One of the advantages of living in California is the weather. On average, San Jose has 300 days of sunshine in a year. That is astonishing to someone like me who is a weather-obsessed Canadian, used to grey, rainy, snowy days for about five months of the year.
Yesterday was a prime example of that sunny weather. It was perfectly clear–blue skies, a soft, warm breeze and temperatures hovering in the mid-twenties (it was 76 fahrenheit, but I have no idea how to convert from fahrenheit to celsius–yet!). This kind of weather makes it possible to spend a lot of time outdoors. For some that means lounging on a patio sipping a cold drink and reading a good book. For me, it means communing with nature (to a point). I met up with a friend and we decided to go for a walk. Until yesterday that meant wandering through the neighbourhood critiquing the houses and landscaping, but we decided to change things up and find a trail. Our neighbourhood backs on to the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. These foothills are covered in hiking trails. On any given day we have seen deer, quail and wild turkeys. If you’re lucky (or unlucky depending on your point of view), you might also see coyotes, rattlesnakes, bobcats and wild pigs. We picked a trailhead that took us to the top of our neighbourhood and gave us a great view of our surroundings.
I thought it would be a quick up and down, and then we’d head back home. Alas, no, we decided to take another trail. I have no complaints. The fields and forests are all picture postcard worthy. We even saw a gaggle of wild turkeys! We didn’t actually stray that far from our neighbourhood, but the foothills can be deceiving–the ups, downs, twists and turns can take you to all sorts of hidden corners and get you so turned around you can lose your internal compass. (that’s when the sun really comes in handy!)
Our morning jaunt through the neighbourhood turned into a two and a half hour, 12 kilometre hike through the hills.
Lessons learned for next time: bring water, bring snacks and bring some pocket money–although there were no stores in the immediate vicinity! And definitely remember sunscreen and a hat, which I did.
I also think my kids would have loved this hike, even if they do complain about hiking when we have taken them. Just remember: bring food and water if you are planning on bringing kids.
I think this will become my new favourite recreational activity–it’s not too intense, it’s social, it’s great exercise and the vistas are absolutely stunning.