I met up with Steve Bradley at 6OO AM ready to hit the trail and do some running.  It was 53 degrees and I was scantily dressed in just a t-shirt and running short because I knew that within an hour we would be hot.  It turned out be quite a reunion at the start because we saw 5 of our other lady friends (2 separate groups) getting ready to trail run up Mission Peak.  Steve and I were feeling quite studly with an entourage of 5 women.  This quickly dissipated as 2 of the ladies broke off from within a minute of their arrival.   The other group of 3 ladies left us after 40 minutes.  Back to Earth for Steve and I.

The spring flowers and green grass was better than visiting an arboretum.   The last dowsing of rain extended the wild flowers for at least another week.  I am always amazed at how beautiful the area is that we do our trail runs on.

Our first destination was Mt. Allison, approximately 2500 feet.  I completely lost track of time.  Not that it really matters.  We have a total time goal in mind and we stick to that for our trail runs.  I snacked on dried cherries, apples, and figs.  I lost interest in the high priced runners snacks and usually mix up my own.

Steve was in a time crunch, but I convinced him into doing a loop down to the horse ranch.  What a bonus that was!  We were able to see 20-30 beautiful horses running like wild horses on the trail.  As I was snapping pictures of the horses, they walked around me and I felt like Moses when he parted the Red Sea.  I was surrounded by an ocean of horses.

Everything was perfect about this trail run.  Both of us were not complaining about being tired.  Steve was gearing up for his trail run up Rose Peak tomorrow.  My legs felt like they had another 20 miles in them.  It’s a nice feeling when a 15 mile run is a “light” run.  This is not bragging.  It is what it is.

I broke off from Steve after being out 2 hours as I wanted to run over 3 hours.  I ran the trail up Mission Peak.  As usual, it was very crowded.  Being selfish, I wished that it was less crowded.  I am sure the hundreds of other hikers were thinking the same thing.  If I wanted solitude, I would have been on the peak at 6 AM.

In all my years of running, I usually come to the same conclusion about the trail run that I just completed-it’s one of the best runs in my life.

Steve and I both commented on a little secret goal that we don’t want a certain runner beating us when we race the Ohlone Wilderness run at the end of May.

As much as I enjoy looking at all the scenery on my runs, nothing beats great company!  I started out the run with my 2 favorite running girl friends, Nadia and Andria.  The three have so much fun trail running together.  Most of the time we talk about everything but running.    We laugh and talk about silly things.  It’s hard to believe that we put up with each other for as long as 6 hours on our run.

We had to part ways after only 2 hours of running as one of the girls was getting together with family members in the City.  It’s always hard to say good bye.  I almost talked Andria into running with me as I promised to get her back to the car by 12 PM.  She was ready to say yes except that her car keys and personal belongings were locked inside Nadia’s car.

I was able to ascent Rose Peak in exactly 3 hours.  It was cold, rainy, and windy on top.  I did not linger.  I ran as fast as I could to Maggies Half Acre for water and a few runners chocolate cookies.

I chose the exact same trail on the way back as I wanted to see  my friend Sue Corrie as she was running all the way to Del Valle with another friend.  I predicted to run into her around 10 AM as she started around.

I finished the trail run to Rose Peak in exactly 5:20 which is one of my best times ever.  It was an awesome run.  The wild flowers were splendid.  My running partners were great.  This run goes into my treasure chest of trail running memories.

As we were running in between the quarry lakes, I saw a guy pull out an 18 inch trout!  I did a double take and turned around to see a rainbow trout.  I ran anothe 20 yards and noticed another guy with a fish about the same size.  Even though the lake is stocked, they were still big trout.

After oggling the fish, I let my boys sit down and eat the snack that mommy packed for them.  They quickly devoured a cheese bagel, a plum and a peach.

I noticed storms forming all around us.  The Bay Area is a great place for ever changing weather.  Mission Peak was turning a wicked dark grey.  To west we could see squalls.  Directly over head were clear skies.  The wind was coming from the north east which told me we were safe from getting drenched.

My boys were happy to have the wind to their backs.  My oldest son Josiah said that it was not fair to have the wind to his face for half the ride and not have it on his back for the trip home.  I told hit was a tail wind and that he just could not feel it.  It’s true.  A tail wind is usually not as noticeable.

When we arrived at the Alameda creek trail, my 2 boys asked if they could ride through the mud puddles.  My first and only thought was “Of course!”  I actually encouraged them to take on the largest, muddiest puddles.  I baited them to go through the deepest parts.  Both boys made sure that they rode through every puddle at least once.  We even made a video of them going through the biggest puddles.  I shot dozens of photos of them making a mess with no concern of ruined clothing or bicycles.  I was on my weekly run and the entertainment was outstanding!

I was running and did not care to get my running shoes all wet.  It’s not that I mind being wet.  Running shoes tend to stink if they are not dried properly.

When we entered our house after the ride, my wife just about turned blue from all mud.  She inspected the boys by walking 360 degrees around them.  She was visibly distraught.  I quickly herded the boys upstairs into the bathroom to wash all visible evidence of mud off them.

We quietly marched down stairs after our shower and pretended as if nothing happened.  As far as the boys were concerned, nothing of the ordinary happened.  They were in their element.  Mud, dirt, and boys mix just fine.  They would have been perfectly happy to go to our Wednesday night church program without a bath and without changing clothes.  My wife on the other hand would not allow it.  The boys often have to pass her “smell” test.  I have to admit that even after they have showered, a blue cheese aroma sometimes permeates their bodies.  Boys just don’t care that much about washing when they are 6 & 8 years old.  Next time I think I will sneak the boys out of the house with all the dirt and mud on them.

Since this was winter run, Steve and I loaded up on the all-weather running gear.  I had light weight wind jacket, Kelty hydration pack, flash light, gloves, running tights, beanie cap, and lots of food.  Steve had this awesome fanny pack that I swear had an extra pair of shoes in it, 2 water bottles, extra long sleeve shirt, lots of food, beanie cap, flashlight, and other running junk that we swear by.   I packed my cell phone in hopes of getting a signal-all for not.

We were running on the wet trail by 533 AM and was it ever dark!  We were shrouded in by fog and clouds.  There were no city lights as this was the real deal in terms of wilderness.  Thank goodness for high tech flashlights.

The run up to Rose Peak starts somewhere to what I guess at 500 feet.  While it’s only a 3800 foot peak, the trail to get to that elevation is unforgiving.  It’s what I call 2 steps up and 1 step down.  There was lots of muddy single track to add some fun.  Most of the running trail was gravel fire roads.  We hit the back pack area in 70 minutes.  If we ever felt like quitting, this is the place to quit.  We were watching the most spectacular sun rise over the Mission Peak range.  The sun was illuminating these giant cumulus cloud that just barely covered the peaks.  If you closed your eyes for a even a second, the cloud formations would change.  Let’s just say that everything was dynamic.

Enter the wilderness.  Two more hours of painful running ups and downs.  At least we had a view.  The sun rise was slow and provided us with a light show that would rival anything that Hollywood could produce.  We looked down to the distant mountain range  with a 2000 foot gorge that separated us.  The oak and bay laurel trees were a dense green.  From a distance, it looked like a back drop out of the Sierras.

We ran to the base of Rose Peak in 3 hours.  I donned my winter jacket and beanie cap.  It was cold.  We did not stop at the top to enjoy the view, lolligage, or to eat.  Like I said, it was cold.  We proceeded immediately to Maggie’s half acre for a water and food stop.  At this point we lost Andria and Isidalia.  Not really.  We just sped ahead and they made a u-turn at Rose Peak and started heading back to the car.  Steve and I took a short break at Maggie’s and ventured to a new running route home through some private ranch property.  It cut off this major down hill that we eventually had to climb out of.   Steve commented that it was too boring.  To me, it was just to steep.   The illegal cut off provide awesome views of the front coastal range mountains.

We caught up with Andria and her friend Izzy just after goat rock.  They had at least a mile on us.  We ran together to Hawks Roost and then Steve and I bolted to the car.  We ran to the car in 54 minutes.

Total run time 5:42.  Distance 21 miles.

I was really getting into the conversation.  I suggested making a complete house of out gold.  Josiah said rather than using nails, we could use hot gold glue.  What a concept!  We came up with a gold inflatable tube.  He also wondered what we could use gold dust for.  I suggested baking bread or a cake.  He did not think that would be very healthy.

Kids have great ideas.  I did not want to shoot his ideas down and say that most of them were impossible or impractical.  Fifteen years ago people were talking about what a waste the Internet was.  Finding a mate online?   Impossible!  It’s great that kids have no ideas that their ideas sound silly to adults.