Inverness Ridge Trail

Inverness Ridge Trail
3.6 miles
3 hours
Start: Mount Vision Parking Lot
End: Mount Vision Parking Lot
Includes: Mount Vision Trail, Inverness Ridge Trail, FAA Air Control Tower

Hike 24
May 24, 2013
Ten of Cups
Contentment

The ten of cups shows a rainbow of cups in the sky, a couple with arms extended and two children dancing in a circle. It is a picture of contentment.

With this card in mind, I headed to the Inverness Ridge Trail with my friend Peggy. I intended to walk the road up Mount Vision, but was too tired to face it. Peggy suggested this walk instead.

We walked the half-mile from the Mount Vision parking lot to the trailhead. It was hot enough to find lizards sunning on the asphalt.

Once on the trail, we walked the 1.3 miles to the Drakes View Trail and back.

The view east from the ridge was dominated by Elephant Mountain.

The first part of the trail was a little funky as it leads to an FAA radio tower used in air traffic control.

This was the first walk into the pine forests of the Point Reyes Peninsula. We looked down between the pines to the southernmost part of Tomales Bay.

We stood aside for horses who shared the trail.

Peggy knows the trails well. She's been around Point Reyes for some 40 years.

We saw evidence of the Vision Fire from 1995. During the blaze, Peggy worked as the resident nurse at the shelter in Point Reyes. The entire town of Inverness was evacuated. People visited the shelter in the day, but opted for nights in friend's homes.

We stopped several times to rest, drink water and eat trail mix. Swainson's Thrush surrounded us, their birdsong evidence that the warmth of spring had truly arrived.

Contentment comes from walking these trails so close to my home with friends. Friends like Peggy are the best part of small town living. Her grandson is in my boy's class at school. She's known my boy since preschool where she volunteered and happily hosts him for play dates.

She also works for the local cable channel and takes an active interest in local social issues. I love hearing about her projects. It helps me feel more connected to the other people who share my place.

Slow and easy is the pace of contentment.