Point Reyes Workshop and Camping

Two weeks to go! I'm getting really excited but it also feels like there's still so much left to do. But I got to take a nice break this weekend up in Point Reyes, attending a writing workshop. I'm not a writer by any means, but went with my dad, who definitely fits the bill.

They did a fabulous job of interspersing writing time with ecology lectures from the rangers, which I particularly enjoyed. We got to learn all about the local spotted owl populations, human-bear conflict management, and marine mammals of the CA coast. It was a good lesson in how interconnected the landscape is. Another major thread that persisted across the three days was the main goal of ecologists: the modern thinking is more about preserving important processes of the land, and allowing the subsequent changes to occur, rather than forcing the landscape back to how it 'originally was', regardless of how feasible or rational that may be. There have been many permanent changes to the land, for example: the local extinction of grizzlies that cannot be restored. But allowing the natural return of black bears to Marin County will reintroduce the apex predator ecological regime and apply top-down pressure on the food chain, which will stabilize deer populations, limit disease, and improve riparian health. Here, the ecological management is about letting the environment change without interference, and educating humans on how our behavior must change in turn to cohabitate with these animals. There were many other examples, but it was fascinating to learn about and proved how much of an ever-changing field ecology is (due to the ever-changing landscape we exist in).

While attending during the day, I had the pleasure to camp at Point Reyes those two nights. It was lovely to be immersed in nature after the day's lectures and observe some of the very things we'd discussed during the day. The first night, I heard the four-tone call of the northern spotted owl, and the next night had an up-close encounter with a deer mouse. Not to mention the many, many banana slugs I saw walking to and from the camp. I stayed at Glen Camp, which was almost exactly 5 miles from the Red Barn Classroom, so my hiking mileage was minimal but I got some good early morning hiking in in order to arrive by 8:45 am. The camping itself was lovely and the weather stayed beautiful the whole time.

This short trip was particularly nice in confirming whether or not I have all my gear dialed in, and let me judge some of the recent changes I'd made. In no particular order, here are my gear thoughts from the trip:

• Definite yes on the pants. I've been wavering, but there was so much stinging nettle and other overgrown brush that I was very thankful to have them. I imagine there'll be several similar instances on the PCT

• Yes to the GG thinlight pad, but I think I'm going to cut it about a foot shorter. It doubles nicely as a yoga mat

• I like the Hoka shoes a lot. I'm thinking they may be the ones I start with, and I'll switch to my Merrel's at Warner Springs if I'm unhappy

• Yes to the Birckenstock camp shoes. The Tevas were wonderful but their function didn't outweigh their weight (haha)

• Patagonia black bean soup was superb, even better with chips

• Stove fuel lasted shockingly well - started with a pretty empty can and ran out right as my last dinner finished. Good to have a better idea of how many days they'll last me for on the trail

• Watercolor kit is dialed in pretty well, but may get a water pen over my brush. I got to try a few at the workshop and really liked them. Turns out I can watercolor in my journaling notebook (if I limit the amount of water), so I'll bring less actual watercolor paper. Also, got a great tip to use an old sock as a blotter rather than my handkerchief

• Plan to have one dirty and one clean bandana seems sound and worked quite well for this trip. Will require some divisive decisions about which activities count as clean vs dirty haha

• Always keep cheese in a plastic bag. It looked fine but leaked cheese juices all over the inside of my food bag :(

• Can keep mesh stove/spice bag inside food bag - doesn't save any time to have it separate and keeps all smell-ables in the same place

• Will definitely need to replace spices sooner than I'd like, should add them to my resupplies

• Snacks for breakfast worked very well

• New 10,000 mAh battery will work for the beginning - way lighter! Will prob want my 20,000 for the Sierra though

• Badge leash for pee cloth is a mixed bag. Need to find the right place to hang it where it won't get in my way but where the leash is actually long enough to be useful

• I don't like my pineapple flavored electrolyte :( thought it would be fun to mix it up but the flavor is too weird

• Should get a separate waterproof bag for my tent. A pack liner is great, but prevents me from inserting the tent from the bottom of my backpack which I greatly prefer. I should have everything else in the pack liner and the tent in its own bag

• Speaking of tent bag, I've yet to figure out the best way to fold it. I've done third, quarter, and quarter plus a bit, and they're all too long for the bag :(( just using a waterproof bag will be a good solution for this too

• It takes me almost exactly 40 min to pack up - less if I don't need to brace myself for the cold haha. I expect I'll bring this time way down a couple weeks in, but good to know my starting point

• Brought my mini daypack for this and going back and forth on whether to bring it on the pct. I think it'll be super nice to have it when I need it, I just don't think I'll need it often enough to justify having it

• New mini scissors work great! Cut my nails and everything

• Learned that my 'booking it' pace can be a pretty steady 3.5 mi/hr on flattish trail. Closer to 3.1 when not trying to rush, and drops to 2.5 with any kind of elevation

That's it! This is all mostly for me to remember everything but congrats if you managed to find this page haha.