I’ve been stuck in the office way too much; I was getting antsy enough that I even got on an exercise bike mid-week because I was just missing doing any moving. (I normally can’t stand exercise equipment or gyms, so my willingness on Thursday to get on the exercise bike is pretty frightening.) Luckily, Dear Wife thought hiking sounded fun, so we planned to go off into Almaden this weekend.

The weather was unseasonable; warm, dry, only a slight breeze. We made a five mile loop around the top of Mine Hill. It’s a wonderful time to be hiking; the tall grasses from summer and leaves on many trees have disappeared, so there’s more vistas and more chances to see some of the ruins normally hidden. The county had also been through clearing brush along some of the trails, opening things up even more. At the old site of Englishtown, the clearing had exposed a bunch of artifacts which some nice hikers had stacked up on one of the picnic tables – a plate, part of a bottle, and some metal objects.

[Picture: the only hint that it’s January are the long shadows.]