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| On Friday I headed up to the San Francisco area where my sister Kristine and brother-in-law Joe reside. I have been trying to get them to try backpacking and found the perfect opportunity... A campsite in the Marin Headlands, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which is only 3/4 of a mile in. It would be a very short intro to the idea of backpacking, having to pack light and carry everything on your back. Well, the first lesson on carrying a light load pretty much fell on deaf ears. Of course Joe had to bring copious amounts of reading material. Kristine had to bring her entire toiletry kit. At least they didn't bring their Coleman tent stake mallet! No, I'm just teasing, they did okay with the packing. So after packing up we drove over the Golden Gate and into the Headlands where we stopped at the visitor center to get our permit. The campsites there are free and they even offer use of the hostel's kitchen and showers which is near the visitor center. If I ever go to SF for an extended period of time and can't stay with my sister for some reason, I'm going to do that instead. Heck with expensive hotel rooms! After picking up our permit we took a short stroll out to the Point Bonita Lighthouse. It was the first lighthouse on the West Coast and it is in a spectacular spot at the mouth of the Golden Gate. To get there you hike down a steep path then through a tunnel then over a suspension bridge. After the lighthouse we went over to the Marine Mammal Center where they rescue and rehabilitate seals and sea lions. Then it was off to buy a few burritos (I offered to cook dinner at the campsite but they thought eating in town would be easier.) So we headed into Mill Valley and as we got out of the car we spotted Bonnie Raitt walking a dog. Is this the first ever trail report to have a Hollywood sighting? lol So then back to the trailhead we went and got our packs and we were off! After a grueling hike that lasted, oh, 20 minutes or so, we were at our campsite. The setting was quite nice, green hills abloom with wildflowers and interspersed with little glades of eucalyptus. We set up the tent and we had strawberries dipped in vanilla yoghurt for desert Every now and then we could hear a great horned owl and the fog horn from the strait. In the morning I made us all oatmeal and tea for breakfast and we watched as two coveys of California Quail search in the long grass for their breakfast. Then we packed up and headed out. |
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