Eren and Michael met in May 2001. How they met depends upon which one of them you ask. According to Eren, she drove from South San Francisco to Marin County to enjoy a peaceful, spring hike by herself. After getting lost for about 30 minutes, she found herself at



Matt Davis Trail,



and decided to explore the inviting ridge trail.



Just 10 minutes into her trip she noticed a guy hiking ahead of her. Preferring to be alone, she decided to slow her pace. Only every time she did the guy seemed to decelerate his pace even more. A couple hundred winding yards later she figured the guy wanted her to catch up with him. Though she still wanted to hike alone she found the pace unbearable, thought the guy looked harmless, and decided to quicken her hike. As she caught up with the guy the trail was



exiting Mt. Tamalpias' beautiful woods



and approaching an equally engrossing grassy hill



covered with beautiful flowers,



overlooking the inspiring Pacific coast.



Predictably, as she passed him, the guy turned and said hello. To this day she's uncertain if it was Michael or their inspiring environment, but he seemed nice and, except for his horrendous white shoes, kinda cute. Concerned that he'd turn the moment into a clichéd attempt to "pick her up," she was relieved that he wanted to talk about the trail. He even seemed genuinely taken by the moment's beautiful view. Before she knew what happened, she found herself engrossed in an interesting conversation that turned into an hours long journey down and back up the beautiful mountain. While she couldn't help having an impulse to look away every time she noticed his awful white shoes, and though she was initially repulsed by the seaweed juice he kept suckling, Eren found herself smitten.

According to Michael, he drove from Petaluma to Marin County to enjoy a peaceful, spring hike by himself. After getting lost for about 30 minutes, he found himself at Matt Davis Trail, enjoyed its beautiful vista views, and decided to explore. He was so engrossed by the mountain's wooded terrain that he found himself taking long, slow, appreciative breaths. He wished he'd brought his copy of Henry Bugbee's The Inward Morning, but resisted the impulse to turn the moment into a library session, and returned to his long, deliberate, appreciative breaths. While not committed to daily meditation, he was easily inspired into a meditative state by nature; and Mt. Tamalpias' western slopes were some of the most inspirational he'd ever encountered. His steps reached a trance-like rhythm as he continued his long, appreciative, transforming breaths. Suddenly the experience was interrupted by rushed steps approaching him from behind. As he turned to see what it was, he was disappointed to see the moment end. It was a man jogging down the mountain. But right behind him was another hiker. A beautiful woman hiking by herself. "Today is for hiking," he thought to himself. She quickly caught up with him, and he found himself saying hello. Not wanting to lose the moment's inspiration, he started talking with her about their beautiful trail. He wondered why she kept looking at his shoes, but was pleased that she seemed to enjoy his philosophical musings. Before he knew what happened, he found himself engrossed in an interesting conversation that turned into an hours long journey down and back up the beautiful mountain. While he resisted the impulse to ask her if she wanted to know where he bought his shoes, and though he was disappointed that she repeatedly said no when he asked if she wanted any of his seaweed juice, Michael found himself smitten.