Last week, we woke up to a beautiful, sunny St Patrick’s Day. It was so warm that a long-sleeved tshirt seemed much too heavy. With such wonderful weather at hand, we decided to hike the Land’s End, a section along part of San Francisco’s wildest and rockiest Coastal Trail. This remote trail is reputed to offer postcard worthy views of the crashing surf of the Pacific, The Golden Gate Bridge, the Marin Headlands, and San Francisco Bay. We couldn’t wait! We quickly readied ourselves, and armed with camera, extra water, a couple of Cara oranges recently purchased at the previous Saturday’s Farmers’ Market, and accompanied by Rocco, we set off for San Francisco.
After 12 miles worth of East Bay Bridge, and barely 15 minutes from our front door, we arrived to a cold, windy, and overcast San Francisco. Such is life in the San Francisco Bay Area. Not easily daunted, we persevered, and from the Financial District, through the Tenderloin, and Nob Hill, we went, finally arriving at the neighborhood of Seacliff, the starting point of Land’s End. Only to be met, not with the million dollar views that we had been expecting, but with an opaque curtain of fog, and a sign announcing that the trail was closed for renovation until April. Rats! Now what?
Fortunately, my guy always has a plan B and he quickly rebounded with the idea of heading to China Beach, a tiny cove situated about a 15 minutes walk from Land’s End. China Beach was given its name by local residents, due to the Chinese fishermen who, long ago, used the beach as a campsite as they worked on the San Francisco Bay. Ironically, though China Beach was created by laborers, it can only be reached through one of San Francisco ritziest neighborhoods. Ah, the irony….
We walked past mansion sized homes, with meticulously landscaped gardens, to arrive at China Beach. Bordered by high coastal cliffs, and down an unending trail of stairs, China Beach is a small, secluded, sheltered pocket of sand, much preferred by surfers, and perfect for a sunny day of sunbathing, or on a chilly overcast day, such as this day, a leisurely walk along the beach, accompanied by a soundtrack of crashing waves, punctuated by plaintive foghorns far in the distance. Eerie and beautiful. As we soon found out, that walk would have to wait, as dogs are not allowed on China Beach. In fact, in the words of the ranger who approached us “No animals of any kind are allowed on China Beach, not just dogs”. I can only imagine what other animals people have tried to sneak onto China Beach! He did allow me to stand at the bottom of the stairs for a few minutes while DB took some photos of the sole person on the beach, a lone fisherman casting his line...one with the sea.
Twenty minutes later, and severely wind-whipped, we trudged back up the stairs and headed for the car, where before taking off, we made the acquaintance of a beautiful, but skittish, year-old Great Dane named Ella. Shiny black, she came out of the fog like a majestic, wingless horse, as she and her human sauntered home. After meeting Ella, and not to be defeated by the day's events, we drove to the beach in the Outer Richmond, where dogs are indeed allowed. We promised Rocco a hike, but on this day, he would have to settle for a run along the Pacific.
Our day ended at Tee-Off, an Irish pub nearby, with a pint and an overflowing plate of cornbeef and cabbage. Happy (belated) St Patrick’s Day!
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