On April 6, 2002, I went for a walk on Russian Ridge in the Santa Cruz
mountains in Palo Alto, CA. On the topo map above, I went from the "BM
2249" in the bottom right to about the "a" in "Russian" and back again.

Even though it was clear down in the valley, the clouds from the Pacific
were rolling over the tops of the mountains. Visibility was about 250 feet.

I had been up there before, but only in the summer when everything was brown. All the green was a big shock.

The paths were all dried mud, so I don't think it rains up there very
often. The plants that were thriving were the ones best at collecting
moisture from the air.

My favorite trail on Russian Ridge is the "Ancient Oaks" trail.

Walking through the dark woods in the thick mist made everything feel all dreamlike.

I got back to the valley just in time to get a final picture of the
clouds rolling over the mountains.