Sisters' Saturday Hike

Photo courtesy of Martha

Martha and I have been hiking together each Saturday morning for many years (it has been at least 6 or maybe 7 years). I give her a wake up call, motor to her house , pick her up, park (we go early because parking can be a problem), and up the hill we go. During our hikes, we plan, we discuss, we lament, we share. We never run out of things to talk about. Sometimes, we let people join us, like DZ, but that is rare. We have tried to start a tradition of having our families hike Thanksgiving morning, but it is really hard to get young adults up so early.

The week is never quite right if I miss my hike with my sistah... (like yesterday).

On occasion, we hike the "Dish" at Stanford. The Dish has become my least favorite hike for the following reasons: ...too many people...the asphalt path.... too little foliage and fauna ...people hogging the trail...and access (hours open) is limited. On the positive side, it has an incredible view of the bay and the hills, the terrain gives you a great workout and since there are so many people on the trail, you see people you know.

Our preference is to hike the Chamise Trail at Rancho San Antonio , which takes us a little over an hour to complete. Well, we can make it as long or short as we wish--for we hike up to "our" summit and then head down the way we came.

A week ago, we decided to change our route and we hiked the Wildcat Loop Trail which took us past Deer Hollow Farm.

What a delight to come upon...

.... a lone cow, with her big brown eyes, gazing at us with her head resting on the top rails of the fence and belting out an occasional "moo"...

.... goats romping in the corral, jumping on the stump and baaaaing to the wind; and

....birds fluttering through the foliage; and

....a deer lazily chomping near the trail; and

... a wee bit of water in the stream; and

... a gorgeous view of foggy haze hovering over the valley; and

...coming across only a few people on the trail.

I feel lucky to live so close to such beauty (10 minutes max from front door to trail).