I’m a bit late on my usual weekend update – it’s been a bit busy lately. Saturday’s team hike was a 5-hour one in Gerbode Valley. We got lucky yet again with the weather. Though it rained before and after the hike (and continues to rain virtually every day here), it was dry, warm and only partly cloudy throughout the hike on Saturday.

Gerbode Valley is in Marin, just north of San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge. The hike had a lot of long uphill stretches, good preparation for the Grand Canyon. And the flowers — Cala Lilies, poppies and others — were in full bloom. The only critters we saw were some hawks, aptly near Hawk Hill.

I have to say, the hiking is getting easier. On the long stretches of uphill, I’ve learned to pace myself so that I can keep going and going. And I’ve started feeling those hills less in my longs and more in my leg muscles, which by the way have gotten noticeably larger. I put on some zip-up knee high boots the other day only to discover they were tight on my calves. Well… really only tight on my right calf, I hope that doesn’t mean I’m getting lop-sided;-)