Spring Hiking

April has been full of beautiful hikes.

We explored the ecological succession at Sycamore Grove following the flooding and fired of the past few years with Ranger Eric.

We had a big group and it was so much fun learning with one of the park experts.

I got out for a Bay Area Ridge Trail hike with friends and saw some gorgeous wildflowers (J kept asking if they were weeds or wildflowers and didn't seem to get, or believe, that there isn't really a difference.)

Had a little glimpse of the Bay from one part of the trail--always feels right on the BART.

Daddy-o and I went on a wildflower research hike so I could prep for my last hike of the semester.

The hills around us are still green, but not for long. 

Luckily, there were still plenty of flowers to find.

And a week later, the weather wasn't nearly as nice (we got sprinkled on and it was COLD),

but we had several families willing to brave the weather and come out on a wildflower hunt with us.

Kind of can't believe that this was possibly Peanut's last nature group hike with me and his friends. We'll see if any of his school holidays line up with my hike schedule next year.

It was a good hike, even with the iffy weather.

And we found so many different flowers.

I'm glad to have had another fun semester with everyone. We've got a few new families who came to several of our hikes, some from across the bay. I'm hoping I can get in some hikes closer to them --my favorite local redwood hikes are out their way and I'd love to have more families out that way to plan hikes for so I have an excuse to drive over there.

A Day Gone Bad

What started as an absolutely beautiful day turned into a bit of a disaster before lunchtime. Peanut has an all-day class at an outdoor nature learning place on Wednesday's right now and I've been using the 6 hours I have in that area to hike the Bay Area Ridge Trail and then work on science classes at Panera or the library until it's time to pick him up.

The trail I chose this time was in Benicia along the bay. The first half was an urban hike--mostly along the streets and I was making good time, and happy with how pretty and safe the area was. It's always a little nerve wracking to hike alone and in unfamiliar places, but this seemed like a good choice--safer than being out on a deserted trail in the hills. I was calculating if I had time to do the whole 9.5 mile loop to cover that section of the trail because I was enjoying it so much.

I had made it to this pretty little cove and saw an egret on the shoreline, so when I noticed a staircase leading down to the bay, I wanted to get a closer picture of the bird. I walked down and stepped onto a small log at the bottom of the stairs which looked totally stable. But it wasn't. The log rolled, and my right ankle, which has been acting up lately, crumpled as I fell. I heard a loud popping sound as it folded, which was the same sound I heard 5 years ago when I sprained the same ankle pretty badly.

After staying on the ground for a couple minutes to let the initial pain go away, I tested it and decided I could walk back up the staircase to the street. There was a bench there, so I sat for a few more minutes. At this point, I was still wondering if I could keep hiking and finish the trail I'd planned, or if I needed to turn back. I was almost to the part of the trail that goes through a state park on the bay, which I was pretty excited about, but after resting it a few more minutes, I decided that I better turn back since I was 2.5 miles from the car. I hobbled along for about 10 houses when I realized I was never going to make it back to the car. Luckily, I was able to call for a Lyft and was picked up a few minutes later. But no more hiking :(.

So, I made it back to the car, drove to Panera, and spent the next 3 hours waiting for Peanut. I got some work done, but when I stood up after sitting there for a couple hours, I could barely walk. Getting to the bathroom and back was excruciating, and same for the car. It had gotten pretty swollen by that point, but I still hadn't taken my shoe off because I worried I wouldn't be able to get it back on. So, I made the very uncomfortable drive home before I hopped into the house and had Bug help me get my shoe off. It looked fat, hurt to walk, so he got to help me with the driving. He had one more day before his license test, so I went along for the ride, but at least I didn't have to use my right foot.

A friend brought me crutches a couple hours later so I could move around the house when I absolutely needed to, but I spent the rest of the evening on the couch with it propped up, hoping that the swelling would come down and it wouldn't hurt so bad.

But, the next morning, it was just as bad, and I knew I needed to go to the doctor. I made it through two science classes, by mostly just teaching from a chair, and then had my friend drop me off at the urgent care, where they x-rayed it and announced that it might be broken, or maybe I broke it 5 years ago (the two doctors who looked at the x-rays didn't totally agree). Either way, they put me in a boot and suggested I go to an orthopedic doctor to follow up. 

So, that's where I'm at, with an appointment next Tuesday to confirm that the boot isn't going away anytime soon. I'm pretty bummed because this means I am not going to make any of my walking or hiking goals for the year. I was only a few hikes away from completing 50 this year, a few miles from getting my 25 miles and while I was a little behind for my 1000 miles of walking/hiking/running for the year, I was totally planning to catch up. But I think I'll be lucky if I can walk boot free by the end of the year.

Russian Ridge

Two hiking days in a row? Yes, please!

We got to check out a new park--Russian Ridge--where we found this cute little pond.

Not a bird in sight, which was a little disappointing, but it was still pretty.

Cattails are always fun.

Then, after the pond, we met up with friends for the rest of the hike which included a chunk of Bay Area Ridge Trail for me to cross off. And I didn't get anymore people pictures, haha. I kind of hate that I take so many pictures of the random daily moments, but then, sometimes, when I get to see friends that I hardly ever see, I forget to take a picture. But maybe that's okay because I'm just enjoying getting to be together. So, here's some cool lichen.

And puffy clouds over the hills.

And tree-lined trails. It was a beautiful hike and we had a great time getting to catch up with J & J. We're hoping we can make it a regular occurrence.

A Couple More Ridge Trail Miles

Family hike at Lake Chabot.

Signs of spring.

Mushrooms.

And my hiking crew.

 

Adding to Those Ridge Trail Miles

Bug and I hiked a few miles at the Carquinez Strait--you can just see the water and the bridge in the distance of the picture. I love it when a Ridge Trail hike includes a view of some part of the bay.

This one also had a labyrinth.

And lots of mushrooms. Mushroom hunting is one of my favorite parts of winter hiking.

And then we finished off the morning with a stop at Chick-fil-A for lunch. It has gotten a little trickier fitting in my monthly dates with my kids, but I really enjoy the one-on-one time, and hope that they do, too. More than that, I hope they always know that I'm there, and available for a conversation. 

Celebrating the Shortest Day

The kids and I went for a solstice hike and found fog! It was perfect for the first day of winter. We may not get snow, but fog and the damp cold feel very wintery to us.

I chose a section of the Bay Area Ridge Trail near the John Muir National Historic Site. We climbed Mt. Wanda, where he roamed with his daughters when he lived there. I think we would have had beautiful views if it hadn't been foggy, but we'll have to check it out on another day.

Mushrooms! I'm always excited to find fungi :).

After lunch, it had mostly cleared up and we did get a view of the hills with Mt. Diablo in the background from the hilltops on the other side of John Muir's home. We never made it close enough or high enough to get the Bay View that is there, but we had heard fog horns all morning and could see a layer of fog over what I think must have been the edge of the Suisun bay.

We did see a LOT of cows. Some were right next to the trail and made us a little nervous, but they mostly just stared at us.

The spot where the trail goes under the freeway and right past the John Muir site has murals from spots that John Muir loved. It was a fun surprise when we came to this spot. I still want to come back some time when the house and grounds are open so we can see the orchards and other parts of the property, but with all the shut downs around the state right now, we knew this would be a hiking only day.

We finished off our day with roasting hot dogs over the fire and a warm bistro salad that I've fallen in love with (and convinced everyone else that it's pretty tasty, too.) Daddy-o had to go inside after dinner to teach an English class that he's been doing on Monday nights through our church (though attendance was pretty light--he's hoping it's just because of the holidays and that people will come back in January, but the person over the program is convinced that the consistency is important so they will continue to hold class each week no matter the time of year, and for the few who did come, it probably is very important.)

The kids and I stayed outside by the fire, reading a couple of books about winter and advent, and then telling jokes and playing games. There was a lot of laughing, a lot of being cold, and a lot of sugar consumed. It wasn't the same as our solstice parties we've had the past couple of years, but same as the evening I spent camping alone with the kids this summer, I realized that when we invite other families to join us, I pretty much don't interact with my kids. They're with their friends, I'm talking with mine. This year has been full of traditions with the twist of turning them into true family time, and I kind of like it. Having a balance would be best of all, but for now, we'll keep embracing all the dedicated family events.

And finally, Bean and Peanut continued their celebration by sleeping out in the backyard to get their hour requirements in the range of doable for the last 10 days of the year while the rest of us went in to get warm, haha. They actually slept very cozily in our smallest tent and didn't get up until after 10 the next morning, so I'd say they were comfortable enough!

The days only get longer from here!

More October Happenings

Saturdays have been my hiking day this past month. Sometimes solo, like this trail just south of Tilden Park in Berkeley. I did 8 miles, and had 3.5 hours of quiet on the trails to think. It was just what I needed.

This was also a month of some pretty cool mushroom discoveries. This bright orange one was really big--about the size of my head. It has since faded to a dirty gray/white color and started shrinking, so I must have first found it at it's prime.

We still had really warm weather all month, and found a Wednesday when Bug and Bean could sneak away from school (they only have one 15 minute virtual check in on Wednesdays, and then are supposed to spend the rest of the day working on homework, but they'd both managed to get ahead that week.) We headed down to Rio Del Mar, where we met up with friends, and despite the cooler water temp and small waves, a few of the kids spent a lot of time boogie boarding.

Peanut preferred the incoming river which was a little warmer (and a lot shallower).

He made sandmen and women.

All the kids got into making drip castles. I love getting a good beach day in the fall. Just wish school didn't get in the way of us doing this more often.

Another hike in Tilden, this time with Daddy-o.

And we found another really cool mushroom.

Between all the hikes, I took a lot of early morning walks and because of the days getting shorter, I've seen a lot of sunrises this month! I'm just so grateful that the air has been so much better.

Yet another Tilden hike (this finished off the Bay Area Ridge Trail hikes in that park), this time with Bug. What a difference a week makes. Daddy-o and I were getting pretty hot with the sun blazing down on us. Bug and I had absolutely no view at all because of all the fog. But it was pretty. And sometime I'll have to go back to do this section again because it's supposed to have some pretty amazing views of the bay and hills.

End of the month, this girly FINALLY got to go take her Driver's test, and she passed with a perfect score!

And final hike of the month--another solo one, in Sycamore Grove.

This time, I had some companions for part of the hike. I followed these deer for awhile until a biker scared them and they ran down the creek bed.