesh works for Sun Microsystems.  Rajesh is a swimmer but also smokes so when we ran up a hill to get to Rose Peak within the 6 minutes “V” estimated it would take to get there we were both equally out of breath.  Anyway two very cool people who were a lot of fun to chat with and I look forward to hiking with again in the future.  =)

After we finished our lunch it was pretty much a race to the finish line.  We needed to get back by 6pm since they apparently lock the gates in and out of the park at that time.  Fortunately since the majority of the hike back was downhill we made it back in about 4 hours instead of 5.  By 5:15 we were passing Little Yosemite so as long as we kept up the pace I knew we’d be ok.  I took a second to look back and saw an incredible view of the moon rising over a tree lined hill.  Even though I knew my camera couldn’t adequately capture the beauty of that scene, I still had to give it a try.  Michael and Ilya both attempted to help me figure out the manual setting on my camera and then gave up.  Michael politely suggested I RTFM when I get home. 

Taken from the Ohlone Trail as we neared our initial starting point (5:30pm).

All in all this trip was awesome.  I got to get out, breathe clean air, work out my legs and chat with some very cool people.  I also had some time to hike by myself and get lost in my own thoughts which is always nice.  So basically, it was exactly what I needed this weekend.  =)

I guess the next trip will be a hike in Big Sur so I’m going to start making plans for that now.  Hopefully we’ll be able to start doing backpacking trips as well.  I’ve missed the satisfaction of sleeping under the stars after a hard days hike.  And yes Ilya I would consider Irkutsk, “V” just has to actually get it on the calendar. 

Yay, so I was able to go on another awesome hike with “V”, my buddy Mike, and 24 other people from the Society of Outdoor Cardinals (formally Stanford Outing Club) this Saturday.  =)

The plan was to start at Mitchell Canyon Road ranger station and then hike to the summit for a total distance of around 14 miles.  Well originally it was supposed to be 16+ miles however “V” was helping to mentor a new trail leader and so the new guy chose to do the more direct route.  I like “V”s meandering hikes a lot better although this one was definitely still very enjoyable.

Beginning of the hike

We started the hike at 10am and although it was a bit chilly to start with, we warmed up quick.  I totally dug the great climbs.  Ah, me quads and hammies were loving the workout.  Thank you Jerry for all the lunge and squat workouts in bodypump. 

By 1:30 we had reached a point where we could see the summit but still had a ways to go.  See the stone building with a blue roof?  That’s the summit station.

View of the summit from Prospector's Trail

Once we got to the summit we took some time to go through the visitors center and enjoy the view.  Mike also asked one of the curators if they were familiar with the story of an anchor getting launched and lodged into the side of Mt. Diablo after a munitions explosion at Port Chicago in 1944.  They were not.  We were disappointed.  After the hike I searched for more information on that story and all I could come up with regarding the anchor was this.  Oh well, I’m still willing to believe the story.  =)

Mike, "V", and me at the summit observation deck.

From the observation deck we saw a sleek white glider that buzzed us several times (very impressive) and a few hang gliders who fortunately did not “find each other” even though they were doing loops within close proximity of each other.  We then had lunch and relaxed a bit before preparing for the trip back down.  Oh yeah, we also took a group photo and fortunately for me this nice cyclist woman offered to take the picture so I could be in it this time.  Yeah!  =)

Group photo from the parking lot at the summit

On the way back the sun was significantly less glary so I could see the mountains and scenery a lot better.  Off in the distance I noticed a large cave which sparked my curiosity as to what might be living there.  Mike and I probably spent 15-20 minutes hypothesizing on whether the cave was habitable and whether you could actually burn a fire inside the cave without succumbing to carbon monoxide poisoning when all of a sudden he interrupted to point out a deep cave just to the left of us on the trail.  I had to take the opportunity to climb in and check it out.  Very cool.  =)

Super cool cave... I like it. =)

We finished the hike almost perfectly on time (~6pm) just when we were starting to lose the light.  This was the first SOC organized hike I’ve done for 2009 and it set the tone for an awesome year.  “V” said he would be organizing a hike from Sunol/Ohlone to Mt. Rose and back next Saturday that should be about 21 miles.  I’m totally in!  Guess I’ll be doing that one on my own though since Marshall can think of about 12 better things to do on his days off (which he said includes root canals, I don’t think he really means that) and I want a happy husband. 

For the rest of the pictures check out my Picasa album.  Until next time, this is Jettagirl signing out.  =)