Mt. Tamalpais State Park - Beach to Summit
October 27, 2001 - Page 1
On the last day before Daylight Savings ended in 2001, I decided to go try to hike Mt. Tamalpais (Mt. Tam) from the base to the top of the East Peak, which
is the highest point (barely) on Mt. Tam. Although there are a number of places to begin a hike at the base of the mountain, I thought it sounded cool to
start from Stinson Beach, on Highway 1. Something about hiking from the beach to the top of a mountain and back struck me as neat. Plus, I figured it'd be
fun to hang out on the beach and barbeque some hamburgers when I finished my long hike. I wasn't exactly sure how far it was, but I was guessing something
like 14 or 15 miles (hopefully no more than 15). There are a ton of trail in the GGNRA and Mt. Tam, and I semi-randomly chose a set that looked like they
might form a cool loop to the top and back down. Of course, I had no idea if they were really any good. Fortunately, my map was pretty good.
My biggest enemy, I knew, was time. I arrived in Stinson Beach late, and by the time I got going it was looking questionable whether I'd complete the hike
before dark. There's something about hiking in the dusk, alone, that makes me get really freaked about mountain lions, so I decided I'd better hike fast.
Although I was totally out of shape, I felt relatively confident. The big problem was it was crappy weather. When I started hiking, it was sprinkling,
foggy, cold, and cloudy. I was hoping it'd burn off before too long.
Anyway, here's some pictures...