Mission on a foggy frosty morning

Last weekend there was a plan for a 10 mile hike which got pushed out to a later date. It was a long weekend and I had been a couch potato the entire time. Spent all my time and focus on adjusting the blogsite post moving to Squarespace 7.0 from Squarespace 5.0. It was scary for me to move platforms and there were glitches as things don’t always move smoothly. Was looking for html and css code help at one point and going nuts. A guy by the name of Freddie patiently helped over an almost two week period with his team to support the move. I have been their customer for 12 years, still they understood how this change for the look and feel of my site was important to me and the old folks in India who read it.

San decided to take the little one along to Mission peak for the first time. She had driven from SoCal pretty much non stop on Friday evening and had a day of rest. She was a trooper! So was I having been volunteered last minute the previous night.

We started at 7 and it was Frosty, Foggy and cold. For the most part as we went up it was just the three of us. The crowd started coming only when we were almost halfway down.

In spite of it being that cold, I was sweating profusely as we did good time. Hence the change of shirt after reaching the top!

The little one refused to take a few extra steps to get a better bench photo.. so we had to settle for this zoom in of my ever growing sun burnt bald spot ..

did stop for pictures as Mission hikes always show the same landscapes very differently throughout the year!

the grass was all covered in frost and we could see maybe 20 feet forward at the most.. we were holding hands and walking at one point hoping we don’t run into the notorious cows on this trail!

the highlight picture at the top and the Chaifie on the way down..

The rest in pictures..

A short video clip..

Effectively this was a great morning. Got me out of the funk of blog site updating. Ended up being a turning point for my mood after coming back down!

Here is to many more trips to Mission peak in 2025!

A rainy day hike in Windy hill

Call us crazy, but a few weekends ago, there was a plan to go on a sunset hike in Pacifica area around Mori point. When we started driving, a revised weather forecast changed things to cloudy and rain. So halfway on the route, we decided to go to the closest familiar hiking point. 

Chai was already in the flasks and the Parle-G biscuits and customized trail mixes, not to mention kuzhi paniyaarams were all loaded into backpacks!

We made a detour to go to the top of Windy Hill

I am always happy for Windy hill for all the wrong reasons. San tripped on a root and damaged her ankle at this very holy place and got enlightened. She started doing Bikram Yoga with me at BYSJ only thanks to that ankle damage and for that I am grateful to some root and this trail. That said, we always watch our step as a group when hiking here!

This time we went back and forth and walked a nice 8+ miles with wet jackets! Needless to say the trail was empty except for us and four Japanese students. 

Photos... the bench was wet.. so San was literally doing awkward pose for this now customary "bench photo"!

than again iPhone auto saves images like this when you get close enough! We could hardly see anything 15 feet ahead of us.. the picture above is closer to what we saw with our eyes..

Chai at the top with the treats were just amazing.. the chai got cold within a few minutes at the top and we had to scram as it started raining!

it was dark by the time we made it back to the parking lot with iPhone flash lights!

short video clip..

Windy hill is always interesting. What is more interesting is us. We are all crazy! 

Sweeney Ridge trail and Mori point in Pacifica

After a three week hiatus on hiking, we had a chance to join a large group of folks on a hike to Sweeney ridge. 

A group of 14, some of them I met for the first time. Enjoyed it thoroughly. The trailhead is a 35-45 minute drive from home depending on traffic and given the insane temperatures in Cupertino, this was a morning well spent in the fog and mountains. 

We also get to cross Highway 1 and go see the beach at Mori point  in the end. The ridge is part of the last piece of the hike. Started from home at 6:15 and came back home at 1:45. Hiked for 5 hours with a bunch of photo stops and a small break for tea and snacks at the vista point on top. There was nothing to see as there was a heavy fog and mist in the air. It did feel like walking through Jurassic park.

The parking lot for the trailhead is shared with an Orchid greenhouse. It makes for an interesting last mile climb back from the freeway to get to the car. 

By the time we made it to the top with the 1600 foot climb, was completely drenched! Good thing I had a change of clothes in the backpack for the rest of the descent and beach!

The morning dew made for some great pics with flowers, bees and spider webs.. 

When coming back to the car, noticed that my pants had a yellow layer of pollen on them! Luckily this time there was no severe post hike allergies to report!

sometimes you walk past a small flower that looks near perfect to the naked eye at 3 feet.. then you go take a macro shot of it and realize it is not that perfect.. still this small flower was irresistable!

The rest of the landscapes are in this slideshow..

A short video clip of the hike. Took a lot more slow motion videos of the waves crashing in.. you have a small sample within this clip.

It was time really well spent with a fun bunch! The last part of the trail where you come down to the freeway is very loose with gravel and if you don't have hiking shoes with grip and poles (for folks with bad knees) it is dangerous. We have been doing this for sometime now and managed it.. but first time hikers with improper shoes.....not recommended!  

The trail starts with a steep climb as well and keeps going almost a 1000 plus feet in one go. Warm up beore you start climbing!

Strongly recommend this as an early morning hike for a hot summer day!