Cold but so worth it

A nice group of guys went on a hike today up to Caslte Rock State Park along Skyline Drive way above Los Gatos. We all met up at the park at around 10am and it was COLD - like 40 degrees. We were all bundled up and with anticipation of a big storm coming in, we were expecting to get soaked.

The hike was about 3 miles long - and it took us about 3 hours. Although the fog killed any chances of scenic views, it really created a cool mystical mood all to itself. The air was misty and it drizzled a little bit but all in all we made it through the hike unscathed from real rain or mud.

Some of the rock formations at Castle Rock were pretty amazing - creating a natural "honeycomb" or swiss cheese effect. The trees were covered with moss which also really was really pretty.
One of the neatest things was coming upon this tree below. With the fog and the mist - this tree had all the makings of Sleepy Hollow or the Womping Willow of Hogwarts. I wish I could've gotten the whole tree in my camera but this is as good as I could get. Still impressive.

We rewarded our efforts afterwards with a burger feast at Kirk's Steakburger. Damn that was one great hamburger! We sat and chatted for about an hour after we ate - talking geek stuff about the first computers back in the 70s, Dungeons and Dragons, how electricity works (transisters, capacitors, and transformers) and other techno stuff. I couldn't contribute to any of it but it was sure interesting listening to people who do. All in all - great way to finish the weekend.