Winehiker Witiculture is the official blog of California Wine Hikes, which offers guided hiking and wine tasting tours in the California wine country.


A Thanksgiving Day assault

A handful of the South Bay Hiking Elite, as Tom Mangan dubs them, met before dawn this morning to climb the steep and windswept slopes of Mission Peak, which crowns the hills east of Fremont, California. I would have been there with that crew, laboring up that @#$&! hill, if I hadn’t woken up coughing, assaulted by some sort of scurrilous *$&%#!! bug.

Ah, ’tis the season for health-zapping peskies, and I s’pose I’m duly taking my turn.

Some kind of hiking blogger I am. I guess I’m not nearly so elite as I want to be. But I didn’t feel like sharing my malady with the hardy hillclimbing lot (nor with my mother at Thanksgiving dinner this evening), so I stayed snug and cozy under a wad of blankets while the Intrepid Elite walked tall in the morning twilight.

Sunrise atop Mission Peak, Thanksgiving Day 2006
Dawn atop Mission Peak, Thanksgiving Day 2006. Photo courtesy of Two Heel Drive.

Maybe “walked” isn’t the right word. Nobody just “walks” up Mission Peak. Well, except perhaps for that young feller John Fedak. But I’ll let Tom tell the story in yet another of his trademark photoessays.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

~winehiker

2 Responses to “A Thanksgiving Day assault”

  1. Hey Russ, sorry you didn’t join us for the “walk” up Mission Peak. Hopefully, you’ll be able to join us for a future adventure.

    The photo you posted is my favorite of the set that Tom posted at Two-Heel Drive. I’ve posted some of mine at dan’s outside, my outdoor blog. They are spread over a couple of days of entries so just go to the main URL and scroll down. Take a look at Tom Clifton’s photos as well - there should be a link.

    It was a fine hike - a bit cold and windy at the summit. But that was a fair trade for the spectacular view.

    Dan

    Dan Mitchell
    November 24th, 2006 23:26

  2. Dan, thank you for writing! Yours are some real fine photos, alright. I think Tom’s been taking lessons from you! Sure glad you shared them with me and my readers today. I’ll make it next time.

    winehiker
    November 25th, 2006 09:07

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