Point Reyes Recap

For the first time ever, I hiked the southern portion of Point Reyes National Seashore, and I really appreciated its remoteness.  In the past, I have mostly hiked around the central portion of the park near Bear Valley and Mt. Wittenberg, and usually there are a fair amount of day hikers going to destinations like Arch Rock or the summit of Mt. Wittenberg.  Down in the southern portion, I encountered other hikers, but most were only hiking to Alamere Falls.

My hike began at the Palomarin trailhead with my friends Matt and Allana, and here's the trail route we took:

Saturday: Palomarin (via Coast Trail) to Wildcat Camp  (5.5-miles)

Sunday: Wildcat Camp to Old Out Road (.6-miles)

Old Out Road to Alamea Trail (1.1-miles)

Alamea Trail to Ridge Trail (1.5-miles)

Ridge Trail to Lake Ranch Trail (1.3-miles)

Lake Ranch Trail to Coast Trail (3.0-miles)

Coast Trail to Palomarin (2.1-miles)

Total Miles: 15.1-miles

A trail map is located above.

Saturday

The trail from Palomarin to Wildca

t was filled with climbs and undulations, remaining fairly close to the coastline for the first mile or so.  Broad sweeping views of foggy, steep coastline meeting the Pacific were dramatic, breathtaking and of course worthy of photographs.  The trail turned inland towards the east, gradually climbing the coastal headlands.  The trail leveled out n

ear the intersection of the Lost Ranch Trail, and then enjoyed a steady tread, passing Bass Lake and then Pelican Lake.  The views of Bass Lake looked like something out of a fantasy medieval scene.  The lake was nestled among thick, dark stands of trees, whose tops were swept by low lying clouds and mist.

The trail intersected with a .4-mile side route to Alamere Falls.  Unfortunately, with sunset happening at 4:55 pm and a thick coat of fog blanketing the trail, we decided to move on instead of investigating the falls.  I did not want to risk getting into camp too late, and I figured that I will have many opportunities to see the falls in the future.

From that intersection we continued on towards the Lakes Loop intersection and took the left fork, which made an unexpectedly steep climb along the coast.  Once again, Matt, Allana and I were presented with another stunning, yet foggy view of the coast, complete with a small bench at the vista.  We rested for short bit, and ten proceeded with a descent down to Wildcat Camp. 

By the time we got to Wildcat Camp, the sun was sinking on the horizon, so we scrambled to find our site, set up our tents, get water and cook supper.  At nightfall, we were eating a delicious dish of pasta and pesto with dehydrated veggies.  We played a game of Scrabble and then fell asleep to the roar of the Pacific waves crashing into Wildcat beach.  Unfortunately, a few unruly campers started making a lot of noise, which woke me up, so I got out of my sleeping bag and told them to be quiet.   They complied with my request.