Almost Heaven

On clear days, which are rare in August, you can see Mt. Tamalpais from my bedroom winter. You may recall a previous blog post about the rare snowfall we had on Mt. Tam this winter. You may have also noticed the drop in posting frequency in recent weeks. The reason for that is simple. I haven’t been sitting at the window very much. During the last two months I’ve spent my time doing only one of two things. One, going on vacation. Two, surveying park visitors for my thesis research. 

Since returning from Alaska I’ve spent the last two weeks begging, bribing and bullying people into doing surveys at Muir Woods, Angel Island and Mt. Tamalpais. On Saturday I drove up to Mt. Tam through a thick, pea soup fog. At one point I was driving 15 mph and still almost missed my turn. But as the road kept winding up I eventually broke through the fog and emerged above in sunshine and blue skies.

Is this heaven?

I met more than a few sunworshippers who frequently make the pilgrimage up Mt. Tam to transcend the gray gloom of a foggy weekend. After convincing enough of them to take my survey I was free to complete the last leg of the pilgrimage myself. After three days of sitting in the parking lot I finally bounded up the short 0.3 mile trail to the lookout.

Looking down on the parking lot

I found a good rock to sit down on and finally relaxed and enjoyed the view. I sat eating a sandwich, quietly contemplating the 360 degree views. Dragonflies buzzed around, turkey vultures soared overhead and other hikers sat quietly revering this holy place. To the east, San Quentin State Prison was visible. I wondered if any prisoners in the yard were looking up at me and what they were thinking. I thought for a moment of Ernest Morgan, a convicted murderer we met there earlier this year who was paroled in May. How many times did he look up at Mt. Tam during his 24 years behind bars? Was he now experiencing the same feeling of freedom that I was?

San Quentin and the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge

To the north, a small wildfire burned as the fog creeped in above. 

To the west, on the middle of the ridge, was what I believe is an observatory and the subject of a future blog post no doubt. 

And to the south, was the view of my house, somewhere down below the clouds.

And that was where I was off to next to start entering all that survey data into an excel spreadsheet. But my spirit was soaring as my car descended into clouds so I couldn’t help but snap a few more photos of this magical place. 

A plant with sticky leaves and the lookout in the background

Mt. Tam is a place I see every day but I guess I really didn’t fully appreciate all it had to offer before this week. I encourage everyone to go explore some place near your house that you haven't been to in a long time and let me know what you find!