Planning to change my name to "The last knee bender" or something like that. Walking is sometimes an ordeal so hiking is a challenge. Walking on trails is what makes me happy, so trying out local hikes which are not more than 6 miles and not too steep for long times.
Three hikes in last two weeks.
1. The zinfandel trail
2. Mclellan Ranch trail along the Stevens creek
3. Vista loop to Maisies
A few photos from these hikes.. which all had a chai session at the top!
Enjoy these places while there is still water running in creeks and the ponds are full of water.. for the last few years we used to go by the signs that said "no swimming or wading in ponds" and laugh as there was no water in any of these creeks or ponds.
For now, alternating between small hikes and knee care!
Now waiting for the super bloom of flowers to start!
The knee is healing, but slowly. Every now and then it swells up and I have to give it all the treatments recommended. Still doing Yoga every alternate day or so, and trying my best to do poses that don't end up in sharp pain. Walking has also become an on and off thing. For an active guy, this knee issue has been a curse. My happiness was directly proportional to my step count and yoga attendance. ... and as a saving grace in recent years, music.
Have been sitting in the same place mostly listening to music or singing. That said, our hiking group leader who is recovering from surgery wanted to cheer up both of us by going on a small "walk" on flat terrain at the local Byxbee park. We have not walked this as it was not a challenge. "It is a walk, not a hike!" was our previous rhetoric. Given walking is now a blessing and hiking is ruled out, we went last weekend.
What was supposed to be a 3 mile walk ended up being 6.5 miles as we got some fresh enthusiasm watching the birds and the beautiful flowers all along the path. We also had a tea break in the middle of this!
It is good to be back with friends and on any walking path. We start slow.. hopefully the knee improves over time and normalcy returns.
Given the current situation, this was a morning well spent! Next time, will take the SLR and the telephoto lens with me to capture the birds better.. these are all iPhone photos..
We did get a lot of "bench photos" for our collection!
A short video clip.. you get an idea of the birds and sounds.. this place was 30 minutes from home. We have never been to this place.. we mostly hit shoreline and back. It was just beautiful.
There was only 20 or so parking spots and we did have to wait for someone to leave so we could park. So go early and carpool where possible!
The last two years were great for hiking. Was almost at 10k steps a day. This year has been a disaster. The weather outside was gloomy, cold, rainy and windy for most of January. San was also in India for the first half of Jan and that meant less time for walking. Our hiking group leader tore both her ACL's and had surgery on one leg and has just started to walk without crutches! All of these things pretty much made hiking or walking difficult. Some days the iphone registered not even 500 steps!
To break the jinx we made an attempt to hike Windy hill with a few friends from the other side of the bay. It was a warm 45 degrees.. by the new California standards for 2023 and we made it to the summit and back in good time. Fast forward just a few days and we have snow on the local mountains and people rushing to get a look.
Went up to Hunter's point but there was no snow there.. but we got a great view of the hills on Fremont and San Jose side and the entire bay area.
Then we hiked to PG&E trail towards black mountain. We did not make it as it got too "slushy" on the trail and our hiking shoes got all clogged with mud to the point where there was no grip. We played it safe and turned back.
The weather change is definitely challenging the house and I have to get some work done. Kept trying to postpone it but if we keep getting hit with rains this frequently, might have to just go for some major repair work! We have lived here almost 17 years and this is the first time we see snow on the local hills.
Bracing for more rains that are coming this week..
A few photos from the last few hikes (including one of a salamander ? that we saw both in Mid peninsula and south bay trails within a week.. we normally don't see this.. only lizzards!)
Snow is fun. A very contrasting experience to Alaska where there was just snow everywhere and bitter cold. Looks like we brought a bit of Alaska back with us to the bay area!
My yoga T-shirt was wet from that hike! Given the 60 day challenge is still on, my pores just pour sweat!
The creeks are all flowing and the same places that looked dry are now brimming with life!
Within 5 days the scene has changed.. stopped the car on side of our road to get this shot of the rainbow and the snow in the local hills facing our street. Had to go to office that morning, so missed the chance to just walk up and see it up close.
By the time I got back, most of this had melted.
We did see this view from our side..
and over the weekend.. we did get to have fun..
Our regular hiking gang is slowly starting to venture out again. Maybe this is a good sign. For the first time this year my step count crossed 10k steps for the weekly average instead of being below 5k steps. Let's hope this keeps going.
My knee still swells and reduces every day. Trying to do my best to keep it under control at least for a few more days before doing some drastic medical intervention.
I feel this might not be a one off event and we might get this type of weather every alternate year or so going forward.. Seattle never used to get snow. Five or six years ago they got snow and the city came to a standstill as they were not prepared for it. Remember my BIL telling me about it. Now every alternate year they see snow in their backyard. Bay area might end up like that!
My body was not built for snow.. it was built for Marina beach, but has done a decent job of adapting to colder climates. Trying to spend as much time in the hot room as possible to compensate for this weather!
There is a first time for everything! Didn't expect to see snow in Cupertino, but we did!
There were many hiking trips over the last two months that did not get even a mention in the blog. One such hike was to go to Black mountain through Rhus ridge. We had made two prior attempts to do this, but parking at Rhus ridge is limited to 8 or 9 spots. So if you go even at 6AM to start, you might end up parking a mile and a half out and walk. There is no parking nearby on the main road either.
This one time we found parking and made it. This pretty much covers every appoach to Black Mountain.
We had a great time on this hike, especially since there was no visibility for the last part of the hike. The clouds rolled in and we were walking in the clouds for an hour with water condensing on us. As usual we did have chai in the clouds!
This hike stayed with me because of the views that were so different.. Same black mountain.. but different!
Then we got conned by a sign that said "historic windmill".. being a sucker for "historic", I encouraged the group to go see it even if added a mile to our hike. It was a letdown to see this sign after walking half a mile.
This is a public service announcement. There is NO WINDMILL to see.. however, the hike back up to the trail is a good cardio workout. The grass field also gives you a great contrast and nice pictures..
At one point we were sure it was going to start raining and we were not prepared for rain on a hike! Ended up being a good decision to keep going.. we were wet from the condensed water but by the time we made it down, it was okay.
This hike was a familiar route with a new weather condition. Loved it. Nature has a way to make things interesting!
This hike was in June. We will try this route again in winter for a different experience!
Post Half dome, things seem to be different. Mentally.. those jitters of making it through 3-4 hour hikes in local parks seem to be gone. Granted it is the first and only data point, but it counts for something.
It is rare for me to walk alone with San. Today we decided to just go and enjoy some together time and went to Wunderlich's Bear Gulch and Meadow trails. I was really not sure of being able to walk with the pace of a group and stress myself out. The last three miles of the half dome trip were still on my mind. After coming out of yoga class yesterday, thought my hamstrings were not up to it, but surprise surprise!! We did 7 miles in 2 hours 10 minutes including a Chai break and a few photo breaks. The photo setup times were a longer than usual. We were doing a steady pace and went up 1400+ feet and came down. Was able to walk as usual after the first 15 minutes..something loosened up somewhere and things turned out okay!
We got to see the sun rise over the bay area on what was a beautiful morning!
Not a bad start to a long weekend!
Here are some more pictures..
This place is just beautiful.. the sunlight streaming through the trees was like watching a dance!
Wasn't sure of the first one.. so took another one. Running from an iPhone placed delicately over a tree stump with a few other twigs to create a makeshift tripod has its challenges..
Went and got this trail special UV protect long sleeve hoodie from REI after a friend got it on the Half dome hike. It is very convenient and light and it is also thermal wear. Only thing is I should have worn my BYSJ shirt on the outside instead of on the inside. My usual T-shirt was soaked!
That was an accidental click with the selfie being in portrait mode. It blurred the background, but turned out to be an interesting photo..so keeping it!
By the time the sun comes up the grass fields start looking like lava beds!
While making tea at 5:15 AM to get ready might not be appealing, drinking it after reaching the top of the trail, definitely makes up for it!
and finally a photo of me up inside a hollow tree..
This park is lovely and you get parking if you go early enough. Let's hope the rest of the long weekend goes smoothly!
I am starting to like walking alone with San as she is taking better photos every day! This is a good sign, given we will be empty nesters next year.
Saturday, April 15, 2023 at 1:12PM ;)
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