Head south along I-680 from us for a short distance and you came to an area that includes Sunol Wilderness Park. A large expanse of land with many trails across it, this is a fun place to go hiking, particularly early in the year. The recent rains meant the hills were quite green and the temperatures have not got too high yet. The sun is always strong but the conditions were great for a hike.

The area is distinctly lacking in flatness. Every trail we took seemed to be a climb or a descent but that was part of the fun. Our initial route took us up a lot. We seemed to always be going up – sometimes rather steeply. Even as we were getting in the homeward stretch, we still seemed to be going up. I guess with hindsight, a hill called Flag Hill was always likely to be one of the highest points!

The downside to all of this is that the last section is a steep descent. I actually prefer climbing to descending. The knees have to work a lot harder on the way down and it seems harder to have a steady footing than when hauling yourself upwards but, with the end in sight and our food back at the car, we were motivated to get finished. A lot of the time we were away from any other walkers so it was a very relaxing place to be. No doubt we will be back there again before it gets too warm.