The number of cars with bike racks in the trailhead parking lot makes me nervous. I’ll have to keep an eye out for mountain bikes as we climb the graveled portion of the trail. The morning sun has burned off most of the marine layer and is flooding the Dan Moller Trail with light.

We could hear the songs of forest birds if not for the sound of a truck dumping gravel at a new construction site. Someone with money and little luck is going burden the hillside with a new subdivision.

No bikes whiz down the trail as we climb toward the Treadwell ditch. We are alone until we reach the boardwalk portion when a young woman and her old Labrador retriever join us. The woman continues to climb toward the Dan Moller cabin. Her dog stays with us. Even though they have never met before, Aki and the lab act like two friends who have shared much in their long lives.