Caution: Banana Slugs Are NOT Made Of Bananas.

For those of you not in the know, I have been trying to get a bit more healthy. Veggies have been scarce in my diet and, for a rabbit, that's a problem. So, I've taken up running, thanks to Coach Nelson who trains with me Tuesdays and Thursdays. But, on the weekends, I have to do a bit of something so that I don't fall all the way back to square one come the following Tuesday. (Coach Nelson gets grumpy if that happens, and I am worried that I will find Stubbie with piano wire around his little neck as a "warning." You know those Germans...)

So, anyhow, I've been running on the weekends, but this past weekend, I went for a hike instead with my good friend Stillman. I googled for hikes in my area and found a very good website. I clicked and read and read and clicked. Finally, I found one that looked like it would give me a good work out but wouldn't kill me. I decided on Long Ridge in San Mateo. It's 4.7 miles at an "easy" rating.

Of course, getting there was adventurous in and of itself. Yahoo! directions instructed me to take Big Basin (CA-9) all the way up to Skyline. So, I drove through little downtown Saratoga on Big Basin. Once I got into the residential area, the street signs unexpectedly began to read "Congress Springs" instead of "Big Basin Way." I doubled back and asked an old couple if I had gone the wrong way, but they said I had gone the right way and had doubled back the 6 miles for no good reason. GAH!

Finally, I arrived at the trailhead (which turns out to mean "the starting line"). Stillman, of course, was already there with her Giants cap and map--WITH NOTES. *rolls eyes* So, we hopped out of our cars and started hiking. It was like a lite version of The Shire. Cyclists instead of ring wraiths threatened to run us over. Early on, we spotted a banana slug. (It looks like a banana, but isn't made of bananas.) The trail narrows about a quarter way through, so I just had to follow behind Frodo Stillman. At the highest point, there is a nice stone bench where you can sit and admire the ocean--I totally didn't expect to see all the way to the ocean! The trail has spots of shade and sun, so it's a very good mix. In the sunny spots, there were a lot of wild flowers and trees in bloom. We even saw the California state flower. In the shady areas, the trees were covered with moss. It had just rained the day before so there was a nice little babbling brook to complete the picture.

As we headed back toward the trailhead, we spotted the same banana slug we saw coming into the trail. The poor dear had only moved around 3 feet in almost 3 hours. I asked Stillman if we could do a moderate hike next time, and she responded, "At this speed, we can do anything." Ha! That Stillman...