I’ve been in California for the last few days. I had great aspirations of hiking the day I arrived, but I was so tired. I hadn’t slept well the night before, then needed to be at the airport for 3:45 a.m. and then didn’t sleep well on either flights, and throw in a 4 hour time change, and … hiking wasn’t in the cards for that day.

I did manage to get our for hikes on Thursday (by myself) and Friday and Sunday with my friend Cara. It has been a great trip so far. It has been so good for me to be with my California friends a this time.

Yesterday was a celebration of life for my friend Lilani. It was great that I was able to be there. I spent almost the whole time crying, but it was wonderful to be see just how much of a bright light she was in this world. I also got a chance to visit with several more of my BAYS friends (Bay Area Young Survivors). It has been really good for my mental health.

My first hike was to the lookout at Villa Montalvo. I blogged about that hike back in February of 2020. It was a great place to start. I was hiking alone and I found myself in a contemplative space. Each of the signs allowed me to reflect on different things as a slowly climbed the hill to the lookout. It was more of a struggle than I expected. It was a good first hike for this trip.

On Friday, Cara and I hiked the upper portion of Rancho San Antonio which was a new hike for me.

Today (Sunday) Cara and I hiked at Steven’s Creek Park. It is one of my favourite hikes. It also was the furthest (>5km) and longest (2hr) hike I’ve done since before chemo, and I feel great (yay).

One thing that made today’s hike special was that there were so many wildflowers. I hope you enjoy the photos.