Faith and Nature

Posts Tagged ‘hiking’

Sometimes the signs along the journey of life leave room for interpretation. Here’s a trail marker which normally points to the direction for hikers, but it has come off of it’s anchor and my daughter Amy has it pointing in a new direction. A reminder that perhaps one greater than us is at work here, but I’d prefer to feel the presence of the creator through the creation rather than the clouds. We found this sign along a trail on Ring Mountain,  a small nature preserve on the Tiburon peninsula.  What makes Ring Mountain special in my mind is that you can feel a sense of peace and solitude in nature while being surrounded by the bustling urban life of the Bay Area. From the top you have a view of San Francisco to the North, Mount Tamalpais to the South, and Mount Diablo to the Southeast.  The soils of Ring Mountain also make the location unique.  Rocks such as blue schist and green schist, and serpentine, discourage many of the local native plants and give rise to some unique plants such as the Tiburon Mariposa Lily which is only found in this preserve. Since we would occasionally visit the preserve on family hikes when our kids were small it’s fun to come back and reminisce about visiting the preserve in years past. More photos of the preserve are available here.

The day after Thanksgiving found us hiking on Angel Island. It was a blustery day, with the threat of rain showers as dark clouds drifted by the island. We felt a few drops but were spared the rain. We hiked the North Ridge trail to the top of the Island, Mount Livermore, which gives one a 360 degree panoramic view of the Bay Area. Angel Island is an island of peace and solitude surrounded by cities, San Francisco to the Southwest, Oakland and Berkeley to the East, Sausalito and Tiburon to the Northwest. We hiked through ferns and mossy oak woodlands on the Ridge Trail, returning through chaparral and the recent burn on the Sunset Trail. It was a good way to work of some of the extra calories from Thursday’s feast. It was also good to be reminded that one doesn’t have to travel far to find peace and solitude in the busy Bay Area. You can view more photos here.