TO THE TOP OF PLEASANTON RIDGE! by (me!) sandra, ttgp
i tend to exercise much like i clean. not at all for a long time, then; gangbusters.
this helps explain why, having not taken a walk since 1873, i decided yesterday i'd hike the pleasanton ridge.
i've been wanting to do this for a long time, because it's been such a long time since i've done it. and i tried interesting my children in joining me, which helps explain why i hiked alone.
but i wanted to return. i wanted to return to that picnic table at the top of that one hill..
sit down, tired, exhausted; but at the top. and let the view be my reward.
and so i drove, drove along foothill, pretending when i opened the sunroof of my saturn hybrid that i was actually pressing a button which would lower the entire top of my audi convertible, and i smiled at the trees. i did pick the perfect morning.. perfect climate.. perfect day
and i pulled in the dusty parking lot, joining several others who'd arrived before me, with their dogs, or bikes, or running shoes. and water bottle, keys, camera in bag; i began.
my first stop was the entry gate, where i spent a good 3 minutes jiggling the metal bars trying to figure out how it opened. up and over? no. down and then left? no. reach my hand through and twist? no. and i could feel the pleasanton ridge veterans in the parking lot watching me, smiling. let's see how long it takes her and i could feel myself turning white to pink, so without turning around and asking anyone, i just kept trying until, "oohhh! it just slides to the write.. simple simon.. i've got it.. rookie's got it"
and then; i began.
my next stop was the first patch of shade i could find. there i took several deep breaths and a gulp of water. i don't remember it being so steep. has part of the mountain fallen away since i was here last? and then, having survived the first 5 minutes, i commited myself to hiking to the top.
to the top! to the pic~a~nic table!
around two or three steep bends, i stopped again for water, and was rewarded with a spectacularly wide vista of rolling hills ~golden brown~ under a clear blue sky, artistically framed by the light of a loving sun. so peaceful, vast and still, but with a bizarre border on the bottom of tiny cars racing by
i hiked some more wondering if the entire journey was uphill. passed a dad and his two sons on their way down the hill towards the parking lot, "am i one tenth of the way there?" i asked.
"depends on how far you want to go," the dad said.
and i did not say anything out loud in return. -how could i? took all my breath to ask my original question. but i thought to myself, why, i want to go to the top of course! and continued on.
i was passed up by several joggers, dog walkers, bikers and centenarians with hiking canes, but did not let this dispirit me. i remained commited all the way to the first brown marker stake, which, much like the scarecrow, pointed in more than one direction:
sycamore hike? oak hill? ridge line? and write about now is when it occured to me, that i should have grabbed a mat. (oh, now that's a freudian typo isn't it) i mean, a map.
in my mind, my poor retarded memory mind, the pleasanton ridge had only one hike. from the bottom, along one obvious and well traveled, windy, mostly flat and only sometimes steep, trail, to the top, where there is a bronze picnic table waiting, and a glorious golden view. so,
now what?
i had no coin in my bag to flip. and sycamore sounded appealing, but for reasons i'm unaware, i followed oak, the oak trail. and i was just sure this would take me to the top, one small step at a time.
and every metaphor, cliche, every thing ever said, thought, written and shared about success, about getting to the top.. replayed in my mind as i treked up my mountain. from it's not the destination it's the journey.. to, blah, blah, begins with one step... to, if at first you don't succeed,
take a picture. so that's what i did. it's not a picture from the top, it's a picture from the side. because i felt as if at least i had accomplished something by making it from the pleasanton view, to the sunol view, (or is that livermore? san jose? castro valley?) and i wanted to remember. i wanted evidence.
i hiked on through several more gradual turns, and was treated to scary sounds in the bushes.. sometimes it was just birds hoping from branch to branch. sometimes it was giant jack rabbits. sometimes monsters. and then, "oh! look deer"
and i passed an old, old, abandoned, haunted, wood something along the way too.. a house? barn? i don't know what it was, but it was very broken, very dark, very creepy. i laughed at the do not enter sign hammered on the side -no worries there- i wouldn't enter if there was open suitcase full of money
and near it.. just past it.. what? positioned in the dug out ground, some dark and scary combination of wood planks and curly, old tree branches headed in every direction. the dangerous double dare entry into a secret underground collection of skeletons and failed cia experiments
and by this time i was starting to realize a few things..
i started to realize i would need to hike back whatever distance i hiked forward. and i started to realize this was not the way to the picnic table. i started to realize i was all alone. i started to realize i forgot to trim my toenails and my shoes were too small. i started to realize this was not my brightest idea..
but what if? what if i'm just three gradual bends away... what if the picnic table IS just up and around three more gentle bends
this is after all, the story of my life. so many times, too many times, i'm lost. driving in circles, circles, and heading south... south, west, east
shortly thereafter learning that had i gone one block -just one block- north. i could have saved myself twelve years.
so i continued up and around until reaching another marker stake in the ground. and i did let this dispirit me. i was by this time near a beautiful residential home. a ranch, i guess. and what an odd sight to see tucked in the midst of all this nature and wilderness. who would live here? why?
and i let my imagination fill in the blanks in many different ways, while i sipped some more water, checked my phone for the time, and decided to turn around and get started in on the 45 minute+ return to the parking lot; at the bottom.
i was passed by a truck shortly after.. coming from the ranch ... and i let my imagination fill in many blanks again..
i was passed by a truck shortly after.. coming from the ranch ... and i let my imagination fill in many blanks again..
and i tried to find a short cut back by asking a jogger, but true to my broken compass.. this shortcut added 20 minutes.
eventually though,
eventually, i made my way back. and captured this picture along the way to include with my collection. i've not decided what to title it yet. but i like how the heart is leaning, it's edges curling; how you can peek through the nearly perfect circle hole in it; how, that twig.. how it does not so much look like it is piercing the heart, but reaching in to wake it; tickling it softly, gently
then, having hiked for over 90 minutes, i celebrated at redcoats downtown with a mimosa, fruit and raisin bread. it was not the bronze picnic table at the top, but just as good; just as good.
in fact, delicious.
posted by SHE @ 6:42 AM
7 Comments:
She,
Your journey is our reward! Loved this little slice of life, especially this metaphor:
"this is after all, the story of my life. so many times, too many times, i'm lost. driving in circles, circles, and heading south... south, west, east
shortly thereafter learning that had i gone one block -just one block- north. i could have saved myself twelve years."
If only we all had a map for our lives with distances, elevations, resting spots and destinations clearly marked!
xo,
K&D
k&dd: thank you! i had this thought along the way
"dear martha beck.. how do i find my own north star with a broken compass?"
but in truth, i have learned, in not always getting where i wanted to go,
to imagine that where i go, is where God wanted me to get
"to mystery maps & secret treasures!"
love, ~s.
OMG~ Some days I just love you!Today is one of those days! I needed this, needed your little heart shaped sign, pierced through the center, clean and threaded. Yup, this is one of these days... you rock! All the way up the hill, all the way back, and right where you were meant to be... You rock!
Your hike sounds like fun, honestly! No matter how long the journey and what bends and twists we take, we always end up exactly where we need to be if not necessarily where we wanted. :) Much love, sis.
singtome: write back to you! you/your stories are so often just what i needed.. and i'm headed for blog rounds soon
karma: love what you write here:
No matter how long the journey and what bends and twists we take, we always end up exactly where we need to be
embarrassing to me how often i need reminded of this truth
thank you sis! love all around, ~s.
Sounds wonderful, but begs the question, what would you do with a scurvy pirate?
8": no need to beg;
the answer is common sense
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