Peak Hike

 Three in a row!   Had scheduled a Saturday morning peak hike with all the usual suspects. One by one, they started dropping like flies. Some had reasonable excuses.  Some were open to debate.

Vicky V: Led a blistering pace and was first to peak last week.  Bailed early in the week. Reason stated: exhausted. Speculation: she is a grandma now and deserves some rest.  Status= EXCUSED

Barb:  Still not feeling 100%,  had another crappy night. Decided to sleep in.  Reason stated: reaction to meds.  Speculation: FUCK CANCER!  Status = EXCUSED

Steve:  “I hurt my knee playing sofball.  I need to ice my knee” –  Reason stated: Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Speculation: new hi-def TV + Olympics.   Status = OPEN TO DEBATE

Michelle – Jumps on the bandwagon and bails. Reason stated:  Having “bad hair day” Speculation:  none of the other girls are hiking so screw it!   Status – EXCUSED

So its John and I, and the mountain. I pick him up after 7am.   As we made our way to Ohlone college, we could see that the peak was shrouded in clouds.  I don’t know if it was the coolness of the morning, or the fact that there was just the two of us, but we hauled ass. We made it to the peak in just around 80 minutes. A good 10 minutes ahead of our usual pace.  YIPPEE!  We rocked!  And sweated!  We took a short break up top,  took a photo of John looking out at the Sunol regional wilderness. Thats  Mt Diablo way back there in the background. Also took a pic of a “heart of grass”  that someone who lives out on Mill Creek Road had mowed into the hill.  After a “we made it”  phone-cam-pic  to the dropouts (make that loved ones) down below, we headed back down.  Another step closer to Half Dome!