The morning started off well: it was cool and clear, perfect for the long slog up Rocky Ridge.
We gained elevation quickly and were treated to views of Del Valle and more distant hills.
Eventually we reached the top of the ridge, only to have to drop into a creek to climb the next ridge.
Once at the dry creek, our road narrowed to a single-track, which at least had switchbacks.
The sky was still summer blue...
...but the leaves were starting to hint of fall.
A bit after Schlieper Rock the grade eased, the path now a road wandering up and down over smaller hills.
As previously, the forecast had been for zero percent chance of rain, but the sky and clouds didn't seem to be aware of this.
Eventually we reached Rose Peak, where we stopped for lunch as we watched the sky darken.
Since we had not staged a car at Sunol, we went our separate ways after lunch. The girls continued on to Sunol while the birds returned to Del Valle.
We had little direct sunlight on the return trip, but we stayed mostly dry.
We had passed one runner--the only person outside our party we would see that day--near the small pine forest east of Rose. We would eventually encounter three tarantulas, however.
On Rocky Ridge we were hit with a few light sprinkles...
... and avoided stepping on the last two tarantulas.
We took an alternate single-track route back to the car, one that seemed to receive a lot of use despite not being official.
Overall we did about 20 miles with quite a bit of elevation gain and loss. And, despite the very good conditions for an East Bay hike and being an hour's drive from millions of people, we saw more spiders than people.
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