After 30 iterations of Surya Namaskara(Sun Salutation),
I escorted Tim out of the house at around 7:10 am. His
weight went up this morning and we decided to hike the
Mission Peak instead of our usual weekend walk or
skate-boarding.
   
It was a foggy morning and perfect for hiking. The street
leading to the trail head was packed and we had to park
farther down the road.  The climb was steep but we were in
good shape. One runner passed by and commented on my
jeans and huaraches. Not in the best hiking gears, he seemed
to think, and asked if this was our first time up the hill.
   
My Xeros stood the test of time and my feet adapted. Over
the past year and half, the skin under the feet seemed to
grow thicker and the ankles were strengthened from walking
and running with no "support" from modernity. I remembered
last year going up MP in the Xeros was OK but coming down
was a bit of work and my feet, both the soles and ankles,
hurt afterwards. The recent two hikes, however, felt more
like a walk in the park. My feet got some good massage
through the thin layer of rubber by the rocky trail. That's all.   

We stopped at the plateau at the bottom of the summit, just
above a layer of white clouds which extended all the way to
the west edge of the valley. Downward, the hills were
covered with yellow hay-like grass. Under a steel blue sky,
dirt trails snaked up all the miles.  It was beautiful.
        
Tim was distracted by grasshoppers. Meanwhile, I relaxed and
started to stretch the hamstrings and did some deep squats.
It felt good. Two months ago, I was barely able to reach my
toes. Now I could stay with fists planted on the ground. We
descended after some futile effort trying to catch those
little jumpy creatures.
        
I cautioned Tim about the slippery downhill. He told me
about his fancy cross-country shoes which would have a
better grasp of the road. I told him those impressive
adjectives were marketing rubbish from shoe companies.
Overall, the hike took 3.5 hrs.