I went to hike the Dipsea Trail this past Sunday and it was amazing – it’s the kind of typical Bay Area thing I feel I should have done years ago but the occasion never presented itself before today. We drove to Stinson Beach in the morning to catch the bus to Mill Valley then hiked our way back over Mount Tamalpais. The path essentially ends by the beach, so we were in for a nice sunset by the ocean, in which we could also dip our toes and get rid of some of the dirt. I’m still having a hard time believing that people run this trail (much less twice or even four times in a row).
The vistas were simply breathtaking. I had had a pretty nice bike ride on the previous day exactly in the same area and I am generally speaking quite familiar with the roads in Marin County, but I was surprised how different it feels to walk the paths by the side of the road. I’m not much of a hiker – I can’t say this was an easy hike (the walk itself took about 4hrs) but there are plenty of places to stop and take pictures or just rest.
The variety of terrain helps to stay distracted and it’s easy to lose track of time. There was also plenty of wildlife around the path – deers, squirrels and a whole array of species of birds. My understanding is that this is one of the greatest trail in North California, yet there were remarkably few people on it, possibly due to the occurrence of Fleet Week that same week-end. I feel like this is the kind of perfect introduction to somewhat serious hiking, a bit like a gateway drug. At $2 for the bus ride, this is one hella cheap habit to get into.