Hello Hikers!
New Year’s Day
Six Mile Creek, Wildflower Preserve to Potter’s Falls, and tailgate party
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Wonderful morning along Six Mile Creek, complete with a very lively bushwhack adventure
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… and a great tailgate party in the parking lot afterwards to get the new year off and running
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It’s always pretty along this stretch of the creek but I thought it looked a little more lovely than normal because of the muted overcast light, and some scattered flurries of light snow that fell periodically
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Everything went smoothly until we descended from the overlook over the downstream reservoir into the flood plain
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I’ve hiked here many times but I never can remember how to proceed through the marshy area along the creek, and we ran into some flooded areas and obstacles that forced us to improvise and venture into the brambles
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Most but not all of us made it to the turnaround spot at Potter’s Falls — coming back we got really separated and there were hikers all over the north side of the gorge, from the stream bank all the way up to the Commonlands development. Somehow we all converged back at the cars at almost the same moment.
I wear a very tight-fitting glove and mitten combo to keep my fingers warm while I take photos — it’s impossible to pull them off quickly — as the tailgate party got going, Brenda came over with a shrimp for me in her hand — she stuck it in my mouth until I could laboriously peel the gloves off — new hiker Casey liked the look and called for my camera to get the shot — those of you who complain I never use photos of myself, here’s one for you
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Pretty revealing light — looking my age — how long before I sometimes need help with feeding?
Official head count: 41 hikers, six dogs
More photos online:
Me
Jack V
Annie didn’t post her shots yet — link coming Monday
Wednesday Dec 30
Shindagin Hollow SF, bike trail B1
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We don’t get fog on a hike very often, so I view it as a great treat — it really amps up the gloomy mood on a dark damp morning and makes the woods seem even more inviting — assuming you like that kind of thing ….
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Those of you who hate the winter cloudiness here, I’m sure that’s a huge negative, of course — I think maybe I like a brooding forest setting because I have a suppressed death wish ….?
….for many a time
I have been half in love with easeful Death,
Call’d him soft names in many a mused rhyme,
To take into the air my quiet breath;
Now more than ever seems it rich to die, 55
To cease upon the midnight with no pain,
Recognize that? Ode to a Nightingale — I regard a lot of poetry as unnecessarily hard to understand, but this one is worth the effort.
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There was no way to tell on the drive to the trail head that there’d be fog, or snow cover, so it was a nice surprise — we started out walking along the hugely picturesque edge of the Shindagin gorge, but the slushy snow was too slippery and we had to turn around and walk on a safer path
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I’m always on the lookout for a challenge event on our walks, and I especially like limbo trees — from the photo it looks like Dennis R was up for the idea — Go Daddy!
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Aww, very bad show, Daddy-O — you’re not allowed to touch the ground — I didn’t see everyone make the effort but at least two of our ladies, Mary and Irene, got under without touching
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As many of you know I’m a big fan of dark pine woods — this is a great example — it wasn’t really as dark as the photos suggests — I fiddled with the camera so the faces wouldn’t be washed out, and that meant darkening the background
Official head count: 19 hikers, two dogs