Victor’s First Hike

For about three years, Yang and I used to hike every weekend. We hiked all the major trails in the Bay Area. We used a community web site http://www.bahiker.com/ to find good trails and plan the hikes. Hiking was our favorite activity until we had Victor and Oliver. Since Victor was born, we have been to the hills only a few times and haven't had a real hike.

We cannot wait to get back there. This morning Victor and I decided to give it try. I found an easy hiking trail not very far away from us http://www.bahiker.com/eastbayhikes/carquinez.html. I jotted down some simple directions and packed water and food and drove away. Yang stayed home to continue her work on Chapter 12.

Twenty minutes later I had to call Yang. Although I wrote down the directions, I missed an important detail. There were two Rankin Park Trails, and I didn't know which one to take. After a phone call and some technical assistance, Victor and I took the left one. Now we were all set as I wrote down all the other details.

The climb was steep, and Victor struggled. I stayed right behind him. He was in high spirit but became tired immediately. I took a few pictures.

Ten minutes later we had to take a break. We actually had a bay view. I encouraged Victor to continue. It became hot for both of us.

Another ten minutes and another climb later, we were at a relatively flat area, there was a bench to sit and enjoy the bay view.

Victor and I decided to head back because he was really tired. On the way back, he picked some yellow flowers for Mom. I led the way and Victor followed me this time, the steep decent was a bit dangerous for Victor. We moved slowly and went down safely.

We hiked about 1.2 miles, a third of the recommended route. Victor agreed to do it again and hike the whole route next time.