The club traveled to Point Reyes a prominent cape and popular Northern California tourist destination on the Pacific coast from Tuesday, September 18th through Thurday the 20th for the fall outing. It is located in Marin County approximately 30 miles west-northwest of San Francisco. The term is often applied to the Point Reyes Peninsula, the region is bounded by Tomales Bay on the northeast and Bolinas Lagoon on the southeast. The headland is protected as part of Point Reyes National Seashore. On Tuesday the group traveled north to The Presidio National Park at the Golden Gate Bridge. From there, they enjoyed a leisurely hike along the Ecology Trail. In addition to the fauna and flora, the Ecology Trail also boasts access to arguably the best viewing area in the Presidio (it’s hard to choose – there are so many!) At Inspiration Point Overlook they enjoyed an eyeful of the bay, Alcatraz (or “The Rock”), Angel Island, and Andy Goldsworthy’s imposing Spire sculpture to the west. From there they took a connecting trail to El Polín Spring, a wildlife hotspot, where hummingbirds and butterflies dance.
At Point Reyes, Rich Bainbridge led a 6 mile round-trip hike on the Tomales Point Trail through the Tule Elk Reserve with panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean, Bodega Bay, and Tomales Bay to the stock pond at the site of the Lower Pierce Point Ranch.
Blackie’s pasture trail was the second hike available. Blackie was a celebrated, swaybacked, retired cavalry horse that once roamed here. Soon after beginning the group passed the coastal mudflats of Richardson Bay, transition zones between land and sea that host a wide variety of plants and wildlife. A bird—and birder’s—paradise, Richardson Bay hosts more than 1 million migratory birds every year, along with a diverse mix of year-round residents, including great blue herons, snowy egrets and red-tailed hawks. Breathtaking views of the bay started here, and they stayed for the remainder of the trail,
