Sonoma Baylands with SLV

June 14, 2023
Back out on trails again today. This was a much easier day for me compared to the 1,300+foot elevation gain of Hood Mtn yesterday. And equally fulfilling. It continues to amaze me how fortunate we are to live here, "the chosen spot of all this earth" (Luther Burbank, 1875 referring to Sonoma County). Yesterday I was in a forest and scenes indicative of Tahoe National Forest. Today I was walking along the very edges of San Francisco Bay -- really, within inches of the high tide line!
I love guiding this wonderful amazing group of women from Spring Lake Village. They have been hiking together for many years, usually a total group of 10 (no more, only two car-loads) and over the course of this long wet winter they only missed two Wednesdays due to the weather! I think they are all over 83, two are 90 years old. They are all very determined and strong hikers, and they all love being out on trails and in nature. They are inspiration to us all, to continue moving, being outdoors, supporting nature.
This is the third outing I have guided them on so far. They appreciate finding new places to explore (a difficult task because they have hiked almost everything there is in Sonoma County, at least twice). Only two of them had been to Sonoma Baylands before, and it had been many years. So this was a grand adventure for us all!
We made it all the way out Dickson Ranch Trail to where the levee was breached in 2015 -- a celebration two of us had been to. We enthusiastically talked about this project of returning tidal marshland to what has been drained ag land for many years. We gloried in the renewed habitats and the tremendous views.
When we arrived at the free parking area, the fog was just lifting off Mt Tam, we could barely see the bridges. By the time we took this group-photo out on the levee, we could clearly see the San Rafael-Richmond Bridge, the Bay Bridge over to Treasure Island, the Carquinaz Bridge in the East Bay, Mt Diablo, Sacramento River Delta, Cougar Mountain, Petaluma River and more! We met a team from Point Blue doing restoration work -- pulling wild radish to uncover native plantings they had provided earlier this year.
Thanks to Sonoma Land Trust and all the partners that created this wonderful restoration project and allow public access. To learn more about Sonoma Baylands, https://sonomalandtrust.org/.../anchor.../sears-point-ranch/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnqxkRrqUa4 In this YouTube webinar, join Peter Baye as he explains this project and why it is important to you and me. There are wonderful interpretive panels along the trails.

Publicado el junio 15, 2023 02:26 TARDE por