Blazing a New Trail

Back in December, I wrote a column about the , the hiking group sponsored by the San Ramon Alcosta Senior and Community Center.

I'll be the first to admit I'm not much of an outdoors person, but I decided that joining a local hiking group would be a fun, easy way to get a little exercise and take in the beauty of the valley. Leader, Nido Paras, assured me that the group was welcoming, and the hikes geared for all fitness levels. 

"We never leave anyone behind," Paras promised.

At the time, I expected to hook up with them at least once or twice a month. So I signed up for the weekly email reminders, and…seven months later … I finally made it on my first hike last Wednesday. Hey! I've been busy!

According to Paras' email, we would be hiking from "Old Ranch Park in San Ramon, along various paved inter-connecting trails of the Bent Creek/Alamo Creek Trail to Dublin, including the packed dirt trail to the top of Dougherty Hills Park and the ridge line east of Alamo Creek in Dublin." He estimated the distance to be about 4 miles round trip.

Given my limited knowledge of local trails, I could only hope that I wouldn't get separated from the pack, lest I languish for days, wandering the foothills of the greater tri-valley in search of a cell tower ping to provide searchers with coordinates to my location.

Taking a cue from the Boy Scouts motto, "Be Prepared," I loaded my backpack the night before with enough provisions and first aid supplies to put a survivalist to shame. Besides the obvious UPF 50 sun hat, SPF 80 sunscreen, and SPF 50 lip balm, I squirreled away two bottles of water, four Kashi granola bars, one banana, a baggie of almonds, a mini-bottle of hand sanitizer, antiseptic spray, bandages of varying sizes, a snake bite kit, and an empty ballpoint pen casing in case I needed an emergency tracheotomy.

I met up with the group at the appointed time. The first thing I noticed was that no one else had the foresight to bring a backpack full of supplies. Bet they were glad to see me!

I soon learned that one of the regular hikers was a former co-worker from too many years ago to admit. As Nido and his wife, Patty, lead the group off down the path, Jeannie was kind enough to walk with me at the back of the pack for the first mile or so.  We had a nice chat, catching up on our lives and reminiscing about old times.

As we started up the steep incline on a narrow dirt path, Brenda took Jeannie's place, keeping me entertained with stories about her former stressful work life, jetting back and forth weekly across the country, and how much she enjoys retirement and babysitting her 2-year-old granddaughter. I didn't quite catch her granddaughter's name over my panting.

When we rounded the next bend and the creek came into view (not sure if it was Bent or Alamo Creek), I regretted not bringing my camera to get a shot of the lovely rippling water and mini falls. Brenda graciously offered to capture the scene for me with her cell phone.

Before long we were headed back up through the neighborhood and the entrance to Old Ranch Park where we started.

I looked into the faces of the other hikers, red-cheeked and smiling. They talked about the euphoria they experience after the hikes.  One mentioned a feeling of exhilaration. I came up with a different word – exhaustion. 

Then Collette announced that, according to the app on her phone, we had traveled 3.76 miles. Thank goodness! I don't think I could have made it four miles!

As we split off to our cars, Jeannie followed me to mine. "So will you be joining us again?" she asked. 

I thought about all the reasons that had kept me from making it until today – too hot, too cold, unfavorable horoscope, woke up with a kink in my neck … then what a sense of accomplishment I experienced at the end; how proud – OK, exhilarated – I felt.

"You know, Jeannie? I think I will," I replied.

But next time, I might rethink the backpack.

For more information about the San Ramon Trailblazers, contact Nido Paras at trailblazer88@comcast.net.