California Trails

Sunday and Monday I got a refresher course on why I love coming to California. I searched online for some trails longer than 5 miles one way. I found one within 10 minutes of where I'm staying in San Jose. It's call Alum Rock Park, and the trails there offer anything you could want from flat to steep and long hills (mountains?). I ran there Sunday, but only had about 1 1/2 hours of daylight. Monday, I got an early start and planned to run for 3 hours. Since I now knew the course somewhat, I parked at the beginning of the trail and started out. I had the trails almost to myself in contrast to Sunday when the trails were full of walkers and hikers. Monday I took several side trails to the tops of very steep hills. On the far end of this trail, it goes up and up, and on a very narrow trail. The trick for me, I'm a bit acrophobic, was to run without looking down. From time to time I'd stop, look down, then continue. After reaching the top of the mountain I had a great view of the valley below. I should have run with my camera, but I try to run with as little as possible. On the run back, I encountered rabbits, squirrels, deer, and I think a beaver. Most of the trail is right beside a creek. After this great run, I drove into San Francisco to have dinner with an old friend. We drove into Sausalito and ate at this great restaurant that was right on the bay. I love this area.