Nature Goddess: Alamere Falls Hike

I did the Alamere Falls hike, on the Point Reyes National Seashore, in July 2019.  Roundtrip, the hike is 8-1/2 to 12 miles, depending on your route.  There are a couple of scrambles that require a little faux rock climbing, a ton of poison oak, but lots of gorgeous views.  It is about a two hour drive for me, ending in a long rocky dirt road, with little to no cell service (so download your All Trails maps, and maybe print out some paper maps).  You really have to get there by 8 AM if you want parking, so that means leaving the house by 6 AM.

When Jade and I started talking about doing the hike again, I was slightly worried because I am carrying around some of that covid weight, but I was participating in the 52 Hikes Challenge this year, and at that time, was on par to complete a hike every single weekend.  I felt strong.  I had rehabbed some knee issues.  I was ready.  Then I wasn't.  I don't even know what happened, but I went almost two months without much hiking, and the weekend loomed.  We pushed it out once, but decided Labor Day weekend was time to make it happen.  It was my 32nd hike for the year, and we clocked about 8-1/2 miles using my new Apple Watch (I accidentally turned it off early in the hike, so that's why I don't have the exact mileage).  I am currently off-track for hitting my 52 hikes for the year, but who knows...maybe I'll put some doubles in over a few weekends and get back to it.  I have been extremely tired lately, and it is hard to get up and go hike in 100 degree heat.  Many coastal hikes I would love to do are not dog friendly, and it is difficult to look Belle in the face and leave her behind when she knows I'm going on a hike (she watches me pack the car and judges me harshly when she thinks she's being left at home).

I remember the last hike being extremely hot (for the coast), the trail was packed (we started later in the morning), and parking was full so we had to park down the dirt road and walk in.  Ness, Ant, Jade and I logged over 10 miles on that trip.  This trip, Jade, Steph, and I got there early, and the walk actually seemed faster and easier.  We were almost surprised when we turned the corner and saw the rock arrow for the shortcut out to the coast.  

The shortcut requires you to walk through some pretty closed in areas with a lot of poison oak (leaves of three, let it be!).  I really don't suggest you do it unless you are fully covered -- long pants and sweatshirts.  I have never had poison oak and, knock on wood, hope to keep it that way.  I understand it gets worse each time you are exposed to it.  We saw some people trying to do it in shorts, and I really hope they didn't end up with some itchies and scratchies.  Note that the shortcut is NOT the official trail, so if you are a stickler for rules, you'll want to spend the extra couple of miles walking past the shortcut to the campground, down to the beach, and back up to Alamere Falls.  If you did this roundtrip, you'd add about four miles to your hike.  You really have to keep an eye on the tides, though.  High tide often traps people on the beach, and no one wants to be the beach rescue that didn't know how to watch the tides.  

Once you're through the poison oak lined tree tunnel, the two scrambles down to the mid-way point to the beach (which has several beautiful falls to view, and plenty of space to sit and eat lunch) weren't terrible.  I find as I get older (or maybe my fall at McCloud Falls in May scared me), I'm a little more nervous when I hike steep spots, and I carry at least one hiking stick on every hike now.  When we arrived there were maybe only three other groups on the flat.  It was essentially empty (last time, there were easily 100 people hanging around).  By the time we left, everyone else had shown up, so I definitely encourage people to go early if you want some peace and quiet.  

The falls were also interesting because they had watercress floating on top of the water.  Anywhere we had seen water last time, had greenery on it this time.  It was beautiful but I understand watercress is actually an invasive species, so I wonder what is making it grow now.  

We sat and ate our lunch, then Steph and Jade decided to brave the steep scramble down to see the official Alamere Falls from the beach.  I peeked over and decided I didn't want to chance not being able to get back up.  Although the tide was going out so it was safe, I knew that it would add two miles to my hike if I wasn't able to climb back up, and had to walk down to the campground to get back to the main trail.  In fact, while I was up top exploring while Jade and Steph were on the beach, I watched a group trying to help a woman of about my size down the rocks.  It was a slow process, and she was clearly terrified, so I knew I had made the right decision.  Maybe I'll shed a few pounds, gain a little more strength, and try next time we do this hike.  

After Jade and Steph were done exploring the beach and falls, they climbed back up to the mid-section where I was, and we returned to the trail.  I was surprised when I had to use more upper body strength than I remember to get up the middle scramble.  If all these words (scrambles, etc.) are confusing, its like minor rock climbing.  You definitely need to be able to pull yourself up a little, but you have enough room to wedge your body, or leverage yourself, so it's not as bad or scary as it sounds.  I was feeling it the next day.  My upper body was sore.  I should do some push-ups and pull-ups or something before we go again.  

The walk back was fairly uneventful.  We had talked briefly about stopping at one of the lakes we passed on the way in, but it was colder this time, and there looked to be a lot of poison oak around the path, so we just continued back to the parking lot.  We could hear a lot of people yelling and swimming.  I know the algae blooms are dangerous right now, and those lakes are pretty green, so that would have made me nervous too.  The walk back definitely seemed longer than the walk in.  I was tired and sore, plus the walk always seems uphill both ways.  The trail was filled with more people as it was later in the day.  The entire hike, including our exploration time, was about five hours. 

Alamere is one of those touristy type hikes.  Again, if you're looking for peace and quiet, either go early, or at least not on a weekend.  I would advise against hiking alone.  Although this trail doesn't have a lot of turn offs were you can get lost, I've been listening to a lot of podcasts about hikers going missing in National or state parks (Park Predators and Missing 411).  I've always felt safe hiking alone, but maybe I've just been lucky so far.

I turned 45 the week before this hike.  I have been struggling with some weight gain and covid depression lately.  I deemed this year my year to get healthy (yet again).  So my hashtag is #45more.  I don't care about the pounds as much as how I feel.  And I know that some of the exhaustion is just being overwhelmed by the state of the world.  But I keep plugging along and I know things will be just fine.  Everything always ends up working out.  

If you've ever hiked Alamere Falls, I'd love to hear about your experience!  You can leave a comment below.