the clutch in my truck has failed, again... i'm beginning to get a complex on how i drive.
i hiked home from work, over mount tamalpais. it was a steep 1 1/2 hours up the mountain, and 1 hour down. It was 86 degrees and full sun, as I went up. It was a clear day and wonderful views of the San Francisco bay area. I was hiking on a ridge trail that had steep slopes of chaparral dropping down on either side, this makes great views . While going up the steep open terrain, I paused underneath almost every madrone tree i could find, to stay cool. I was carrying water and some bagels in a brown grocery bag, which later my friend laughed at. I saw one other hiker on the upper ridge at about my highest point of the trail, he was friendly and offered advice on the best routes. But I knew the trails already....
Then on the way down there was shady redwood trees lining the trail and it was cooler. A light wind cooled me down. Far away, I could see a big fog bank entering the San Francisco bay. Soon I could hear a babbling mountain stream running through a steep redwood canyon. The steep ravines rose above me and sheltered me from the sun. I was tired, but hiking down through more familiar terrain was cheerful and sentimental.
Our driveway is really steep and the hardest part of a long hike. Our house is deep in the redwoods, and I was glad to have survived the ordeal.