Hiking to Hidden Falls

     My job informed me that I had seven non work days to take before the end of June.  Woohoo!  I haven't had a paid vacation, since I worked as a mechanical engineer---20 years ago.  So I figured out my vacation strategy.  I'm going to visit my daughter, Sara, in Ohio in May while it's Mother's Day and warm, but not too hot or too cold.  Then I'm going to climb Mt. Shasta.
     Just thinking about climbing Mt. Shasta makes me anxious.  Thoughts of, "Can I still climb a mountain with arthritis in the arch of my foot?  I need to find a doctor around here and get some Diamox.  Will I be able to carry a backpack on my back and climb the mountain?  How much do I need to train?"
     My bicycling is waning, since I moved.  I've been so focused on kayaking on Lake Natoma that my cardiovascular fitness is a major concern.  Now I'm in hiking land though---at the base of the Sierras in Sacramento.  I did find a hiking club at Fair Oaks Presbyterian church, as well as some "Meet Up" hiking groups.  The church group had a moderate hike planned this weekend to Hidden Falls in Auburn, so I seized the day and joined them and started building up my cardiovascular system.

     We hiked a 6-mile loop through grassy, Oak-tree-filled rolling hills.  Wild flowers and poison oak abounded.  Isn't that life---beauty and pain intertwined.

P.S.  To my blog readers:  If you want to support a struggling math/engineering teacher and author, please buy my first book, "The Romance of Kilimanjaro," soon to be followed by my second book at:  https://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=9781613464960         Thank You!