Getting to the Point

Hot weather in Sacramento and my own need to behave like a more fit person drove us take a 10-mile hike in Tomales Point in the Point Reyes National Shoreline. We were immediately rewarded with a high temperature near 70 degrees, versus about 100 in Sacramento, not to mention the absence of smog at the coast. The hike was beautiful. You can see a good slideshow of the hike at Slides from Tomales Point hike. Jim Herd took the same hike in 2004, and this link presents his excellent photographs.

The point is a preserve for wild elk, and is home to many interesting birds. We saw an Osprey carrying a large fish, a few goldfinch, pelicans, and several cormorants. We watched several sea lions playing in the tide’s incoming waves as we had our sandwiches at the end of the point. Beautiful flowering plants border the trail for the entire hike, including lupines, poppies, thistle, and dozens of other wildflowers that remain nameless to me. The hike included several small hills (would be called huge mountains in my ancestral homeland of Wisconsin) and hundreds of vistas of the Pacific coast and Tomales bay. Any Geology mavens out there might like to know that Tomales point is where the San Andreas Fault leaves the Continent. The point today is about 20 feet further out in the ocean than it was in 1906, before the big earthquake. If the next "big one" struck during our visit, I'm sure we too would be at least 20 feet further out in the ocean.

On a more personal note, it felt great taking a robust hike like a normal healthy person.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.