I am very happy to remove “Backpacking” off my Bucket List. It is such an amazing feeling to prepare for an epic life experience and be able to share it with others.
The backpacking trip to Point Reyes National Seashore was supposed to be about 18 miles. It turned out to be about 23.3 miles. I left all the planning to my mountain man expert who has many years of experience in backpacking. He taught me how to shop for backpacking gear and what to expect. I would have been lost without him.
The plan was to do an easy backpack trip since it was my first time. We would start at Bear Valley Visitor Center and hike up to Mt. Wittenberg on the Mt. Wittenberg Trail which has an elevation gain of 1,407ft. Mt. Wittenberg would lead us to Sky trail which would bring us to our first campground, Sky Camp. This was suppose to be the hardest part of our backpacking trip because we would climb on the first day. 1,407 ft may not seem like much to may people but to an out of shape woman who gets paid to sits on her butt all day this was hard. Next day we would hike out of Sky Camp toward Woodward Valley trail which would connect to Coast Camp and to our second campground, Coast Camp. On the third day we would hike out of Coast camp and walk along Coast trail to Bear Valley Trail and then to Glen Loop to our last campground, Glen Camp. On the last day we would hike out and return to Bear Valley Visitor Center.
The first day was short, hard and sweet. The climb was hard but not as hard as I though it would be. We did stop frequently mostly because I was trying to catch my breath. The trail was mostly in the shade which made it easy for us.
When we arrived to Sky Camp we were happily surprised that we had a great camp site. It was surrounded by overgrown shrub and a tilted tree. It was private compared to other sites and it had shade. Once we settled down we realized that the camp site was not so private because our neighbor’s could see into our camp site. I really didn’t care because I just wanted to eat and rest.
Day two was a beautiful hike down the mountain along the Woodward Valley Trail. This was one of my favorite trails. Part of it was mostly in the shade of huge thin trees while the other part was overlooking the ocean. I could not stop taking photos.
We arrived at Coast Camp late morning but it gave us enough time to explore. This was an extremely windy area both in the campground and the beach. At times it felt like we were being sand blasted to a halt. This did not stop us from exploring the area. There was a huge eucalyptus tree at the entrance of the beach. What a magnificent site that was. The water was very cold and nobody seem to want to get in the water, maybe because the current was also strong. It did get cold so we retired early.
While I was setting up for a time lapse video of the sunset at the beach I came to the horrible realization that my extra batteries were discharged. What happen was that I packed my extra batteries on the side mesh pocket of my backpack, a very accessible area in case I needed to change batteries. The problem was that when we stuffed the backpacks inside the car trunk we placed two big water containers next to the packs. The water leaked and our packs got wet. My camera batteries were soaked even before starting my journey. I thought I would be able to photograph the while trip with just one battery but turns out that I take a lot of photos. When my only battery was low I had to relay on my cellphone which also had low battery. I was so upset that day because the photo quality would be lower then my good Nikon camera.
Day three was the hardest for me, mostly because I did not pack correctly. It make matters worse the Coast trail did not have much shade and the sun beat down on us. We had to take a long break at Kelham Beach trailhead because I needed to fuel up for the climb to Glen Camp.
The mile or so distance from Bear Valley trail to Glen Camp was by far the hardest hike of the whole trip. It felt like a never-ending trail to the highest mountain in the US. I had to stop to catch my breath every few minutes. Every single curve along the trail I would force myself to think the campground was on the other side. Every time I came around the corner I was disappointed to see even more trail going uphill. I drank water, eat snacks and just hoped that it would end but nothing helped. By the time I reach the campground I was not sure if I could make it to the camp site on a small hill. All I could think about is taking off the pack, eating and showering. Mostly shower because I felt like I had not showered in a year.
The final day was so easy and we did it in no time. I packed my pack the correct way. What a difference a well packed backpack makes. The mile hike from Glen Camp to Bear Valley trail was so easy I couldn’t believe I was struggling a day before. Since our trip ended on a weekend we saw many hikers along the Bear Valley trail. It was sad that the trip had ended but I was on top of the world because I had checked off backpacking off my Bucket List.
Although most people do their first backpacking trip in their early teens or 20s I have to encourage the older generation to go out there and backpack. It really refreshes your mind and relaxes your body although you get a good beating out of it. This trip challenged me in a way that I never thought possible. I am stronger than what I think I am. Most importantly I realized that in life you don’t need much to enjoy life. So travel, take pictures and live life. Thank you for reading my blog.
Today I felt like I was living in a bubble oblivious to what is happening right next door and the world. Without getting too political there are issues that can’t be ignored when you live in a border state. There may be a border between Mexico and the US however when there is a crisis in Mexico the border state like California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas are the first to notice it. Today my eyes were open and I had a reality check.
At one point the performer gave a shout out to Haiti. When I turned I saw a group of Haitians enjoying the performance. You have to understand normally you see people from different nations visiting TJ. Today there were only Mexican, Mexican-Americans and Haitian. When we started walking again I started to notice more and more Haitians. On our way back to the border crossing we asked the cab driver about the Haitians. He informed us that they had arrived 3 months ago. As we drove several blocks he said “look, this all belongs to them,” meaning the Haitians. The driver told us that every day two trucks come and deliver food to the Haitian growing population. He informed us that the shelters are full and more Haitians are coming. The driver was not familiar as to why they are in Mexico but all he knew was that Haiti is a poor country and this is why the Haitians are coming to Mexico waiting to cross to the US.