yow

i hiked sunol, and for the first time ever, i stayed on trail the whole time. i didn't hike up the big rock, on account of i plan to not hike it until i can with hike it with 203, and also it was being guarded by a mob of angry looking cows.

i didn't see a snake, but that's because i see a snake in sunol only every other trip, and this trip was number 4, so next time i'll see one.

the whole time, when i wasn't cursing the idea of bringing a 36lb pack at noontime, i daydreamed about the last time i'd been there, and what i ought to have done, and what i'm glad that anyway i hadn't done on account of i did it the next evening anyhow so what's the big hurry?

while i was hiking i came up with some pithy things. usually when i hike with 203 i ramble and if we're lucky i come up with something with some concision and a nice little ring to it, and then i forget it. when i hike alone i can come up with something good and often remember it. so ready yourselves, because it's coming right atcha, with <pre> tags for emphasis:

i'm a late bloomer.  but when i bloom, i bloomin' bloom.

see? wasn't that nice?

i also came up with another one but i forgot it just now in the shower.

oh! i just remembered! it's your lucky gorram day! here come the <pre> tags!

in SD, 203 looked at me thoughtfully, and said, "i can't believe i'm 
going to marry you."  fortunately, she said it in a good way, like 
fabio saying, "i can't believe it's not butter," or dr. lecter 
saying, "i can't believe this liver is so tender!"

i can't believe it either.  i can't believe i managed to get so lucky.

we banter, fer chrissakes.  who does that, anymore?

okay, i made up the part about lecter just now because the piece needed a second example. it's not as good as the fabio quote, which i made up yesterday, but it's still a swell bit.

okay, i'm off to go do some crap. first, i have to think up some crap to go off and do, but that's my problem, not yours.

but first, more crap. i got my stupidity tax in the mail today and it's not bringing me down.

i remember the first (or second?) time i hiked sunol. i was in the same mood that i was in a year and 7 days ago. on both occasions i had said a little prayer to fate, in my own special way, to show me the way out of my troubles.

in both cases, fate sent me exactly what i asked for. in the second case i chickened out and didn't talk to the very attractive girl running up the hill. i could have. it was a bitch of a hill and she stopped running. i could have caught up and struck up a conversation.

i didn't. that was good; fate may have punished me for the arrogance i showed in rejecting her first gift. i came around (bloomed, even) eventually. every once in a while, though, i get the feeling someone with a capital S is out there, listening, and laughing with me.

so it was that today, though i was alone, i did not feel lonely, but not because i was happy in my solitude. rather, i was happy because i made no prayers to fate at all the night before. i'm as happy as i've ever been, and i don't need anything changed.

...

when i got back to my car, the thermometer read ninety seven degrees F.

yup. felt about right. i only hoke 9.5 miles, and my ave speed was (i think) 2.8mph, but dammit, i had 36lbs on my back in 95F weather! i don't think i'll beat 203 in UT, but at least she won't have to carry me out. if you're lucky, i'll post the hike profile from the gps so you can see that it was steepish. unless, of course, i fix to do that and realize that it's embarassingly non-steepish, then i'll have to suppress the evidence.