Point Reyes Recap II

Sunday

Matt was the first to wake and wander around the campsite.  I crawled out of my sleeping bag and into the cool air to join him for a peek at the beach.    Eventually, Allana came out, and we made breakfast: Oatmeal and tangerine slices.  Everything

 with was covered with a thick layer of dew, and we waited for my tarp and the tent's rainfly to dry out a bit.

We left Wildcat camp and hiked up towards Old Out Road, and along the way, we paused to enjoy a scenic view of Wildcat Lake. The trail was a long steady climb, and it was easy to see why it is called the Old Out Road, since there were exposed remnants of broken asphalt along much of the trail.  

We continued our upward ascent to the Alamea Trail, lined with bayonet fern and meandering beautifully through dark, verdant forests.  The sights of banana slugs, orange-bellied newts and mushrooms drew our attention and caution with each step. After hiking steadily for over an hour and climbing over 1000-feet, we stopped on a high, flat, open stretch of trail for a well-deserved rest. Despite being warm and sweaty, the weather was cool and delicious and perfect for the rest stop.

The last quarter mile of the Alamea Trail descended down to an intersection with the Ridge Trail, which lay at the base of a Fir Top, a 1,324-foot peak.  We headed southeast on the Ridge Trail, climbing and descending along the high ridge separating the Olema Valley (and the San Andreas Fault) from the the Pacific Ocean.  

The Ridge Trail intersected with the Bolema and the Lake Ranch 

Trails, and we continued our trek south along the Lake Ranch Trail.  One highlight was Mud Lake, which lay nestled to our right.  Mud Lake was more of a swamp with green blooms covering the water and tan reeds rising up along the lake's edge.  

The Lake Ranch Trail then began a long, yet anticipated steady descent towards the coast, offering sunny views of a foggy California coast.  As we descended, the lush ridgetop forests gave way to drier, lower coastal scrub brush and brambles.  Soon we encountered the same stretch of Coast Trail that we had hiked a day earlier and the first hikers we had seen since Wildcat Camp earlier in the morning.

We were back on familiar trail, and we were anticipating the vistas overlooking the Pacific. The fog had burned off more, and we enjoyed clearer views of the coast and the sea. We took a lower fork of the Coast Trail, which was an even more dramatic and precarious walk than the higher fork we took the day before.  One surprise along the way was a garter snake taking advantage of the open skies to sun himself. The sight of the garter was certainly not a pleasant surprise to Allana, who had been in front of Matt and I and setting the pace the entire day. After the snake sighting, Matt and I took the lead for much of the trek back toward the parking lot.

What a great 24-hours in Point Reyes.  My only regret was that we did not spill of Alamere Falls. The good news is that Point Reyes is so close to San Francisco, and I know that I will have the opportunity to see the falls up and close one day.  Perhaps I should head back in February or March when the river will be swelling with water.  

I was happy to spend time with my friends Matt and Allana, whom I got to know better.  I've heard it said that "spending one day on the trail with your spouse or partner is like spending five days with them in the real world."  It was fun to hear Matt and Allana find out things about each other that they didn't know (the trail does that), and through this whole hike, I enjoyed getting to know them.  Hike on!