Winter Hike

One of the benefits of living in the SF Bay Area is that we have lovely, mild winters which allow us to enjoy outdoor activities year 'round. Today we hiked in Redwood Park. Mild winters doesn't mean no "weather" it just means, we aren't walking around like the Michelin man like they do in Wisconsin.

When Diana and I hit the trail today, we knew we'd be in for a little slip 'n slide after a week of some pretty heavy rain, and we weren't disappointed. The trails were thick with mud and the mountain bikers, dogs, and hikers all had the trail paint to prove it. Dogs came off the trail up to their haunches wet and dirty and the mountain bikes liked like SUVs coming back from the Sierra's - riders with the mud racing stripe up their backs. We weren't so different with mud splatter up the insides of our pants and the hems thick with goo.

The trail though, in spite of the mud provided amazing winter scenery. The streams were flowing heavy with mini waterfalls; the moss was thick and bright green, the fungus were among us, and the wild flowers were just starting to bloom. The air was crisp, and clean, but that hint of spring was definitely in the air. We were probably about two weeks early to see the wild iris' in bloom, but the leaves were out and soon the hills will be rife with them.

There just isn't a bad time to hike in the East Bay Regional Parks - today was no exception.