52 Hike Challenge

In January, I saw people on social media talking about a 52 hike challenge for 2021.  I figured I could handle one hike per week, so I jumped on the band wagon.  I started the year strong, getting hike 1 on January 1 and hike 2 on January 2.  

Despite some injuries throughout the year, I have successfully had at least one hike every month.  I have done 35 hikes total.  However, with only about 8 weeks left in the year, I need to fit 17 hikes in to hit my 52.  

I have done a lot of local hikes -- the Black Diamond side of Contra Loma is a favorite dog-friendly, off-leash hike.  I have been to Devil's Slide on the coast, and Little Yosemite in Sunol.  I hiked up north at McCloud Falls.  I have been down south (well, Bay Area south) to Uvas Canyon.  I hiked around the Salt River in Arizona.  I did Diamond Head in Hawaii.  I have walked over and around the Golden Gate Bridge.  I have done the Burney Falls loop.  I tried the Cleo's Bath hike in Pinecrest.  I did Alamere Falls, as well as Lands End in San Francisco.  I really have seen some of the most beautiful outdoor locations in our area this year.

So what's a "hike" to me?  It is outdoors (obviously), with some hills, and at least 2 miles (although I had a couple of hikes fall slightly short).  I have hiked a total of 125 miles this year.  My shortest hike was 1.5 miles (Burney Falls loop).  My longest hike was 8.5 miles (Alamere Falls).  Choosing a location can be difficult.  We had A LOT of 100+ degree days over the summer, which made local hikes dangerous.  However, driving two hours to the coast every single weekend to get my hikes started to become overwhelming.  Plus, the coast is usually foggy in the summer.  The gorgeous views are usually best in Fall.  A lot of coastal hikes (especially on my favorite Mt. Tam) are not dog-friendly.  And I now have a dog who knows when she is being left behind, so I have a little guilt when I leave for a hike without her.

I have gone through my calendar and set a fairly aggressive hiking schedule to get myself all the hikes I need to hit my goal.  Weather-permitting, I should be able to get them in before the end of the year.  It will require a double-up of hikes pretty much every week, but I know I can do that.  On Saturday, in fact, I will be heading to Walnut Creek to find a hidden labyrinth.  I have to get in a hike tomorrow after work, and probably one on Sunday as well.  

If you have any favorite hikes, let me know!  Even if I can't fit it in this year, I am already setting my hiking schedule for next year!

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Nature Goddess: Lands End Hike

Last weekend, Jade and I braved San Francisco during Fleet Week to do the Lands End hike.  This hike is one of my favorites.  Although there are some stairs, this is a fairly flat and easy hike.  If you go at the right time (i.e., not summer when the fog is the worst in the mornings), you have gorgeous views of the ocean and Golden Gate Bridge for the majority of the time you're on the trail.  And you can hike a mile, or you can wander into the multi-million dollar neighborhoods and continue your exploration.  My ultimate goal is to hike from the Lands End/Sutro Baths point to the Golden Gate Bridge.  My understanding is that you have to walk through neighborhoods, down to the beach, then back up onto the trail, to make it happen, so it will be a little more challenging.  I believe it is about 4.5 miles one way.  

I park at the lot near the Lookout Visitor's Center.  It is right past Ocean Beach (if you're coming from the south), and the former Cliff House restaurant (which closed last year due to lease issues), at the lot that overlooks the Sutro Baths.  I prefer this lot because there have been an increased report of break-ins in the area, and I feel like it's a busy lot with enough people around to (hopefully) deter the criminals.  The lot fills up pretty early, so I would suggest you start your hike by 8 AM (or go in the afternoon when it might be less crowded).  10 AM seems to be the busiest time.

Once you're on the trail, there are so many options.  As discussed above, you can get right on the trail and head out for as far as you'd like.  You can take the stairs down to the Sutro Baths to explore the remains of the buildings.  You can just go chill by the Cliff House and hope for a view of dolphins or whales.  Jade and I got lucky the first time we hiked here and got to see dolphins from the window of the restaurant (we had breakfast before the hike because rain and 50 degree weather was not the biz...).  It's a beautiful place with a mix of ocean and trees against the Golden Gate backdrop.  

This trip, we got right on the trail at 8 AM.  It was Fleet Week and I had looked up the schedule for the Blue Angels, only to find that activities were running 10 AM to 4 PM.  My goal was to see the Blue Angels from the trail.  Technically, the show is on the other side of the Golden Gate in the Marina District, but they fly over the Golden Gate, so I knew we would get to see it as well.  We wandered down the trail, and even into the neighborhood to oooh and ahhh at some of the gorgeous ocean-facing homes.  Eventually, we turned around because my hope was to see the jets flying through the Golden Gate.  As we walked back, we took a side trip to a cliff that overlooks the ocean.  It would have been the perfect place to see the Blue Angels.  Except...their show didn't start until later in the afternoon.  The generic schedule I got didn't tell me exactly when they were flying.  In fact, no one was flying until almost noon.  Since it was only about 10:30 AM, we decided we wouldn't wait another hour or more to see planes.  However, while we were excitedly waiting for the show to start, we got to see whales in the ocean.  At first I thought it was a pack of sea lions, but they had blow holes and they moved more like whales.  It was pretty cool.  I always hope to see something like that on my ocean-front hikes, but it is pretty rare it actually happens.  It definitely made the trip that much more special.

There are a couple of cut-outs with benches along the trail, which are nice for breaks, a snack, or just to take in the views.  The trail is dog-friendly (which has been difficult for me to find lately).  Although, my dog really does better off-leash, so dragging her away from every other dog or awesome smell she needed to check out wasn't all that fun.  Many dogs we ran into were off-leash.  I couldn't trust my dog there since she will chase a squirrel over a cliff without a second thought.  Our hike ended up being about 4.5 miles.  

If you're looking for a San Francisco hike, this is my number one pick.  I had scheduled the Lands End to Golden Gate hike last Thanksgiving then ended up hurting my knee, so I canceled.  Now that my six month long run of injuries are healed, I think maybe it is time to reschedule so I can make it in for this year's 52 hike challenge.