July 13

San Francisco greeted me, and all Bay residents, this morning with its signature fog. The last ridge of land to the north, towards Point Reyes NS, pushed the billowy white stuff high into the sky. But with nothing to hold it back at the Bay entrance, the Golden Gate Bridge kept going in and out of human eyesight. I started the day at Muir Woods NMon. Recently the park had to initiate a parking reservation system. If you do not go on-line and book a date/time, you will be turned away. Yes, you can drop off passengers, but no parking allowed. The small parking areas around the entrance could not handle the flood of visitors in the last decade. One reason for the limited parking is what saved these coastal redwoods. This is a narrow canyon, with very steep slopes and rugged terrain. The lumber companies could not find a viable means to access the grove of giants. But they were getting close to a solution. That is until President Roosevelt, in 1908, used the Antiquities Act to name this area a National Monument and preserve the redwoods for generations to come. Ranger Andrian provided insight on the President’s actions. He literally penned the salvation a day before the lumber interests were going to begin their attack. He was training two new park staff volunteers, Herb and Matt, their first day on the job. The parks need more people like Herb and Matt, and Ranger Adrian, to help tell the stories of our country’s treasures to visitors.

There are a number of trails in the park, but the vast majority of visitors take the Redwood Creek Trail out to Cathedral Grove (tallest and oldest redwoods in the park), then take the nearby bridge over Redwood Creek to return via the Bohemian Grove Trail. This is about 2 miles roundtrip, and accessible. I had taken the longer Hillside Trail for the return, and wound up meeting a family of four from Washington, D.C. It was fun to talk with someone about my old home (I was born in Alexandria, VA… and many years in Elementary and High School were spent growing up in Fairfax). The two boys were on a journey to collect Junior Ranger badges, proudly displaying their current accomplishments on green park vests. Alcatraz Island was one of their more recent completions. Of course, they were well versed in the monuments and memorials on the National Mall in D.C.

Another treat was crossing paths with a young woman who was wearing a Virginia Tech sweatshirt (yes, it gets cool in the San Fran area, even in July). I mentioned I had graduated in 1986, with a degree in Chemical Engineering. Turns out she has just graduated from high school, from the center part of Virginia, and will be an incoming freshman at the best university in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Yes, us Hokies are biased, but Tech is one great school. She said her grandfather graduated in Electrical Engineering in 1966. I suggested she ask her grandfather about Randolph Hall, which was the main Engineering building back in the day… his and mine. I cannot keep count of all the new buildings on the campus since I graduated.

The Redwood Creek has gotten to the point that Pacific salmon will come into its waters. This was not always the case. Great to see Nature adapting and helping various species. Since these are the tallest trees on the planet, very little sunlight makes it to the ground. That can make for difficult photography. But that did not stop the hundreds of visitors from taking digital mementos of their brief stay. I say brief, because most of the mature trees in the groves are over 600 years old. A human’s life span is just a passing thought for these gentle giants.

Point Reyes National Seashore is just up the coast, on route CA 1, from Muir Woods. One should stop at the Bear Valley VC to determine a course of action. You can drive to the northern most section to see the Tule Elk herd or head south to the Point Reyes Lighthouse. That road provides beach access for most of the park’s shoreline. The road to the lighthouse has a treat, especially for people who are fans of wireless communications. The Marconi/RCA wireless center is at the end of a long road of cypress trees, called the “Tree Tunnel”. Coast Station KPH still broadcasts to this day, with original equipment, though only on Saturdays (noon to 5 PM), when tours of the building are given. Morse Code would be sent across the Pacific Ocean, to be received by vessels and other land stations. Legend has it Point Reyes was the first station to receive word of the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

The lighthouse is situated basically at sea level, instead of up on the rocky cliffs. And with its short height, it is in stark contrast to those “skyscrappers” on the East Coast, like Cape Hatteras, whose lights are way up in the sky. But the light has saved countless ships from wrecking on the coast. A 30-story climb is needed to hike down to the building, then back up. I saw a number of people huffing and puffing when back at the top. There is a VC on the top of the cliffs, with a unique Passport Cancellation stamp. I had passed a man on my way to the VC, then again when I was leaving as he was coming back. He said he had been unaware of the unique stamp, and had to return to his car to get his book (about a one mile roundtrip hike to the parking lot). Us stampers will go to great lengths to get as many cancellation stamps as we can. Along the road are a few historic ranches, all having started operations around the mid 19th century. Plenty of cattle were out grazing on the rolling hillsides. The land looked more like Nebraska and Iowa than California.

One trail in the park which can provide a visualization of the power of our planet is the Earthquake Trail. The 0.6-mile trail begins near the Bear Valley VC. It is a loop, and halfway along the path is a wooden fence. The fence has a disconnect, it is not continuous. The great earthquake of 1906 which heavily damaged San Francisco caused the earth to shift by 16 feet between the Pacific and North American plates. The San Andreas Fault Line goes right through this spot. Just imagine what energy was needed to shift two geologic plates by 16 feet.

Golden Gate NRA had another surprise for me. I met a couple of families at the Hawk’s Nest trail on the Marin Headlands. I asked where they were from, and one father said Northern Virginia. I replied I had graduated from W.T. Woodson High School. Turns out the family lives in the district and their son, Brooks, will be a Cavalier in the near future. How small is this world sometimes? They are off Braddock Road, same as I was, as well as Elizabeth, my wife. I mentioned my family thinks Tyson Corners is the best shopping complex in the country. Brooks did not seem to understand the term “Tyson Corners”, but his mother said, “the big shopping mall”, and he then smiled and nodded with agreement.

A smaller surprise was finding out Conzelman Road is now one-way traffic. This is the route which goes up Marin Headlands with great views of the Golden Gate Bridge. My previous visits had this road with two-way traffic. Since this is the number one spot for tourists, it was a good idea to change the traffic flow, to improve safety. There are limited parking spots along the road, and everybody wants one. The hillsides are full of gun embankments and bunkers. No one knew during WW2 if the Japanese would be coming into the Bay, but we wanted to be prepared. Fort Baker, built in 1905, today looks as new as it did over 100 years ago. This base housed Army units, the men (women were not active soldiers back then) who would protect the Bay. A NIKE missile site is in the park, but was closed by the time I reached it (limited opening hours).

Due to time constraints, I was not able to make the Presidio area today. That is another grand portion of the park, on the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge. I will stop there on Saturday.

Time to take a break.