Hiking Rancho San Antonio

April 29, 2004

Linda and I hiked the 8 mile PG&E trail at Rancho San Antonio to prep for the Half Dome hike in 3 weeks. I started the trail with a little too much confidence and ended up hyperventilating after a mere mile ascent. So we slowed down the pace, and aside from a nasty blister, the hike was wonderful! It was pretty warm, in the low to mid 80's. There was a touch of haze, but it was still very clear. We could easily see Mt. Diablo, Mt. Hamilton and beyond downtown San Jose. We could see the 3 bridges (Dumbarton, San Mateo and Bay), Oakland and even a few skyscrapers in San Francisco!

Lesson learned today: No Cotton Socks!

(Click on image to view larger size)

Evil Thistle

Craggily Tree

Bunny

Mt. Diablo in the horizon

Looking towards the south bay.

Mt. Hamilton and downtown San Jose are to the right.

At the top! Looking down the trail we just climbed

PG&E Tower

Rest stop and photo op

We just hiked that trail!

Interesting bulbous wildflowers. No idea what they are.

Deer grazing in the tall grass less than 30 feet from lots of humans.