I've been this way before

Hike the same trail ten different times and I guarantee you will see a different thing each time.  A different time of day, the light is not quite the same, your hiking pace is different-it all results in a different view from the trail.

I was on my own for this weekend’s hike so I headed to my favorite spot for solo hikes-Morgan Territory outside Livermore.  The rugged hills and wide-open spaces gives me time to clear my thoughts while I get some exercise.  I decided to do a trail Alice and I had tackled late last year, the Blue Oak/Manzanita Trail loop.

I read about the trail in a hiking book and even though the author’s had described the hike as “aerobic but not steep” Alice and I marked it on our list of tough hikes.  I decided to give it another whirl and headed out this morning to the staging area.

Foggy weather greeted me as I passed through the gate and turned onto the trailhead.  What little rains we have had dampened the ground and the hills had a good deal of green on them.  I would hike up the Blue Oak Trail and cross over for the loop on the Manzanita Trail which would head me back to the staging area for a quick hike of only about six miles.

The morning fog burned off quickly and I soon found myself peeling off the jacket and sweater I had on as the spring-like weather heated up the trail.  The air was crystal clear with blue skies above and views of the snow on the Sierras in the distance.  Oak trees lined the trail as I headed out eventually reaching some steep climbs.

It’s funny how I could remember some of the same sights from the hike last year- a gnarled tree looming above the trail, a tangled grove of trees stretching into the distance or a steep path awaiting me.  It didn’t look exactly the same and I think I took a different angle on most of the photos but I definitely had the feeling I had been this way before.  But that is part of the fun, how I can see the same thing differently from hike to hike.

A different sky, the sun casting a longer shadow and maybe a new camera angle and my photos today take on a different character from the last hike.  The previous hike’s photos were mostly of a cloud filled sky while today’s hike focused on the trees and textures.  Same path, same camera but a different vision this time.

I never get bored hiking the same trail over and over.  It seems like I can always find a different view.  I may have been this way before but my pictures take a different path.