-4-The Road

We have 365 chances each year to take a nice walk. Each day is an opportunity to get out for a short while even for just half an hour and walk. Of course things happen and I do not get out every day, but I try to. You can be a morning walker, a noon walker or and evening walker. Each time has abundant reasons to be the best time to walk. We all get to choose our own best walking time.

I live in the Santa Cruz mountains. There are a number of walks I can take that start at our front door and wind this way and that way. I try to walk 4 plus miles each morning if I can. I will go out for 2 or 3 miles and then loop back depending upon my choice of the day. Weather can have an impact, but I do find that some of the best walks I have taken have been in rainy or windy weather. The weather can keep some of the regular walkers indoors, but if I dress for the weather, I find the stormy walks are well worth the effort. In the winter months, wind and rain is frequent. There is an unwritten rule that the rain will be that hardest at the farthest point out on the walk. I have learned this over time. It is typical for me to look out, see some light mist and say "why that is not so bad". So I start out and things hold together for awhile. Naturally I get out a few miles and here comes the sleet and the 40 mile an hour wind gusts. The local weather people call them storm cells. Did I mention I love Goretex and long sleeve sweatshirts? Once or twice a light dusting of snow may fall. In the summer it rarely rains at all, but frequently we do get fog in the early morning. Thick fog damps the air and slightly muffles the normal sounds. I feel as if I am walking in a dream scape.

Walking introduces me to neighbors that I meet along the way. Fellow wanders of the roads and trails. Some are walking, some are jogging. Some people meet at spots along the road at prearranged spots for their walk dates. I also have met people that see me walking while they are driving by on their way from here to there. They wave and I wave back. Some people I actually have met, some people I recognize their vehicle , but know not who they are. Yet a wave is nice to get, and acknowledgment from one person to another, a hello that is never spoken.

My usual morning walk along the road takes me by the Summit Store, Burrell winery and a number of homes, all of which are quiet in the early morning hours. It is not unusual to see wildlife along the way. There are several coveys of quail that scuttle about in the bushes along the way. I am usually scolded on a regular basis by the Stellar Jays, but I do not take it personally. I know it is their place in the order of things to scold, a task they relish. And they do such a good job of it. As I pass through their domain, they quickly take up scolding someone or something else. I see squirrels frequently, trapeze artists extraordinary, with death defying leaps between the big trees. I have seen small gray foxes, quick and quite, flash and they are gone. I frequently see deer. If they spot me, they will freeze in place and try to determine if I have seen them. They survive on stealth, speed and being aware. Perhaps good lessons to learn for anyone. On occasion I will see a coyote or two, usually on their way to some important meeting. Very rarely I have seen bobcats, they are most shy. Once and one time only I saw a small mountain lion. It looked like a one or two year old, and was running away as quickly as it could. It was obviously scared to death and with good reason. Nothing dramatic as one might imagine from some of the panic caused by the sightings reported by others. Mankind is the most dangerous beast in the woods, top of the food chain. Personally I am more concerned by some of the aggressive dogs one comes across on the trails than any other wildlife I encounter on my walks.

I end my morning walks where the begin at home. Time for a hot shower, a hot cup of tea ( my wife has made me several of my very own tea cups) and get ready for the day. For me, a great way to start the day. Try it sometime, much more rewarding than an hour on the treadmill.