Night hike

Yesterday evening I went hiking in the dark with my friend. It wasn't really nighttime, the sun sets so early this time of year, and it was just getting dark. We walked in a loop in Tilden Park. To our surprise, there were as many or more joggers and dog-walkers as there might have been during any other time of day. It was warm as we walked up through the meadow, and the first stars appeared - maybe Venus and Mars. Then we walked into the Eucalyptus grove and it became pitch black. Fortunately, my friend had a headlamp, and I was happy to hold hands and let him lead the way. We met no more people after this point. I mentioned the possibility of mountain lions. Several years ago, a woman was mauled by a mountain lion as she jogged along this trail in the early hours of the morning. I didn't feel scared, but my belly started aching. As we walked down by the creek, the air was colder. The smells seemed to be different at night. Suddenly we heard something large splashing across the creek ahead of us. Probably a dear. I was glad when we arrived at the meadow towards the end of the trail, and there was enough light from the sky to see the trail ahead. As we were leaving the woods a coyote cry rose up behind us, and another coyote answered in the hills over the way. I took a sip of cold water from the fountain at the trailhead, pretending it was spring water.