A Clear January Day Hiking in the Green Hills

We got a perfect day for a hike in late January. The sky was completely clear, and the hills were that bright, saturated green you only see in the Bay Area after some winter rain. The first view from the trailhead was a huge panorama of rolling hills and distant mountains.

The trail was a simple dirt path that wound up and down the slopes. We stopped at one of the higher points for the obligatory selfie against the mountain backdrop. It was warm enough in the sun to be comfortable in just a light layer.

The landscape here is a mix of open, grassy hillsides and clusters of oak trees, their branches still bare for the winter. Further up, the terrain gets rockier, with craggy peaks rising above the green slopes. The views just kept opening up as we climbed.

It was just a simple day out, nothing too strenuous, but it felt good to be out in the open space under such a big sky. Even the simple things, like an old fence post against the horizon, looked striking in the clear light.