Ed Batista

Six-Word Memoir

Tagged by Paul Hebert, I'll play along--although I'll take the liberty of adding a 7th word, courtesy of Dennis Hopper and the Golden Palominos:

A little older, a little more confused.

As proof, here's me over the past two days in Point Reyes National Seashore:

Driving out to Tomales Point on Sunday.

At the very tip of Tomales Point, which we only reached thanks to Amy's determination.  (Serious wind that day.)

Today on top of Arch Rock at the end of Bear Valley Creek--I'm smiling because I'm just 6 miles in and don't realize that the remaining 4.5 miles out (on top of yesterday's 9) will hurt.

Point Bonita Lighthouse

We visited the Point Bonita Lighthouse in the Marin Headlands today.  It's always beautiful, but Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 12:30 to 3:30pm you can actually walk out to the lighthouse itself.  Incredible views, even on an gloomy overcast day like today.  There are a few more shots in my San Francisco album, and here's some audio of the Bonita Cove Surf (MP3, 35 seconds).

Quail in Strybing Arboretum

After years of decline at the hands of Golden Gate Park's feral cat population, the local quail seem to be making a comeback.  I have no idea why, but it's heartwarming--they're just so damn cute.   (Here's another view.)  And I know that Strybing's new name is the San Francisco Botanical Garden, but I'm just old skool that way.
 

Golden Gate Park

Crystal Springs

Crystal Springs Reservoir is about 20 miles south of San Francisco, a bucolic gem right in the heart of the Bay Area.  Although the 23,000 acre watershed operated by the S.F. Water Department and Public Utilities Commission contains miles and miles of trails that remain off-limits to the public (an outrage that the S.F. Chronicle's Tom Stienstra has covered on a regular basis), you can access the Sawyer Camp Trail at its southern terminus near the middle of the reservoir, just north of Hwy. 92.  (Apparently it runs all the way up to San Bruno, but we just took a brief stroll today.)  If you squint at the lower left corner of the pic above, you can see a faint telephone pole.

It's a strange, lonely thing, long since stripped of any wires it once carried.  I love relics like this, artifacts of the Bay Area's historical transition from outpost to demi-metropolis. You see it in rundown fences and isolated posts on mountaintops, you see it enshrined in monuments, you see it everywhere once you start to look for it.

Olompali State Park and Mt. Burdell Open Space Preserve, Marin County

Olompali State Park doesn't seem to get much press, and maybe that's why it's so peaceful.  Right off 101 between Novato and Petaluma (accessible only from 101 South--make a U-turn at San Antonio Road if you're coming up from SF), it's a perfect place for a moderate day hike--about six miles in a semi-loop up and back to the top of Mt. Burdell, almost 1,300 feet of elevation change.  From the summit there's a view of southern Sonoma that reminds me of a Wayne Thiebaud painting.  (The painting above, by Bill Pfeffer, is of the trees surrounding a number of 19th century buildings near the park entrance.)

The park's southwest corner, near the summit, borders on  the Mount Burdell Open Space Preserve, which looks to be about three times the size of the State Park and has a rich network of trails and fire roads.  Yesterday a friend and I hiked up the Mt. Burdell trail in Olompali and walked a little ways down a fire road in the Open Space Preserve, thinking it might re-enter the park at some point--unfortunately it dead-ends in private property owned by the Buck Center for the Aging.  Luckily we backtracked briefly and ran into a pair of serious (i.e. GPS-equipped) hikers who showed us a little-used but still extant trail that re-connects with the Mt. Burdell trail.  Signage instructs you not to take it, but we didn't want to backtrack all the way, and while I can see why they wouldn't want bikers or horses on it, I can't see how hikers could cause any harm.  So we took it.

Note that the official (but apparently outdated) State Park map (PDF) only shows the now-banned trail and not the Mt. Burdell trail, while the far superior Open Space Preserve map (PDF) does just the opposite and includes both the park and the preserve.  (Marin Open Space District maps kick ass.)  Thanks to Jane Huber's Bay Area Hiker for the map links and to Bill Pfeffer for the unauthorized use of his beautiful painting--go see more.  And thanks to John for the great conversation (and yes, that was the moderate hike.)

tags: olompali state park mount burdell open space preserve mt burdell marin open space district

Rush Creek Open Space Preserve, Marin County

Amy reminds me to mention another hike we both took this weekend out at the Rush Creek Open Space Preserve in Marin County.  It's about 4 miles, fairly flat--"not manly and strenuous," as Amy notes, but "a perfect date hike."  What's particularly cool about Rush Creek is that it's right off the 101, as the map above shows, but walk just a few hundred yards along the trail and the highway noise recedes to a dull roar and eventually disappears altogether.  And this is probably the best time of year to be there--nice and warm, but still plenty of water in the marsh. 

A few notes: Bring binoculars, as both Rush Creek Marsh and Cemetery Marsh are full of birds--I've never seen more egrets (or heron, or whatever they were) in one place before.

Even though it's possible to do a full loop by taking the Pinheiro Fire Road out to Bugela Lane and return to the trailhead via Atherton Avenue, don't bother--the roadside trail is well off the roadway, but that area's pretty developed and boring.  Better to do a semi-loop around Cemetery Marsh and return to the trailhead by walking along Rush Creek Marsh, the way you came in.

Some trails (unmarked and not on the map) branch off the Rush Creek Fire Road along the eastern edge of Cemetery Marsh and presumably head up into the hills on the eastern side of the preserve.  Looked well worth exploring further.

And at the far northern edge of the preserve, at the terminus of the Rush Creek Fire Road, there's a fantastic picnic spot right on Black John Slough.  Very peaceful, except for the occasional small aircraft coming from a nearby field.

tag: rush creek open space preserve

Barnabe Peak, Samuel P. Taylor State Park, Marin County

I spent the morning hiking up Barnabe Peak in Samuel P. Taylor State Park, following the 9-mile loop route recommended by Jane Huber on her always-outstanding BAHiker.com.  Sir Francis Drake Blvd.  winds through the redwood forests along Lagunitas Creek as it traverses the park, giving no indication of the magnificent views that can be had just above the treeline, and it was almost startling to find myself looking out over forests I've ridden and driven through dozens of times.  (As usual, more shots in my San Francisco album.  Start from there and click on "Previous" to see them all.)

Taking the fire road up the southeast side of the mountain, you cover 1,200 vertical feet in about 2.5 miles.  And at the moment, I'm feeling every foot.  But so worth it.  Be sure to go the additional 0.2 mile or so up to the fire lookout station.  Not to be missed.

Bill's Trail is a very easy, winding alternative to the fire road down the north side--shady, lots of switchbacks, minimal grade--but it's a little repetitive, too.  I actually got bored and ran about 2 miles.  Stairstep Falls is a nice half-mile diversion about 2/3 of the way from the peak to the fire road in Devil's Gulch.  (Audio bonus: Stairstep Falls (.wav file, 30 seconds), running pretty strong for mid-May.  See for yourself.)

Note that the last section of this loop can be a little confusing.  Jane insists on calling the "Riding and Hiking Trail" the "Cross-Marin Trail," but none of the signage follows that convention.  The official park map uses a few names you won't see on any signs, either (e.g. "Gravesite Fire Road").  Whatever.  If you have a decent sense of direction, just follow your instincts and don't worry too much about the trail names.

I was dragging ass as I neared the end, so I opted out of the last section of Jane's loop--for the most part, it appears to be flat fire road running along Sir Francis Drake and the ample picnic sites near the park entrance, so I don't think I missed much.  Instead, I cut down through the Madrone Group Camps and crossed Sir Francis Drake to hit the North Creek Trail, which leads right back to the park entrance.  With the fire lookout and Stairstep Falls, my route appears to be about 9 miles.

After a pretty solitary day (not a single soul on the fire road to the summit, about a dozen people coming up Bill's Trail as I descended, six people lounging around Stairstep Falls, and no one on the lower fire roads after Bill's Trail), it was jarring to be surrounded by so many picnicking families in the redwood groves near the park entrance.  Everyone was having fun, and it reminded me of being a kid--family outings, field trips, etc.  It was nice, but at the same time, I think I'd go a little stir-crazy if I spent a day in the woods and never left sight of the trailhead.  I'm no wilderness type--my hiking expeditions need to end with a hot shower, a cold beer several cold beers, and a night spent on clean sheets--but I do need to get out and stretch my limbs a bit.

I'm just so grateful that even though I live in a big city, I'm less than an hour away from places like this, and I have the opportunity and ability to get out there and enjoy them.  Now, where's my beer?

tags: barnabe peak samuel p. taylor state park

Black Mountain, Rancho San Antonio, Santa Clara County

I took a fantastic hike on Saturday, starting at the Rhus Ridge trailhead near Foothill College--up the Rhus Ridge Trail to the Black Mountain Trail to the summit of Black Mountain, one of the highest peaks in the northern Santa Cruz Mountains.  Nearly ten miles up and back, and it was a bear--the first and last miles are particularly steep.  All the details are at the outstanding Bay Area Hiker site, although note that there's a discrepancy in the text for this hike--first it's described as "mostly easy," but later it's described as "strenuous" and the last 1.2 miles as "grueling."  YMMV, but it's 2300 vertical feet from the trailhead to the summit, and it pretty much kicked my ass.

May is the perfect time of year, especially after the wet Winter and Spring we've had.  Everything's lush and green and wildflowers are in bloom everywhere you look.  More shots in my San Francisco album if you're interested--hit "Previous Photo" from this starting point.

And an audio bonus: some birdsong (.wav file, 30 seconds), captured at the summit, and a burbling stream (.wav file, 39 seconds), rushing down a leafy crease in the mountain, about two miles from the top--all that water in May shows you how much rain we've had this year.  What an amazing day; I'm so grateful for the experience.

tags: black mountain rancho san antonio

At Strybing Arboretum

I saw a hawk catch a snake today at Strybing Arboretum.  The hawk first settled into a tall pine with its prize, but hectoring blue jay forced it out into another tree, where it struggled with the unwieldy meal.  More shots in my SF album.