Sunrise 6:29: Making it to the top - together

The female Dawn Jogger's cranky foot (making walking more sensible than jogging) and the male Dawn Jogger's increasing strength and stamina combined this morning, and the result was a hike to the top of Arastradero Preserve, something they had not done together for well over two years. The victory for the male DJ was not just that he walked a mile or so up - and then down, which is more difficult for him - but that at least half of the trail was on uneven ground, requiring steadiness and dexterity. It was great to share the view and wildflowers...

Sunrise 6:50: Surprise encounter

Even with a full afternoon ahead (going to see a little preseason baseball) the Dawn Joggers decided to head out to Arastradero Preserve while the grass was still at its greenest and the wildflowers were in bloom. The female DJ does a loop that takes her up and down three times, so its a good workout. After coming down from the loop in one of most southern parts of the preserve (near the main entrance), she was surprised to see the male DJ. He was in the midst of his longest hike since diagnosis, which included two big up and downs. Naturally, he was feeling pretty good about it...

Sunrise 7:04: Arastradero trail running/walking

The Dawn Joggers headed out to Arastradero late this morning with the ghost of Cassie by their side. It has been some months since they explored the preserve separately but together - the female DJ jogging a five-mile up and down loop while the male DJ did an out and back of a couple miles that also included a couple of good climbs. This was the first time he was off road without either walking stick or ankle brace - a successful out. They agreed that trail walking/running is a good workout...

Sunrise 7:14: Autumn in Arastradero

The big wind storm arrived as predicted yesterday and it was still gusty this morning when the female Dawn Jogger headed out for a run up and down the hills of the Arastradero Preserve (while male DJ got some mileage in on the Alpine walking path). The promise of great visibility was fulfilled with the brown hills and blue skies playing off each other. It was so clear you could imagine if not really see hikers going up Windy Hill (pictured). A couple of gusts caused the female DJ to right herself...

Sunrise 6:14: La belle rencontre

The Dawn Joggers headed out to Arastradero for their Saturday walk/jog, the first time the male DJ had attempted trail walking without a cane. (Success.) On her first loop down (there are three up and downs on the 5-mile loop), the female Dawn Jogger encountered a spirited horse galloping up the trail towards her. The rider stopped to chat and she met Belle, a 'quarter horse who really is a sweet girl,' according to her owner. Always partial to horses, the female DJ thinks Belle is particularly good looking...

Sunrise 6:03: Creatures on the trail

This morning the Dawn Joggers headed out to Arastradero Open Space, which, along with adjacent Foothills Park, had been closed for a few days due to what turned out to be an unsubstantiated mountain lion attack on a hiker. Neither the professional trackers nor examination of the man's shirt turned up any evidence of the large cat. The DJs have often commented that they think many of these mountain lion sightings are actually coyotes, and the female DJ thought about that today when a coyote appeared on the trail about 50 feet in front of her. She caught just a fleeting glimpse before it disappeared into the brush; due to its color another observer might have mistaken it (although "cats" and "dogs" really do look quite different). After doing her usual 5-mile loop, she caught up with the male DJ at trail's end...

Sunrise 5:50: California is golden

A week ago the female Dawn Jogger was in a lush and leafy green Kansas City suburb. Today she and the male DJ headed out to Arastradero Preserve, a prime example of oak woodland in a California summer, much more golden than green. This was a preserve that the DJs and Cassie had long enjoyed on Friday mornings just before or at the crack of dawn, where they enjoyed watching the seasons change and often encountered the wildlife out grazing, or in the case of the many coyotes in the area, after a hunt. Most but not all of the smoke from the fires north and south of them had blown away and it was a cool morning, good enough reasons to head out to a area that's often too warm during the summer to jog, even as early as 9:00. The irony of shared past experiences was evident. The male DJ photographed a deer and a thistle while the female DJ recorded a bunny in her path and another kind of thistle. Moments that happened at near the same time while on separate paths...

Sunrise 7:23: Cavorting with Christmas coyotes

On a crystal clear and frosty Christmas morning, the female Dawn Jogger headed out for a run at Arastradero with new photo companion, Clario, in her pocket. Clario is a Lumix 100 which features a very capable Leica lens and large 12 MP sensor. Those twin features make for very sharp photos - even at long distances. It got a robust inaugural workout. At first the female DJ was going to try for some distance shots - she could see much so far away - the three local peaks, Tamalpais, Diablo and Hamilton; three bridges, Dumbarton, San Mateo and Bay, the cities of San Francisco and Oakland. There have been few clearer days. But then she was joined on the trail by two coyotes, one of which seemed to have a shimmering gold Christmas collar. They ambled down the hillside about 100 yards ahead of her (they're a bit hard to spot in the top horizontal photo but one is in front of the center bush and its companion is to the left), turning from to time to time to chart her progress and then disappeared around a turn. When she made the turn. she found they'd moved off the trail onto a still mostly brown meadow - and in somewhat closer view. Clario came through with the best coyote shots ever. The male DJ was equally impressed with the results. Christmas blessings to all...