Mid week training: Windy Hills Open Space Preserve

Wanting another hiking fix, I went out yesterday to the Portola Valley and hiked through the Windy Hills Open Space Preserve with the dog I was taking care of for 2 weeks and with Noah, one of the kids that I work with. We had a really great time and Noah and Scoutie did wonderful! We even saw a rattle snake!

Team hike # 7 Muir Woods

Yesterday we went to Muir Woods and boy was it crowded! Felt really out of place in my hiking gear. Hardly any of my photos came out, but Ron, a fellow team mate, was nice to enough to share some of the photos that he took!

Off schedule!

Remember last weekend's exciting hike on Mt. Tam?


Well, Christina and I were so disappointed that we didn't get to do the full Matt Davis - Steep Ravine loop (and the fact that we just LOVED the hike!) that we decided to make another trip together back up the mountain to the Rock Springs Trailhead. But this time, instead of taking the Old Mine Trail down to the beach, we headed towards the falls! Cataract falls that is!

I have been on this hike only once before: a special hike for my birthday this past March where I went with a small group of friends and a fabulous shelter dog named Teddy. Christina and I chose to do this hike again not only because it is hands down one of the most beautiful hikes on Mt. Tam - but because we could bring her lil' monsters (Ginny and Xiao) along for the hike!

We arrived at the trail head a little after 7:30am and there wasn't a car or person in sight!

(You can just see Xiao behind one of the rocks there!)

We probably saw less than 20 people the whole morning (and at least 3/4 of them we saw at the very end of the hike!). Down we went to the falls, Ginny and Xiao running around like little kids in the water. Both Christina and I said how in much better shape we are now that we were the last time we each did this hike. And it's true -- we were kickin' butt.

I'm not sure how many miles we did, but 3 hours and 45 mins later we were ready for the trip back home. :)

Team hike # 6, Pleasanton Ridge R.P.

A few words to describe this past weekend's hike:

Dry. Brown. Hilly....and Hot, hot, hot! I would have taken more pictures, but sadly everything looked the same so I chose to abstain from taking photos. The few that I took though are very telling of the hike, the weather, and of the over-all feel of the day:




Me after taking a dive knees first, followed by my chest and face before I did a back flip to somehow land on my stomach. My camera (which had been turning on and off during the first half of the hike) mysteriously turned on and I took it as a sign to strike a pose! I've got bruised knees, arms and thighs, and several splinters in my right hand from trying to break my fall. Now that I've hurt myself trying to raise funds to cure cancer, you will surely make a donation to LLS on my behalf! Right? :)

After our 4 hour hike we headed over to a TNT Hiker Alumni's house for a Honoree BBQ. My friend and participant/honoree Christina told us about her best friends Boris and Fritz (two lil' guinea pigs!) who stuck by her side throughout her cancer treatment. She even brought photos! And fellow participant/honoree Claus told us how he lost some friends during his illness because they were scared and became distant from him; but at the same time, he made really GREAT friends because of what happened to him, too.

All in all, although not my favorite TNT hike by any means so far this season, I still had a great Saturday - scrapes, bruises, and all!

Team Hike # 5, Rock Springs/Matt Davis

Woo hoo! 1,400 ft. elevation change and over 10.5 miles in 5 hours. Go Team!

Today's hike was the most beautiful that we've been on and these pictures prove it!

I'm agnostic, but my experience today in the natural beauty of Mt. Tam almost made me a believer. The views within 5 minutes of the Rock Springs Trail head were a slice of heaven. The fog was so thick that it looked like an ocean as it rolled through the mountains.






My friend Christina and I had to strike a quick pose for the camera before we descended into the fog and down the Old Mine Trail towards the Matt Davis trail. As we hiked further down the mountain the cooler the air became.


This photo was one of the few places during the rest of the hike where we saw sun light and brown. After ward all we saw was lichen, moss, mushrooms, ferns - green as far as we could see!

(That's a fallen tree with the roots sticking up!)

After 2.5 hours we stopped for a lunch break at Table Rock:

Coach Doni didn't think that we could continue the hike up Steep Ravine and make it back to the trail head within our 4.5 - 5 hour time limit. So unfortunately we had to turn around and do an "out and back" in stead of a loop. Christina and I have planned to go to the full trail next Sunday together.

Finally, an hour and a half later we made it out of the fog and we got a glimpse of the bay!

Buddy hike # 2 Las Trampas Regional Park

This hike is my 2nd favorite so far (after the BEAUTIFUL coastal trail!) and I absolutely love the images I was able to capture so you could see what I'm talkin' about:


As you can see from the first few photos -- it's a hilly landscape with plenty of views! A good 45 minute up hill hike got us here:


From there we took a small detour to a rock formation about half a mile away from the trail. It was a refreshing, cool, and green escape from the dry, blistering sun. Through the trees was the rock formation and from there you could see the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, AND the Richmond Bridge.



After taking a short snack break, we headed back to the trail.

The hike this week was meant to last for 4 hours, but we were making such good timing that we finished 30 minutes early. GO team!

French toast and friends

A few weeks ago after a challenging hike, Maureen, Oda, and I went out to lunch at Fat Apple's in El Cerrito. My french toast was absolutely divine, but the company of new friends was even better!

Maureen and Oda were the first two people that I got to know after joining TNT. They were nice enough to give me a ride home after the Kick off event on May 22nd in San Francisco. We stopped to have lunch that afternoon as well and both of them told me sarcastically, "Team in training isn't really about training or fund raising -- it's about eating!!" :)