Waist Not, Want Not

W.A.I.S.T. Management got the new year off and running (well, walking) on Sat Feb 3.  Sorry I'm so tardy filing this report.

We hiked from the Palomarin Trailhead in Pt. Reyes National Seashore to Wildcat Camp (and the beach there), with stops along the way, Allamere Falls being the main one of note.

Hikers were: me, Michael, Jay, Anne, Maura, Gina, and Joan, plus David (who works with me) and his daughter.

It was quite the adventure.  First, we were late to the trailhead.  We spoke to Gina (who was with Joan in her car) and knew we had time to stop for coffee in Bolinas.  So we missed David and his daughter whe eventually left without us.  We met up with them later.

Gina and Joan didn't show for the longest time.  They missed the turn off Highway 1 to Bolinas (the signs get removed by reclusiva Bolinasoids, apparently).  We about missed it ourselves.  They arrived after we were a few hundred yards up the trail so we turned around to go back for them.

Once underway, we had a great hike.  Ran into David and his daughter a mile or so in.  They had gone 2+ miles or so and were headed out.  At least we got to say hello.

Smooth sailing all the way to the falls.  Getting down to them is quite the adventure.  Everybody got to the top of the last bluff before the final drop to the beach.  Michael, Jay, and I scrambled down that last bit as well.   We had lunch there.

We pressed on.  Michael and Jay bolted, never to be seen again (almost, we did see them on the way back from Wildcat Camp).  The rest of us followed the coast trail to Wildcamp Camp and down to the beach there.  It was getting late (around 3:30) and we headed back (taking the Ocean Lake Loop).

We were getting pretty tired at this point, Joan moreso.  The sun set as we headed back down the coast.  We got out the headlamps the last mile or so, and arrived back at the car at 6:30 (it got dark around 6:00).

Stopped for dinner in Olema and drove back Sir Francis Drake Blvd.  I got home in time for the 11:00 news.  Long day, but nice hike.

There was some political unrest regarding that point.  Some felt that we were scaring off potential hikers with such abuse.  There was also some grumbling about the group splittin up into fast vs. slow factions.  I think it was just the sore leg muscles talking.

We'll see how it goes this year.

Hike totals: 12 miles, 1500' elevation gain (maybe more, but it wasn't that much up and down).
2007 totals: 50 miles; 10,900' elevation gain