Getting Full Use of Our Tam On

The lady and I decided to kick the city to the curb for a day to soak in some solidly sunny spring weather, hike what is considered to be one of the best trails in the Bay Area and climb 2,000 feet - so that we could gaze right back at the city we bailed on. Not our fault; the view from the top of Mt Tam is unmatched on a clear day. Full view of most of the bay, Mt Diablo, the Golden Gate, the ocean, and if not for a little haze, the Farallons and Sierras.

Manzanita bushes everywhere. I had no idea how smooth these babies are. I found myself stopping on the side of the trail to just stroke them for a few seconds, and yes, I realize how peculiar that must've looked.

We've got spirit.


I'd read online that there was wreckage from a plane that crashed into the hillside after mechanical failure on its way to Guam in WWII (kind of a bizarre story - boy scouts found the "scattered bodies" the next morning and the air force vaguely acknowledged it). It's definitely off the beaten path and unpublished, but we eventually found the twisted metal, wiring and even cloth from the crash a good 65 years later. Eight men died instantly here, which left its surreal impression even in the middle of the afternoon.