We are stealing the title today from a book called "The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom " by Slavomir Rawicz. It's the story of a man who walks from Siberia back home to Poland to freedom. We think we know how he felt!
We took a hike suggested in the Marin Independent Journal, which is, by the way, a very good newspaper. The walk is behind and around our condo, in the Pacheco Valley. I have never taken such a strenuous hike! (and never hope to again!) It was probably 5 miles, but half of it was uphill, and the other half was downhill. To say it was steep is really an understatement! The elevation was 1000 ft from top to bottom. It was gorgeous! We actually walked up and down a mountain, and from the top could see all the way over the San Francisco Bay to Richmond. We could see the Petaluma Harbor on the way to Sonoma, we could see the bridge near Vallejo. (I don't know the name of it).
On the other side, we could see most of Novato. We don't know how high we were, because we didn't bring the GPS. We did, however, remember our walking sticks this time, which we've been continually forgetting on every other hike and walk.
There is only one other hike I remember that was as strenuous, and it was a climb, not a walk. When Jay was about 12 or so, Dan and I took him and his dear friend Peter to the Pierce Stocking Drive around the National Lakeshore in Leelanau, Michigan. For those who haven't been around there, it is a bit of heaven. Anyway, one of the stops was a 465 ft. dune that ended up in Lake Michigan. Jay and Peter hesitated not a minute, and ran down the steep dune into the water. Dan and I looked at each other, and impulsively followed, and Zeke, our former wonderful, HUGE golden lab, followed us. We playfully ran down the sand, then enjoyed the water. THEN, we had to climb up. Well, Jay and Peter just trotted right up, not even panting. Zeke tried to be a loyal dog and stay with us, but even he got impatient and made his way up. Dan and I took forever, we rested, we climbed, we rested, we crawled, we panted! Jay and Peter found it quite amusing. Well, we finally got to the top, but we have never forgotten that. Today's hike equals that.
To top it off, I had fallen yesterday while walking Gus, after this hoity toity woman chided us for not having him on a leash. She had a "grand champion" French Bulldog, and probably afraid Gus would stick his nose in her dog's royal rear end. Anyway, I was so annoyed at her snobbiness that I wasn't watching where I was going, and I tripped and fell, hurting me knee. So I knew I couldn't handle jazzercize today, but thought a walk would be fine, plus I bought a knee brace. Well, I think it's actually o.k., but it was a little extra handicap on this walk!
This is getting to be a bad pattern, by the way, as when I was in Sweden this summer, I tripped and sprained my ankle. Well, here is Dan's take on today's adventure. I am going to take a hot tub in the spa at our complex! (bring your bathing suits, Laura and Jim, and Jay, when you visit.) Pat
No comments:
Post a Comment