I have lived in the Bay Area since late July now. Yesterday was the second time it has rained. The SECOND time! And today was the third time. Apparently, the rainy season has started, since it's supposed to rain three more days.
This morning I took the opportunity to run a little bit in the rain. 9 casual miles in the hills. The countless scents liberated by the rain were permeating the trail. It was beautiful! Makes me miss running in the South a little bit.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Impressions From My New Home Trails
In all this reminiscing about my summer, I haven't really shown the appreciation I have for living in, what I perceive to be, the unofficial trail capital of the U.S.: the SF Bay Area! ("Unofficial" because me saying it, doesn't constitute the correctness of that statement).
So, I finally brought along a camera on a recent run at Tilden Park (up to Wildcat Peak). Enjoy!
Regular ole' trail. Doesn't look like the South at all, does it?
Wildcat Peak...my goal for the day and the highest point in Tilden
The infamous Mt. Diablo lurking not too far away...
So, I finally brought along a camera on a recent run at Tilden Park (up to Wildcat Peak). Enjoy!
Regular ole' trail. Doesn't look like the South at all, does it?
Wildcat Peak...my goal for the day and the highest point in Tilden
more beautiful trail
Eucalyptus trees....there are tons of them here, however they are an invasive species
View of the Golden Gate Bridge from the top of Wildcat Peak
The infamous Mt. Diablo lurking not too far away...
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Frightening Moment on the Trail
Let me me start this post off by saying one thing: I love animals, and I love dogs. I like to run with them, wrestle them and play with them at any time. Unfortunately a dog was at the center of one scary trail incident this afternoon.
For days, I had been looking forward to this run. My schedule had been built all around it. I even did some studying on a Saturday night just to spend some significant trail time up at Tilden Regional Park this morning. Tilden has a maze of trails and I'm still getting my bearings doing many exploratory runs with a map close by at all times.
About 20 minutes in, I passed by a picnic area with a young couple laying on the ground with what appeared to be a bull terrier...off-leash. Now, bull terriers are so-called fighting dogs and with the wrong owners can be quite dangerous to humans, in particular children. It's up to the owner to raise these dogs carefully and with lots of attention.
So, I'm trying to run by as the dog all of the sudden decides to charge me. Teeth showing, saliva coming out of his mouth, it's running towards me fast. I decide to stop and stand my ground. What was frightening wasn't the dog as much as the owners who looked terrified and just froze. The dog reached me and I could feel his wet mouth brush up against my leg.
Thank goodness, it didn't bite. You could see the sense of relief on the faces of the young couple. One of them came over and removed the dog from my general vicinity. They apologized profusely, and I could tell that they were still in a bit of a shock.
I've had dozens if not hundreds of dogs run towards me or bark at me while out running. They have barked, tried to play and do all sorts of things. But this was different. The wrong dog in a wrong owners' hands can be a dangerous thing. I got lucky.
For days, I had been looking forward to this run. My schedule had been built all around it. I even did some studying on a Saturday night just to spend some significant trail time up at Tilden Regional Park this morning. Tilden has a maze of trails and I'm still getting my bearings doing many exploratory runs with a map close by at all times.
About 20 minutes in, I passed by a picnic area with a young couple laying on the ground with what appeared to be a bull terrier...off-leash. Now, bull terriers are so-called fighting dogs and with the wrong owners can be quite dangerous to humans, in particular children. It's up to the owner to raise these dogs carefully and with lots of attention.
So, I'm trying to run by as the dog all of the sudden decides to charge me. Teeth showing, saliva coming out of his mouth, it's running towards me fast. I decide to stop and stand my ground. What was frightening wasn't the dog as much as the owners who looked terrified and just froze. The dog reached me and I could feel his wet mouth brush up against my leg.
Thank goodness, it didn't bite. You could see the sense of relief on the faces of the young couple. One of them came over and removed the dog from my general vicinity. They apologized profusely, and I could tell that they were still in a bit of a shock.
I've had dozens if not hundreds of dogs run towards me or bark at me while out running. They have barked, tried to play and do all sorts of things. But this was different. The wrong dog in a wrong owners' hands can be a dangerous thing. I got lucky.
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