Today we only had a few hours, so Roya suggested a hike she had done before with her mom, but driving closer, so we would get the "fun" part. So, off to Santa Teresa County Park we went. We took Almaden Expressway to the end, took a right at Harry, then a quick left on McClean. After about a half mile, we turned left on Fortini - it's a small residential street, blink and you'll miss it. Fortini dead-ends at the base of the hills, and there's a small parking area at the trailhead.
We got the beasts to stop wrassling in the back seat long enough to leash them up, and got started. The trail is all uphill at first, a rocky switchback path between bunches of bright orange poppies and other grassy plants. By the time you get to the top, you realize that it's not really the top (dammit!) and you keep going a bit more. The view is totally worth it:
It was really a beautiful day - and we started early enough that it wasn't scorching. We kept on going, Roya quicker downhill than me:
Around this area, we briefly heard a rattlesnake - let's just say that properly motivated, we can BOOK.
At the bottom of this downhill section, there is a small wood bridge that goes over an even smaller stream - and right under the bridge, it's only a few inches of water, and a whole lot of mud. Of course Elliott started it - hops right off the bridge and starts nibbling on some plants. Then Koda decides to one-up Elliott, and hops right into the muddiest, wettest section, and LAYS DOWN. Roya and I were trying vainly to get both of them to get out of the mud, while hordes of bicyclists came hurdling down the hill toward the bridge. Luckily, they stopped to reminisce. (Or, you know, mock us from where they had a better view).
Ahem.
After the bridge, we went back uphill, then back down another hill, and the trail started heading to the right, then back in the general direction of where we parked. We stopped at pretty much the only shady section to see if the dogs would rinse themselves off, and sure enough, they were game:
We took a few minutes for the dogs to cool off, then got back on the trail. Just after this point, we actually saw two horses - Elliott was convinced they were giant dogs, and barked at them. Luckily, the horses were mellow and the riders were amused. A few minutes later, past a few rural yards and barking dogs, and we were back at the trailhead and civilization.
We got the beasts to stop wrassling in the back seat long enough to leash them up, and got started. The trail is all uphill at first, a rocky switchback path between bunches of bright orange poppies and other grassy plants. By the time you get to the top, you realize that it's not really the top (dammit!) and you keep going a bit more. The view is totally worth it:
It was really a beautiful day - and we started early enough that it wasn't scorching. We kept on going, Roya quicker downhill than me:
Around this area, we briefly heard a rattlesnake - let's just say that properly motivated, we can BOOK.
At the bottom of this downhill section, there is a small wood bridge that goes over an even smaller stream - and right under the bridge, it's only a few inches of water, and a whole lot of mud. Of course Elliott started it - hops right off the bridge and starts nibbling on some plants. Then Koda decides to one-up Elliott, and hops right into the muddiest, wettest section, and LAYS DOWN. Roya and I were trying vainly to get both of them to get out of the mud, while hordes of bicyclists came hurdling down the hill toward the bridge. Luckily, they stopped to reminisce. (Or, you know, mock us from where they had a better view).
Ahem.
After the bridge, we went back uphill, then back down another hill, and the trail started heading to the right, then back in the general direction of where we parked. We stopped at pretty much the only shady section to see if the dogs would rinse themselves off, and sure enough, they were game:
We took a few minutes for the dogs to cool off, then got back on the trail. Just after this point, we actually saw two horses - Elliott was convinced they were giant dogs, and barked at them. Luckily, the horses were mellow and the riders were amused. A few minutes later, past a few rural yards and barking dogs, and we were back at the trailhead and civilization.
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