Point Reyes National Seashore: Sculptured Beach

Posted by Karen on 11-Mar-2006

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Candace and I had originally planned to join Maria and Francis for a weekend of camping at Point Reyes Coast Camp, but the weather prediction of freezing temps caused me to bail out.  Yes, I’m a cold-wimp!!  But, we decided to dayhike in and visit them and enjoy a nice day at Point Reyes National Seashore.  Candace and I took the Laguna Trail in; this week the trail is aptly named, as much of it was under inches of water and mud from the recent storms.  We found Maria and Francis at their Coast Camp site and stopped to visit and lunch with them.  We shared some wonderful fresh bread and cheese from the Cowgirl Creamery that we brought in as a peace offering for bailing out on camping.  After a leisurely lunch, Candace and I headed down the Coast Trail, checking out rock formations and land crevices.  When we came to the cutoff path for the south end of Sculptured Beach, we turned and took it.  Sculptured Beach normally resides under water during high tide, but by this time of the afternoon, the tide was around mid-tide and we walked back along the beach enjoying the wonderful cuts and washouts in the cliffs that give the beach it’s name.  Checking out the tide pools, we saw mussels clinging to the rocks, several Bat Starfish and I saw what I think was a sea urchin.  At the end of the afternoon, we headed back up the Laguna Trail and made our way back to the car with only a few raindrops on our head.  It was a nice day at the beach between storm systems.

GPS Stats: • Odometer: 7.13 miles  • Total Time: 6.06  • Moving Time: 3.11  • Overall Average Speed 1.2 mph  • Moving Average Speed: 2.2 mph