牛年大年初二，风羽球友相约大菠萝山（Mt Diablo ）登高望远，大家一致弃坦途，走羊肠，只为沿途美景尽收眼底，虽狂风掠过头顶，脚下陡峭心中自知，然登顶之时一切皆如过眼云烟，那一刻仿佛只有“一览众山小”、“手可摘星辰”的豪气冲天，不，牛年应该是牛气冲天，小女子也有大丈夫之时！伙伴儿们，寻晴日、红妆素裹时，相约第二爬

Climbing Mt Diablo first time in the Year of Ox 

       On the second day of the Chinese New Year, Fengyu Badminton Club friends organized to climb Mt Diablo to celebrate the Ox year. Climbing the mountain in the New Year is a tradition in many Chinese families, because standing on the top of the mountain, you can see clearly and farther. It might give you a better future. That’s a blessing.

  Finally seven people decided to go. Everyone was excited. We met at Athenian Middle School parking lot, the foothill of the Mt. Diablo and  drove two cars to the entrance. After we got out of the cars, the leader told us there were two paths: one was flat, smooth and easy, the other was uneven, just like a sheep track, a little bit harder, which one you chose. Everyone agreed with the latter, because it could catch a panoramic view along the way. 

          We started with confidence and laughing. Although the wind swept over the top of our heads and the steep road  under our feet, everybody was still so happy. We breathed the fresh mountain air and enjoyed the amazing mountain view. The city was left behind. Sometimes I stopped to wait for my buddies, sometimes they waited for me. We helped each other in this special time, pandemic time. We kept distance and we also united together. 

        The view looked phenomenal when we climbed to the top of the mountain. This was not the first time I stood here, but this was the first time I climbed up here. At that moment, it seemed that there were only "all mountains in a single glance ". The heroic spirit of "hands can pick the stars" was full of my mind. The not strong girl also had a true man’s moment. I thought of the old saying, “One who fails to reach the Great Wall is not a hero”. I did have that feeling at that moment. At the same time, everyone asked when the next climb day would be. Looking around each other, laughing burst.