As we approached Jewel Lake, an elderly couple "shushed" us lest we scare away the birds. I don't know what it is, but you feel compelled to obey when a grandmotherly-type tells you what to do.He looks pretty cool in mid-flight, just cruising over the water. Switching my Canon to continuous shooting mode or "rapid fire", I blasted away and got about 20 shots here of this beautiful bird.
As she left, "Grandma" said, "Now, you boys don't be throwing a rock at this bird to get it to fly away." After assuring her that we would do no such thing, I asked Yanni to go find a stick and try to get the heron to fly away. Check out the feet pushing off the water at lift off.
So, Yanni grabs a stick and starts beating the heron on the head to get it to fly. OK, just kidding, Yanni was using his fists. Actually, Yanni's rustling around to find a stick caused the heron to take off in a beautiful cruise around the lake. I like the upturned flight feathers.
About at this time, the egret decides to cruise by again to show how cool he looks in mid-flight. What a poser. After this, a group a noisy 5-year olds came by on some sort of a pre-school field trip and that was the end of the bird-watching. 
We continued our hike and found the eucalyptus grove. The bark, which the tree sheds during growth, fell in sheets around the base of the trees. We found huge sections of bark laying around. At this point, the trail heads up toward the peak and Rotary Club stone lookout. From there, you can see great views of the SF Bay.
My fellow adventurer Yanni, who has just tracked down and killed a bear. After eating most of it, Yanni then took the bearskin and fashioned the clothes you see here. Yanni is very brave.
Just before the lookout, we came into a field of thistles. They were the biggest ones I've ever seen. Jagged and thorny, there is something interesting about them.
We finally make it to the lookout at the top of Wildcat Peak. To the west is everything you've seen before: SF, the Golden Gate, Marin, Mt. Tam, and everything else west. It was beautiful, even though it was a little hazy. We could just make out outlines of the landmarks, but we stayed here a long time to rest, eat, and take pictures. Here's me sitting on the stone seat with Mt. Tam over my shoulder. 
And, for my friends from Chevron, you'll recognize this: the Richmond Refinery. Refineries aren't the prettiest places in the world, but with Tam, the Bay, and the birds, this looked good to me from my bird's-eye-view. I am glad that I don't have to go there anymore, but I have fond memories of some of the folks that work there. 
The Golden Gate Bridge, not looking too golden right now, but always beautiful. You can't tell from this photo, but is there a prettier bridge anywhere?
Looking more eastward, here's me over the Briones reservoir. 
Looking more eastward, here's me over the Briones reservoir. 
And then, it was over. We walked down the hill to the paved section of the trail and headed back home. I am always sad to see the trail end and the hike over. Back to civilization, cars, and noise. But this was a fun hike and everything went perfect, except for Yanni killing that bear with his shoe. Well, it was either a bear or an ant; I always get those two mixed up.
This is the end of the trail....
For those who are interested, here are a few more pics of the hike....
This is the Rotary's stone lookout discussed above.
....and, although 277 shots were taken, here the last pic posted:
A final look at the bridge
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