Hike at Mount Tamalpais State Park
After a series of cold, rainy, and foggy weekends, the bay area finally got a break from the bleak weather yesterday. The forecast was warm and sunny and I surely didn't want to miss this opportunity to go outdoors. The choice was between a 5 mile hike at Calero County Park in San Jose (with Desi_Hikers) and a 7.3 mile hike at Mt. Tamalpais SP (with sfbaycafe.org). Since I had not hiked with sfbaycafe before, I decide to go with them. And this time, I didn't miss their meeting point at Safeway in San Jose. The group there was mostly Asian and I (sort of) knew just one person in that group: Sandy, who had been on the Point Reyes hike. Anyway, I got a ride from a Dutch guy (don't remember his name) in his convertible Chrysler. We started at around 9:50 and were at the trail head (just across Stinson Beach) at 11:30. The only bad part about the drive was the evil curvy US-1 which made me a little sick, and the Chinese girl in the back seat so sick we had to stop 3-4 times for her. Fortunately, we were riding in a convertible, so it was much better when we opened the hood.
This group (www.sfbaycafe.org) was started by a South Indian guy Sekar (aka luvmunky) and he seems to organize hikes quite regularly (almost every weekend). And he has the patronage of a large number of regular hikers from all over the bay area, which means that the hiking group is huge. Yesterday, there were about 20 people, which is on the lower side of the regular head count. And a large group has its own advantages and disadvantages. For one, I think a large group is a bit sluggish than say a group of 5-6 people. But then you meet a lot of different people. The hike started at around 12:00 PM I guess. Mt. Tam is surely a very beautiful place, and more so after the recent rain. The place was fraught with lush green trees and many waterfalls and streams, huge trees and fresh air; it kicked out the driving nausea in just 2 seconds. The trail was muddy and I was glad I didn't forget to change to my hiking shoes. Also, contrary to my expectations, it wasn't that cold. The trail kept switching between dense trees and waterfalls and streams (at points where two hills meet) and in the open on hills covered with green grass and with a view of the Pacific Ocean. We took a small snack break at 1:00 and a lunch break at the top of a hill, from where we could see parts of San Francisco and one pillar of the Golden Gate Bridge (the trail we did is described here: http://www.bahiker.com/northbayhikes/stinson.html). On the way back, we took another break at the ranger station, and it was a downhill path from there (with a 10 feet ladder that you had to climb down). We finished the hike at about 5:20, just half an hour before the sunset. So we decided to head to the Stinson Beach (which is at a 2 minute walk from the trail head) and rest on the beach, watching the sun sink down over the Pacific. Its a nice little beach, a perfect place to take your guests to. After the sunset, some people had dinner plans in San Francisco, but I was more in need of a bath. So we decided to head back to the bay area.
Overall, the north bay is quite a beautiful place, and now that I know some of the places and can drive much better than 6 months back, when my parents or my sister come here, they are definitely in for a treat. As for today, I have to do some work in the afternoon, so I better decide quickly something to do in the morning. Its a beautiful sunny day outside, and biking is on the top of the list.
PS: Here are the photos from the hike: http://www.littlemunky.com/photos/hiking_03052005
This group (www.sfbaycafe.org) was started by a South Indian guy Sekar (aka luvmunky) and he seems to organize hikes quite regularly (almost every weekend). And he has the patronage of a large number of regular hikers from all over the bay area, which means that the hiking group is huge. Yesterday, there were about 20 people, which is on the lower side of the regular head count. And a large group has its own advantages and disadvantages. For one, I think a large group is a bit sluggish than say a group of 5-6 people. But then you meet a lot of different people. The hike started at around 12:00 PM I guess. Mt. Tam is surely a very beautiful place, and more so after the recent rain. The place was fraught with lush green trees and many waterfalls and streams, huge trees and fresh air; it kicked out the driving nausea in just 2 seconds. The trail was muddy and I was glad I didn't forget to change to my hiking shoes. Also, contrary to my expectations, it wasn't that cold. The trail kept switching between dense trees and waterfalls and streams (at points where two hills meet) and in the open on hills covered with green grass and with a view of the Pacific Ocean. We took a small snack break at 1:00 and a lunch break at the top of a hill, from where we could see parts of San Francisco and one pillar of the Golden Gate Bridge (the trail we did is described here: http://www.bahiker.com/northbayhikes/stinson.html). On the way back, we took another break at the ranger station, and it was a downhill path from there (with a 10 feet ladder that you had to climb down). We finished the hike at about 5:20, just half an hour before the sunset. So we decided to head to the Stinson Beach (which is at a 2 minute walk from the trail head) and rest on the beach, watching the sun sink down over the Pacific. Its a nice little beach, a perfect place to take your guests to. After the sunset, some people had dinner plans in San Francisco, but I was more in need of a bath. So we decided to head back to the bay area.
Overall, the north bay is quite a beautiful place, and now that I know some of the places and can drive much better than 6 months back, when my parents or my sister come here, they are definitely in for a treat. As for today, I have to do some work in the afternoon, so I better decide quickly something to do in the morning. Its a beautiful sunny day outside, and biking is on the top of the list.
PS: Here are the photos from the hike: http://www.littlemunky.com/photos/hiking_03052005
posted by Rahul at 7:30 AM
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