I am trying to keep up with my hikes by posting them right after I complete them, but last weekend was just too busy to sit down and write after the adventure I took. So, here is a much delayed post about my lovely time in Point Reyes, California with my love, Zachary.
I'm not sure what the definition of "hiking" is. Does hiking have to involve much walking uphill? Do you have to be super out of breath when you finish? Do you have to literally climb a mountain? Any thoughts on the definition of "hiking" would be wonderful. I am too lazy to do research on this topic.
Anyway, the walk/hike to the Point Reyes Lighthouse may not have seemed much of a "hike," but it was beautiful. I'm calling this a walk/hike because the parking lot is small and there were many people, so we had to park down the road a ways and walk to the lighthouse visitor center. Since the lighthouse is located in the Point Reyes Headlands, it makes for a beautiful view (a headland, if you are not aware, is high land that extends out to the ocean – think of cliffs by the sea). Once you get to the visitor center, you have to climb down about 300 steps to get to the lighthouse itself, which stands on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Talk about amazing!
The lighthouse is unique because it is a "first-order" lens, which basically means it is very large. Zach and I made it in time for the tour of the lens room, where you go in the lighthouse and see the lens close up. They gave us the history about the lighthouse and the lens. I can't remember all the facts and cannot put it in such lovely prose as the tour guide did, but here is the very watered-down version: the lens is made with tons of mirrors and the light used to involve a lot of cranking of this fancy mechanism in order for it to shine. I am horrible with history and remembering facts, so please do yourself a favor and Google "Point Reyes Lighthouse." I can definitely tell you this: it was a spectacular sight.
Want to hear about another spectacular sight? Zach and I saw WHALES. LIVING, BREATHING WHALES, IN THE OCEAN. I apologize for being obnoxious, but this is a big deal for me, since I have always wanted to see a dolphin and a whale and other amazing sea creatures in the wild, and never have. Right before we went into the lens room, someone in our tour group spotted the mother whale and her baby, and we all stood there, marveling at them. Check that one off the bucket list.
After the lighthouse, Zach and I ventured Chimney Rock Trail, which was in the headlands near the lighthouse. It was a short path (probably about a mile and a half total) that led to a great view of the ocean.
Needless to say, I had an amazing weekend. Thank you, Zachary, for always taking me on grand adventures.
I'm not sure what the definition of "hiking" is. Does hiking have to involve much walking uphill? Do you have to be super out of breath when you finish? Do you have to literally climb a mountain? Any thoughts on the definition of "hiking" would be wonderful. I am too lazy to do research on this topic.
Anyway, the walk/hike to the Point Reyes Lighthouse may not have seemed much of a "hike," but it was beautiful. I'm calling this a walk/hike because the parking lot is small and there were many people, so we had to park down the road a ways and walk to the lighthouse visitor center. Since the lighthouse is located in the Point Reyes Headlands, it makes for a beautiful view (a headland, if you are not aware, is high land that extends out to the ocean – think of cliffs by the sea). Once you get to the visitor center, you have to climb down about 300 steps to get to the lighthouse itself, which stands on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Talk about amazing!
The lighthouse is unique because it is a "first-order" lens, which basically means it is very large. Zach and I made it in time for the tour of the lens room, where you go in the lighthouse and see the lens close up. They gave us the history about the lighthouse and the lens. I can't remember all the facts and cannot put it in such lovely prose as the tour guide did, but here is the very watered-down version: the lens is made with tons of mirrors and the light used to involve a lot of cranking of this fancy mechanism in order for it to shine. I am horrible with history and remembering facts, so please do yourself a favor and Google "Point Reyes Lighthouse." I can definitely tell you this: it was a spectacular sight.
Want to hear about another spectacular sight? Zach and I saw WHALES. LIVING, BREATHING WHALES, IN THE OCEAN. I apologize for being obnoxious, but this is a big deal for me, since I have always wanted to see a dolphin and a whale and other amazing sea creatures in the wild, and never have. Right before we went into the lens room, someone in our tour group spotted the mother whale and her baby, and we all stood there, marveling at them. Check that one off the bucket list.
After the lighthouse, Zach and I ventured Chimney Rock Trail, which was in the headlands near the lighthouse. It was a short path (probably about a mile and a half total) that led to a great view of the ocean.
Needless to say, I had an amazing weekend. Thank you, Zachary, for always taking me on grand adventures.
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