jg and i were supposed to run a list of errands saturday but, because the weather was inordinately clear, we decided to go for a hike instead.
12:30
we picked the trail out of a book i borrowed from the library. it did a good job of describing the trail, from what to wear to hiking difficulty. at first we snickered at the fact that the trail got a moderate-to-strenuous rating. turned out to be no joke.
it was super windy. and cold. jg and i put on our hats before we got out of the car. the last time we hiked in wool caps we were in the tundra in the rockies.
off trail hiking
disturbing elk peace
gnome in the wind
turning inland and up
i took that picture shortly after this incident. i suppose my shadow did look like that of the tin man.
a calm spot for a picnic
view of tomales bay
we got our sandwich from perry's deli in inverness. it's just the standard turkey+cheese but the ingredients were superb: fresh and delicious. i would drive all the way back to point reyes for this sandwich.
lichens on granite
we did not stray far from the trail after the second mile. the ups and downs got pretty steep so i had to take a lot of breaks. jg was wearing brand new boots so he his feet were not happy.
land's end: tomales point!
the trail ended unceremoniously at a low cliff. but the view more than made up for it. it felt somewhat incredible to be standing there at the northern most tip of point reyes peninsula.
i mapped that using google pedometer. it's a pretty neat program. i like that it graphs the elevations as well as calculate the calories burned. not entirely useful, but fun. thanks, ray.
on the rush back we passed by herd upon herd of elk. we didn't see half as many on our way out.
posers
fighters
it was pretty neat to hear faint bugling. it was even neater to see them fight, especially when i thought rutting season was over.
jg drinking the last of my water
it got even colder after sunset. we made it back with just enough light. the sky remained magnificently clear. curiously, there were several people who were starting the hike. if we weren't so worn out, i would have tried to talk jg into staying for a while longer. i bet the stars would have been amazing.
i just thought you should know that i'm adding two more items to my christmas wish list.
the suunto vector watch is also an altimeter. it's a fun piece of gear to have on hikes. plus it would fool people help me look like i know what i'm doing. the lomo holga is a 120mm camera. i have never messed with medium format film before, but no one has to know. just be sure to send the 35mm adapter along with it.
so, santa, consider bringing me these two, okay? after all, don't you agree that they look a lot more like coals than the first two?
i took a trip to santa barbara last week for some work related stuff. i made the best of it by visiting with as many people as i could. the only person i couldn't see but did speak with by phone is bill hanna.
these are peeps i saw but did not take pictures of (or took really poor pictures of so i shan't post them):
g
karen
susanne+ry
harold
jayme
chauntel+tracy
and these are peeps who were subjected to my camera wrath, in chronological order:
jake, my mechanic in slo
waffles, the reindeer
jmec, the canadian
tom, old colleague
rojas, another old colleague
gvs, former boss
on the way back to san francisco, i stopped in felton to visit my favorite hippies:
shelley "the other canadian, eh?" and eric the carpenter
the other jake, eric+shelley's flatcoat retriever
that jake, he's super obedient and friendly. i love how he looks exactly like waffles, just a tad darker.
i did get the table turned on me during this photo frenzy. i'll post it just to be fair to everyone who, like it or not, got their pictures plastered on this blog.
schmee by jmec
the entire collection of portraits are posted in this flickr set. i hope to add lots more faces to it.
i hope you had a good weekend. have a good week, everyone!
the rectangular edge you see on the horizon is the tower at the deyoung museum. sunset was pretty nice yesterday. moonset was far better though.
...
i meant to blog a whole rant today, a fist pumping and crass swearing tirade about people i had mistaken for friends. but i've decided against posting it. i shan't ruin the new moon.
that's jg with becca, the cutest baby on earth. her pappa is someone i worked with years ago. he takes way better pictures than i do. you can see them here.
jg and i aren't doing much to celebrate christmas. we're just sitting around the apartment today. and i'm feeling a little sick. we had a lot of fun yesterday though. it was a beautiful day and we found a new trail in marin.
jg outlining his bike route
there he goes
isn't that pink plume incredible? i think it's heather. i had never seen anything like it before. there were giant patches of it on the eastern hill side of highway one just north of muir beach. made for a lovely surprise to the excursion.
even though the trail was plagued with mountain bikers, i still enjoyed the hike. the grade was just enough to raise my heart rate. and the lack of shade made for sweeping open views.
mountains to the right
ocean to the left
view from my picnic spot
jg finished his bike route and hiked up to meet me. i didn't get very far on the trail. i was too busy eating and taking bad pictures.
bikeless
and shameless
we called it a day around a quarter to four and drove home. it was already getting way too cold for me to be outside.
it's another beautiful day today but i'm glad to be inside, eating and being generally lazy. i hope that you're having a pleasant holiday. and that santa will bring you lots of presents this evening.
