Why walk when you can hike and climb?

This Saturday was a Glenn and Cathy kind of day.
We had both watched Brian Hackney on Eye on the Bay spotlight local beaches. We have quite a few that a very cool. But one he closed the show with was Alamere Beach.

Alamere Beach sit below Alamere Falls in Point Reyes National Seashore. Its looked to me on TV like a smaller version of Wailea Falls in Hawaii, where water cascades to the waiting sea from high cliffs. This of course move our own falls to the top of the must see list. After walking the dogs and having breakfast, Glenn and I got our gear together for a Point Reyes hike.

We stopped in Bolinas (that anonymous town North of Stinson Beach) to buy some sandwiches and take in its quirky ambiance.



Then we made our way down Mesa Road to the Palomar Trailhead, where we headed off.

The trails take you through stands of Eucalyptus Trees...

Along the coast with Pacific Views, can you see the Farralon Islands?

Over little bridges...

Good looks up and down the coast.

You come to a bend in the trail...where you follow Coast Trail.

The coastal trail takes you up and down.... Changes in elevation of 1300 feet or so...It also takes you inland a bit.

An on this Spring day there were plenty of wild flowers.

Oh and perhaps a little wild life too.

Most of the trail was wider and there were quite a few people who obviously had gotten the same idea and we had. There were about half of those people who have come from outside our country. I love seeing that at Point Reyes. We think of it , living here, as a hidden resource of ours. Too often we don't take the time to enjoy the things closest to home. But here are these people who see the Golden Gate bridge and take hikes in Point Reyes... Good on them.

Flowers...

The surprise to me was the number of lakes on this hike.

The greenery has its own beauty.

The point comes into view.

Flowers...

Coming out of a shaded part of the trail the sun shining brightly on the trees ahead, feels somewhat like you are looking at Emerald City.

Flowers

Farralon Islands our there....

And there behind a huddling of boy scouts we found it... Alamere Falls Trail.

Parts of it were like walking through a jungle

An then we reached them, the only thing left to do was climb down...

The upper falls had their own beauty and sound. The water thundering down the hill side in a series of falls.

The payoff for many people to me looked like an Episode from LOST.
A half dozen people laying at the base of the falls as if the had been released by the Black monster.

It was still such along way down, we opted to have our picnic next to the uppers falls.

We planned our ascent as we watched people come and go.

I am afraid of crossing ravenes and climbing on shale... This little climb left my legs shaking.

We headed back taking time to stop and look at this pretty lake with its stands of foxglove growing wildly on one side.

Pictures of pictures

More flowers....

Looking up the coast toward SF,

Walking and hiking is all about being prepared. Here I am in my short sleeved layer... The vest came off first, then the long sleeve shirt.

Almost back to the trailhead we see a deer ... staying out of the mountain lion's path.

Near the trailhead is another trail that head to Palomar Beach. Here there are some very old Eucalpytuses with huge trunks...

We ended our day by, me going ot work after a long epsom salt soaking. You know.... 13 miles of hiking and changes of elevatiosn of 1300 feet can leave you... alittle sore, but this is the 3 day and there is no time for whining. So excuse me while I get dressed and head back out, because Patti and I are going to Cavallo Point before my open house today....

Right now, these muscles are testing my resolve, I will have to just show them who is boss!