Point Reyes National Seashore
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Chimney Rock Trail Point Reyes National Seashore |
August 24, 2018
Yesterday, friends Eileen, Liz, Carrie, and Walt visited the Elk Refuge at Tomales Point, then cleverly arranged to stay overnight in Inverness in order to combat the potentially horrible traffic between here and Sacramento. After a great breakfast at the Station House Cafe in Point Reyes Station, we are back for another walk.
Getting to the trailhead involves an interesting stretch of one-lane road. Several deer are spotted, including this guy who seems perfectly willing to pose for a photograph:
As yesterday, the region is fogged-in, and there must be some forest-fire
smoke in the air as well. Because the fog is normal for this time of year,
it is unlikely that we will be seeing any blue sky today.
Only birds get to use the piers
There are many buildings around the old boat docks, but the facility is closed to the public.
The group starts up the hill
Because the trails around here are almost entirely comprised of sand, I haven't bothered to tote a walking stick or even put on hiking boots.
Easy going
In recent times, several sections of cliff have broken off and fallen into the ocean; so walking near an edge is discouraged.
Those spur routes definitely would be more fun, though
One of the side trails can be seen on the far hilltop
After just a mile of walking, the trail ends abruptly at a fenced overlook;
for now there is only water on three sides. A well-spoken young
teacher, traveling alone from South Africa, is exploring the California coast
for essentially the same reason that the four of us are here today.
Having read and heard about all the smoke pervading the air, she has elected to
try to get away from it.
The woman will be visiting the nearby Elk Refuge today or tomorrow.
I hope that she travels far enough up the trail to see the naked
ladies — that is, the gorgeous pink lilies that also are native
to South Africa.
The top of the rock seems reserved for pelicans
This one is for cormorants only
While at the overlook, we are treated to a mini-show in the ocean a mile or so to the south.
Several Gray Whales are milling about
Even at 30× zoom, not much detail is available
Drakes Bay to the east
Poison Oak
California Poppy
Eileen and Liz
Seaside Daisy
Curlycup Gumweed
Walt and Carrie
Pearly Everlasting
Coast Buckwheat
These cliff-side succulents have made the news recently (see Addendum):
Sea Lettuce (see Addendum)
At the trailhead is a spur route over to an overlook of a beach inhabited by elephant seals, who returned to this area in 1981 after having disappeared for about 150 years. We must check it out, of course.
The beach is visible in the distance
Unlike at the better-known beach down at Año Nuevo State Park
near Santa Cruz, one cannot get close to the animals here.
As close as we can get
On the other hand, they can nap undisturbed.
I count twenty animals
§: Well, I had a good time and some good company, in a new place;
yet the hike would have been more photogenic and memorable, at least for me,
had fog not dominated my day.
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ADDENDUM
At the Mendocino Post Office in April, a suspicious and somewhat exasperated window clerk began asking questions of a man who was trying to mail sixty packages to China. It was discovered that he is part of a of substantial smuggling ring operating up and down the California coast. The contraband is dudleya farinosa, or sea lettuce, a succulent that is found only in rock crevices along this coastline.
It seems that the burgeoning Chinese middle class will pay as much as fifty dollars for one of these plants, possibly because they closely resemble a lotus flower. It also seems that the term "class" is a misnomer in these cases.
Subsequently, many others have been caught with hundreds of plants stashed in vehicles or in rented cabins. All such activity is illegal, of course; and the ironic upshot is that many of the plants do not survive the trip to China anyway.
