San Mateo -- Pacifica

January 7, 2012

     Having stuck my neck out with wild claims about resuming my little jaunt down the California Coastal Trail, I had to do some hiking to get this project back under way.  Off to Pacifica for Section 1 of San Mateo County.  Only it turned out to be Section 2 and not all of that.  Confused?  'Allow me to explain.  No, I don't have time to explain.  Let me sum up.'
     The sections are numbered according to the scheme set out in the books Hiking the California Coastal Trail, volumes One and Two.  From North to South, these guides break down the 1200 plus miles of California Coast by County and by section.  Most of the sections are basic day hikes.  (Except in places like the Lost Coast where nothing's simple.)  San Mateo section 1 runs from Fort Funston in SF to Mussel Beach in Daly City.  But I missed the turn and didn't reach the Ocean until Pacifica Pier in the middle of section 2.  Rather than backtrack, I started there.

Pacifica Pier, my inadvertant destination.

          After lunch in my car I headed South toward Mori Point.  It was a fine day (for January): mild weather, light winds, wispy high clouds, occasional seas mists, but basically sunny.   Innumerable people (I was too lazy to count) were out walking their dogs, children and selves.  Apart from human beings, the commonest creature to be seen was the Chihuahua.  I've never seen so many little dogs.  (Also Poms, Pugs, Yorkies and all other breeds of the toy size.)  The only other wildlife comprised large, sleek, well-fed ravens.  No doubt they flourish upon a steady diet of stray Chihuahuas.

Nevermore!  Chihuahuas give me indigestion.

     Ocean lay to the right, golf course and wetlands to the left.  The sort of windswept cypresses on associates with Monterey are found here as well.  Beyond this the trail ascends Point Mori.

Cypresses and succulents.  Can ravens digest golf balls?

     The Point, a sign tells us, has a long and varied history having been a various times the site of an inn, a speakeasy, a farm and a proposed I-380 connection to the airport.  (The last mercifully aborted.)  It is now the home of various endangered wildlife -- so kindly stay on the trail!  Climbing over it involves a staricase of over 100 steps and that's just the beginning.  But the views from the top are worth it.  Wandering around to the back of the Point I found a level, paved bike trail and, descending along sketchy trails from the heights, followed it to Rockaway Beach.

Point Mori from afar.

Dear reader, I climbed these steps so you don't have to.

But the view was worth it.

     At Rockaway Beach the trail ascends along a series of sharp switchbacks.  The dutiful majority follow them.  The antinomian scofflaws don't.  For shame!  Where's Ranger Rick when you need him?  Or Smokey Bear with a shovel?  (Or Quickdraw McGraw with a guitar?)  The hill you ascend thus is a designated tsunami shelter area.  But rather than wait there for the next Big One to happen offshore, I followed the trail to Pacifica State Beach, the southern end of this section.

Especially tsunamis.  Head for the hills!

The Portola expedition camped here, October 11, 1769. 
There's a statue on the other side of the highway to prove it.

I returned to Pacifica Pier the easy way, along the bike trail.  This eventually connected to the Old Mori Road that runs along the North side of the Point, a cool and shady interlude.  The signs explaining the rehabilitated wetlands had been defaced by vandals.  (Hey Kweeksdraw!  Kabooong!!!)  This brought me back to the Ocean once more and to Pacifica Pier.  The northern half of San Mateo Section 2 I shall leave for another day and annex it to Section 1.  Time to head for home after walking six or seven miles to officially log three.

Much easier than all those nasty stairs and climbing.

Interlude on Old Mori Road.