So yesterday we took a moderate trail to the beach. It is a well established trail and it is clear that people are making certain that it is passable (cutting downed trees for example). It is a beautiful trail, with switchbacks to make the descent to the beach something that is manageable for a couple of fair-weather hikers like us.

We found the beach. Hard to miss as the trail ends there. We found some fishermen and saw a handful of sea kayakers and stand up paddle boarders. Also the single nicest outhouse I’ve ever used.

It was low tide. We had listened to the tide warning and arrived at just about the lowest point for the tide. The fisherman and two boys had two lines in the water. My grandmother would have applauded their shore fisherman style – rods poked into the sand, bells on the tips of the poles. Tinkling bells signaled something on a the line. A small leopard shark that was hauled in, unhooked, photographed, and released back into the bay.

We explored the edges of the beach – lots of mussels exposed as with the tide.

Going down was easy. It’s an in-and-out trail – so we knew we had to go back UP the relatively easy down. But the getting up was a little more challenging. Cardio-pulmonary fitness being what it is, we were a little slower, stopping to photograph the wildflowers on the trail.

We missed the fact that the trail has a Y, and we thought that UP seemed logical, but we were passing new landmarks, so we turned around after a bit and took the other branch. Happily returned to the trailhead and the road, we made it back to the house in time for a late lunch and a much needed shower.

Where to today? Not sure yet. Look at the trail maps, there are trails closed to llamas (had I but known).  We will heed today’s warning:

“Never turn your back on the ocean.”