12 miles

Yesterday we went on a hike at Point Reyes (where else). It was 12 miles long, which is the longest we've done with Anja so far, and reasonably difficult. It was about 3000ft in elevation gain total, but the trails were pretty easy to walk on, some were even fire trails, which are really just dirt roads. Jay may have a different view of how difficult it was, since he carried Anja in the backpack carrier and I had a lighter backpack with some supplies. We have been out to Point Reyes so many times, but have still only seen a fraction of it.

Anja had a great time. Except for the carsick incident at the end of the day that shall be known as "Extreme Vomit 2009." There was no permanent trauma, except maybe to the car.

Now that she's getting bigger, it's harder to make her sit still in the carrier. She can get both arms out of the harness and likes to hang completely out one side, like a dog sticking its head out the window of a car. This is fine, unless you're the person carrying her. 22lbs is a lot of weight to be lurching from one side to the other.


Part of the reason I wanted to hike this route was to see Wildcat Camp, the most requested camp at Point Reyes (there are only four). Jay and Anja are there in the shade, it's hard to see them.


You can see the camp below next to the ocean on the right side of the trail. There are only about 10 or so campsites. I'm hoping to camp here sometime, but I'm just not sure about being 5.5 miles from the car with a toddler, just in case we need extra supplies (see "Extreme Vomit 2009"). You may also notice in the beach pictures than Anja is not wearing pants while they are hung to dry. This shall be known as "Diaper fail event 2009." You can definitely backpack with a baby, but it's a little more work.


This picture absolutely does not do the scene justice, but here is the view coming down the trail that leads to the ocean, 6.5 miles from the trailhead where we started. If you look closely you can see the tiny dots that are tents.


This is a popular destination for horseback riders. Anja loved the horses we met along the trails all day, "ohses, ohses".


There were groups of sea lions leaping through the surf for the entire two hours we sat on the beach. You can see one sticking its head up out of the water here. There are also two pelicans in the air. Swarms of pelicans were patrolling the surf and diving in after fish. There were also a few ospreys diving into the water. I don't know what they were all after, but it was a very popular fishing spot that day.


Anja was stacking rocks and planting feathers in the sand and burying my feet with sand. I'm glad we're beyond the sand-eating phase, but I still watch closely whenever she has small rocks or kelp in her hands. We need to get her a sandbox at home sometime soon.


I should have taken more pictures of the beach area because it was really pretty. Jay took this one of Anja and me and one of the cliffs that comes right to the ocean.


And in a completely unrelated note, Anja loves Sesame Street. Actually she loves Elmo. She picks up the remote control all the time and says, "Emmo, Emmo" and points it at the TV. Most of the programs out there for kids are pretty pathetic, but Sesame Street is still pretty good.