President's Day was beautiful clear and Darby and I headed out for another hike. There were lots of other people on the trail up to the ridge, many with dogs, so I had to keep Darby leashed for much of the way. Luckily the other dogs were mostly well behaved. As usual, I had envisioned a more ambitious hike that I had the energy for. I had hoped to go beyond what I had done on previous hikes -- Augustin Bernal Park, but after climbing about 700 ft. to the top of the ridge, I realized that it wasn't going to happen today. We took the Thermalito trail which winds along the western slope of the ridge, passing a couple of stock ponds. Everything was very green and pretty. After about a mile, I decided that it was far enough and took a short connecting road back to the ridge top and started heading back.
I stopped at a picnic table on a nearby hilltop to make a phone call. It felt like a very big deal. It was my first girlfriend, Rosemary, who I hadn't seen or talked to in nearly 50 years. We went together for our last year and a half of high school. After a few years, I lost track of her, and always wondered what had happened to her. My 50 year high school reunion was coming up and they had set up a website with information about classmates. I didn't want to go to the reunion because most of the few friends I had were still on the missing list. But Rosemary was listed, and I got her phone number. I made the call -- no answer -- so I left a message, and continued on my hike.The views along the ridge were great as we made our way back down, passing some old olive groves. We took an alternate trail down from the ridge, a footpath that was a bit shorter and steeper than the road up.
A few days later, I finally got in touch with Rosemary, and a month or so later, Maureen and I spent a lovely afternoon picnicking in Redwood park with her and her husband, Bo
5.3 mi. -- 1300 ft. up and down
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