7:30 in the morning. Park isn't officially open until 8:00, but the gates are open and we're rarin' to go. The adjacent golf course is well in use; the hills are shrouded in fog, so we can't even see our destination.
Next to the golf course is the Sherwood Forrest archery range. Didn't check to see whether Robin Hood and his Merry Men were up this early on a Saturday, practicing.
MUTT MVR parked at the trailhead, in a nice, quiet, FOGGY residential area.
Boost and Tika are checking out the fact that Fin is already out of his car and ready to go.
Vici and Fin crossing the bridge when they come to it.
Fog and typical very dry summer grasses. Going up up up--
Tika and Boost are eager to catch up. You can see Vici leaning into the steep uphill, which doesn't show up well in the photos.
We just came up this trail, just over a quarter mile and you can see how far down the golf course already is. In the fog.
"Not a trail." Too bad; it looks like a pleasant hike.
Looking back down the trail in another really steep section; the oncoming hikers are really leaning into the uphill, too. The fog and cool breeze help to keep us from overheating.
Rabbit in the path! He sat there for quite a while, letting us snap photos. We also saw a ton of short fat voles scurrying across the path, which excited Tika tremendously.
Mr. Rabbit is not disturbed by Vici's amusement.
Foggy foggy foggy! Not much of a view of the valley today.
Looking UP the hill. We should be able to see several huge communications towers, but there's nuthin'.
We know that we're getting close to the top by now. Several bicyclists passed us in tree-climbing gear. I don't think I could bicycle up this hill even so.
OMG, finally, after about an hour and a half of sweating upwards 1000 feet over 2 miles, suddenly there we are at the top, and we can still barely see the towers!
Isn't the view of Santa Clara County lovely?
Boost, Tika, and Fin admiring the view--er--fog. Dang that inside-out Boost ear that I didn't even notice until I got home.
Boost, Ellen, Tika, Vici, and Finn. Success! With wisps of visible fog blowing around us in a chilly wind (welcome to July?!); dogs' fur is getting moist and our sweat is now a cold liability.
Boost, Ellen, Tika in our traditional spot for a scenic view. Heh. See this blog post for a comparison to previous hikes up here.
Auntie Vici brought treats that she shared with my dogs, but Fin in particular is quite excited about it.
We're about halfway down (argh! knees and thighs work harder on that steep downhill) and now we are starting to see a little of the valley.
Missed getting a photo of the covey of quail that ran and flew across our path, but this large collection of juvenile and adult turkeys stayed in view long enough for a photo. And that was the end of our hike!
This is the fence that Boost & Tika & I had to climb over last year when we took a wrong turn coming down the hill. Go to end of this photo narrative for the story.
