Joseph D. Grant County Park

Yes, that's my husband giving a thumbs up!

Almost a month ago, Erik and I decided to up the ante and go on a long moderate hike. We had been working out for 2 weeks so 7.4 miles shouldn't be a big deal, right? Yeah.... we survived. But I was definitely sore for several days! I think the toughest part of this hike was driving up to the park entrance. It was seriously the most afraid I've been on a mountain road here. There were no railings, no shoulder and the road just dropped off.  I was trying not to act too panicked so I didn't freak Erik out while he was driving.

The hike was totally worth it though. We picked Joseph D. Grant County Park (#45/60), a moderate balloon course on dirt fire road, because it was supposed to be an "awesome winter hike".  It took us almost 4 hours and is not recommended for summer ("unless you favor dehydration"). There wasn't much shade, so I could totally see that. We were pretty hot and it was JANUARY.  Seriously, I know this is a strange winter for everyone, but the weather here has been ridiculously amazing.

Start of the trail. You can almost make out Lick Observatory at the top of the ridge (Mount Hamilton).

Wishing I wore some makeup....

Start of our journey -- Hotel Trail

Wildlife on Grant Lake

The only shaded part of our hike.  There is oak, eucalyptus (love!) and coyote brush.

One thing that freaked me out about this part of the hike is that "wild pigs" frequent this part of the trail.  You read that right. WILD. PIGS. Here's the book's instructions: "Should you come across pigs, be sure to give them a wide berth. Their eyesight and hearing are poor, so they might not see you—give them a good holler and raise up your arms to look big, and they should be on their way." Right... Erik was entertaining thoughts of stabbing wild pigs with his knife... I told him that I would run away and leave him for dead. Sorry, but really? A knife against a wild pig? No sense in both of us dying a gory death.  I mean, you've seen Silence of the Lambs (one of them), right?

It's just so beautiful here. The sky is really that blue.

We kept thinking we hit the peak of the hike (3.7 miles of it was uphill).   This is us realizing notsomuch.

You can see the trail snaking up and to the right.

A hawk!

I LOVE LOVE this photo! We made a photo calendar this year, and I'm thinking this one is going to be January 2013.

Erik looks cute. Me? Not really but at least I was getting a tan. Did I mention this was in January?

Also, notice Lick Observatory in the background (back right).

More wildlife

And... more hawks.

That's where we started. You can see the bathrooms at the trailhead to the mid-left of the photo.

We almost made it through unscathed. That gate came out of nowhere! Erik almost lost his hand. Okay, not really. But he was pretty worried about infection.

All in all, it was a pretty fabulous day followed by a pretty fabulous party where I met a new friend (who has an event planning business called Fete Fabuleux!).  Yay for making my first real friend in Silicon Valley! I'm soooo pumped!