My Bay Area hiking consisted of trails in San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo counties; I even hiked around Santa Cruz. But I had yet to venture into Santa Clara County's great outdoors. So I set out on a trail along Arastradero Preserve. I should've waited until December to go there. It was hotter than Hades reaching above 90 degree temps.
There were a few different trails, and I chose the hottest one (unbeknownst to me). The trail is 99% exposed with very little shade relief. Poor Daisy was panting throughout the hike that I had to stop every 10 minutes for her to drink up. Eventually I soaked her with my water bottle to keep her cool. Pobrecita.
Still the landscape had nice views of a golden grassland, oak trees and the bay. There was also a lake that looked to be receding; a consequence of the drought. The preserve also has its charm with wooden fences, birdhouses, bridges and even grazing horses.
I'll definitely come back to view the other trail, but I'll wait until it gets cooler.
Ms. Daisy trying to take a cool breather on a slab of concrete. And a very beat Daisy after climbing aboard the truck. Silly dog.