Off Limits

Photo from 2011: Four miles in, elevation at 1,600 ft.

Since 2011 I had been hiking regularly at Rancho San Antonio Park.

However, the warnings about mountain lions in Bay Area mountains were growing louder, so I stayed away after 2017.

Two weeks ago a six-year-old girl was injured by a mountain lion at the Park.

Last Sunday the lion was put down.

(Mercury News image)

After three days of searching, state officials captured and euthanized the mountain lion that had attacked a 6-year-old girl in Rancho San Antonio Preserve.

The female cat, between 2 and 4 years old and weighing between 60 and 70 pounds, was discovered in a tree in the area on Wednesday afternoon, according to a statement from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife on Thursday.

2015: cool canopy

Fish and Wildlife initially sedated the animal and extracted DNA before confirming it was the predator that attacked the child. On Sunday morning, the girl was scratched and bitten on the calf and DNA samples were taken from her wounds, which matched the DNA of the captured mountain lion, according to the statement from agency spokesperson Jordan Traverso.,,

The girl had been hiking with her father and other adults and children when they encountered the lion Sunday on Wildcat Loop about two miles from the main parking lot.

Park rangers said at the time that the adults in the group “punched” the mountain lion, scaring it off. The girl suffered minor injuries, including scratches and a puncture wound, and was treated by a park ranger.

The Park has reopened this week, but I'll continue to stay away.

Even walking in a group, I'm the easiest one to catch...

Cool Canopy

We started at 2 p.m., later than recommended because it's normally hotter in the afternoon.

Nevertheless, temperatures were much cooler than last week's hike, when we labored to go four miles in 2½ hours.

The trail downhill was mostly shaded by trees. Bug breeding season had passed, so there weren't many to swat. It helped that there was little standing water.

This time we were able to travel seven miles in three hours. We'll try the eight-mile trail next time.

OK, You Can Have It

Rounding the curve, we surprised a coyote with a possum in its mouth. We stared at each other, then followed it down the path until it finally veered off into the trees.

Without sriracha sauce I'm not interested, anyway.

We Couldn't Escape the Heat

How to chase away mountain lions: [bold added]

10 of 12 mountain lions subjected to audio recordings of broadcasters like Rush Limbaugh and Rachel Maddow abandoned kills and fled immediately, regardless of the political slant of the commentary.

(It's not your politics that are off-putting. It's "politics.")

I do listen to Rush and watch Rachel, but only once or twice a week. They're both smart--Rush is funnier--and good at riling their audiences. For my own emotional health I only take them in small doses.

Vista point, with a view of the East Bay, has an 800-ft.
elevation and is about two miles in from the parking lot.

Mountain lion signs were posted along the trail, but we were reassured by the presence of deer and squirrels (or maybe they were reassured by us, who are much slower prey).

It had been two years since we had hiked in the foothills; our poor conditioning and the 100-degree heat made the going slow. After 2½ hours we had had enough.

Using a radio app, I was prepared to blast Rush Limbaugh at an attacking mountain lion. Thank goodness it wasn't necessary.

A Walk in the Woods

Five months later, the injured leg is not quite 100%. Hiking now requires a walking staff.

Walking staffs are used mostly by the old and infirm, and vanity had to take a back seat to the risk of slippage ("Pride goeth...")

After three and a half miles I had made it to the top of one hill (right) but knew that hiking the two miles to the other side (in the distance) would be unwise.

I began the slow descent through shaded canopies and along nearly-dry streams. One benefit of the drought is that there were very few mosquitoes, which usually descend in swarms on the unsprayed.

After mile six, I reached the car without mishap. Maybe next week I will attempt to climb the distant hill.

Turkeys 'midst the poppies.

Men's Kaffee Klatsch

Tuesday morning at Starbucks

Men as a group don't engage in conversation as much as women do, but that broad general statement, of course, masks infinite variations.

At Starbucks a group of older guys carried on conversation and experienced bonhomie for well over an hour. It's common to find women's kaffee klatsches but coming upon the male version is rare.

It takes a while to regain one's footing during retirement. These guys had found theirs.

The Little People Wave

The President was purportedly inside this SUV

As everyone suspected on Monday, the President of the United States did come to Foothill College today. His purpose was not to tour the new science building--as some had hoped--but to land his helicopter on the way to a fund-raiser at a mega-millionaire land developer's home.

He then attended a Democratic fundraising luncheon at real estate developer George Marcus' Los Altos Hills home, where the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised money for campaigns across the country.

Tickets for the event started at $10,000, for a photo opportunity and lunch, and ran up to $32,400 for a VIP photo opportunity and lunch. In attendance were House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco; DCCC Chairman Rep. Steve Israel; and Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto. According to the National Institute on Money in State Politics, Marcus over the years himself has contributed more than $1.5 million to various political causes, mostly Democratic.

Big crowds assembled on the Foothill College campus -- where Obama's helicopter landed -- to watch the motorcade take off for the Marcus home.

Republicans complain about the flood of immigrants on the Southern border, the Russian takeover of Ukraine and shooting down of passenger aircraft, and violence in Syria, Libya, Gaza, and Israel, but really, what's more important than a photo-op fundraiser in Los Altos Hills?

Afternoon Walk

Deer were more numerous than I remembered.

For the first time in six months I had a few extra hours to spend on the trails of Rancho San Antonio Park. Travel, illness, and business had kept me away from the South Bay.

Now it's a New Year, when we can banish bad habits and (re)start some good ones.

Red Ponchos at Morning

The trail was slick from the rain, so we limited our walk to the 4.5-mile Wildcat Loop. We huffed to the top of the 900-foot trail, then returned to the car.

We paused at Deer Hollow Farm, about a mile from the parking lot, to stare at the goats and hogs that reciprocated with total unconcern.

Busloads of children from the Alum Rock school district assembled in red ponchos. The red makes a wayward student easier to spot, but as anyone who has played with red or yellow golf balls will tell you, a bright primary color is not an infallible method for distinguishing an object.

Parents could rest easy because there was one adult chaperone for every two kids. No red riding hoods would be lost in the woods today.

Big Hands Aren't a Problem But They Can Get You Off

Two hours in, from the top of the trail

A Mitt being in the news reminds me:

Ever since I've taken up hiking, I've noticed a tingling in the hands for hikes lasting two hours or longer. Yesterday, after a two-month hiatus, I went out for three hours--a little over nine miles--and my mitts became noticeably swollen. The fluid retention ("edema") subsided shortly after returning to the car.

Per the Mayo Clinic:

Hand swelling during exercise is a fairly common problem. The cause isn't completely clear, but hand swelling appears to be a result of the way your body and blood vessels respond to the increased energy demands of your muscles during exercise.

Hmm..maybe this is further evidence that the defendant in a famous trial was innocent. The hands of the killer, perhaps swollen from physical activity, presumably fit the bloody glove left at the scene. But in the courtroom the unswollen hands of the defendant, who had been seated for hours, were too big for the glove.

No Bubble Here

At Foothill College the parking lot was packed with cars. Despite rising tuition community college in California is more of a bargain than ever. At $24 per unit, a typical Associates certificate, such as Business Administration, with a 90-unit requirement would cost $2,160. (Including other fees raises the total two-year cost to about $2,500.)

Should the student wish to continue on to a four-year degree, seven University of California  campuses will guarantee acceptance and accept transfers of credits if the student has a minimum GPA of 2.8 to 3.5, depending on the campus.

Community colleges may lack the luster of four-year institutions, but at least their graduates won't be groaning under a load of debt. Lines of cars and long waiting lists confirm that thousands of students have come to that realization.

Thursday in the Park

Mother to calf: "not another idiot with a cellphone camera."

Rancho San Antonio Park

Four miles in, the elevation is 1,600 ft.

Recent appointments in Mountain View have not been tightly scheduled, and I've been using the 3-hour gaps in the calendar to walk the trails at the Rancho San Antonio Park open space preserve.  I've never been much of a hiker, and my lack of training and aerobic capacity were clearly in evidence when a mere four-mile (but hilly!) route initially left me gassed.

Now that I've been going at least once a week since March, I've found enjoyment increasing along with endurance.  A mile in from the parking lot is Deer Hollow Farm, the destination for most families and school groups.  The casual strollers also drop off at the farm, while serious runners charge up the wooded hills. I plod after them, catching up on the inventory of old podcasts. Lately I've been listening to classical music or have turned off the sound completely. Being alone with one's thoughts has not been a familiar experience. It's not easy to dismiss the inner voice that insists that one always be entertained or be doing something useful.  Eventually the tumult subsides.

The trails alternate between woods and meadow, creeks and sere. Chipmunks, squirrels, and butterflies cross the path fearlessly. Occasionally one sees deer, but thankfully no mountain lions.

Last week I walked four miles to the end of the utility road that services the power lines and four miles back along the opposite ridge. Sunburn and blisters were the price, and inner peace, at least for that day, was the reward.