Waves crash over jagged cliffs. A gull perches on a rock, unfazed at my approach.
I’m at San Francisco’s Ocean Beach with two friends. Yesterday we spent 11 hours in a board meeting. We came together needing to put one foot in front of the other and repeat.
We leave the jagged shore at the Cliff House for the Lands’ End Coastal Trail. We enter green, gnarled cypress above, succulents and wildflowers sprouting from everything that isn’t rock. The sweet scent of abundant yellow sand verbena cuts the salt air’s bite.
This is part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and the trail’s busy. Each dog charms us more than the last: dachshunds, corgis, poodles, all wildly wiggly.
The bay peeks through the trees, then the mountains, then the Golden Gate Bridge.
A long slope of wooden stairs burns hamstrings, thighs. We enter a eucalyptus grove, yellow and blue light filtering through the long leaves, and inhale deeply.
In front of us, a couple pulls their baby up the steps backwards in his stroller. He’s also wildly wiggly, his smile widening every time the stroller bounces.
The Coastal Trail ends, depositing us in a neighborhood of Mediterranean-style homes. They’re all lushly landscaped, but the ultimate landscaping comes from the surf pulsing against the cliffs that form their backyards.
We pass the rickety lookout stands of China Beach. It’s a shabby shoreline, old firewood and detritus everywhere.
The dark sand turns nearly black where the tide washes it. Waves break tall and powerful off the beach, rip current warning signs everywhere. I put my hand in the cold foam the water leaves behind.
Most of this hike took place in a national monument. Sweaty runners on their afternoon break mingled with tourists speaking many languages. We saw jeans and sneakers, stockings and boots, couples with angular hair.
One of the women I was hiking with used to live in the Bay Area. She trained for marathons by running for miles on these beaches, then plunging her aching muscles into the cold water.
As a desert dweller who frequently sees no one on a hike, it was both strange and inviting to imagine this water-shaped landscape was your routine, its smells and sounds your everyday.
Hike length: 5 miles
Difficulty: easy
Wildlife spotted: crows, several kinds of gulls
Trail traffic: heavy
Woman Seeks Elevation 