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| our view from the cabin... |
Of the three "major" bay area peaks (Tam, Diablo, Hamilton)... Mt. Tam is quite easily my favorite. It's the shortest among the three at only 2572 ft... but don't tell that to the cyclists riding up it from SF. It's not an easy climb. Especially up Old Railroad (my preferred route). It's arguably the
birthplace of mtn biking, with pioneers such as Gary Fisher, Joe Breeze bombing down
repack trail. There was a time in my life where I'd bike up Tam before work at least once a week when I was living in the city.
So when the Schmidts came in for a visit, I had the idea of going to the
West Point Inn for the night. As the only surviving structure on the Mt Tam Scenic Railway, built in 1904. The inn is only accessible by bike or by foot... unless you have a disabled placard, in which case you can drive there. We also decided to hike DOWN to the inn. So while I carried all the gear... I just coasted down hill. Here's the xtracycle + trailer set up. Kimbo just had Kai in a jogging stroller and the Schmidts were enjoying the hike with a camera.
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| Ready to rock! |
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| Steve with the bay behind him. |
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| Kai wasn't done jamming on his flute... |
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| After dropping off the gear, then riding back up, then driving down to Pantoll (as you can't park overnight at the summit)... I rode back up to the inn. And finally got to check in! |
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| Our cabin... on stilts... |
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| my toys |
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| The lounge. They encourage music, and have a guitar + other instruments to use upon request. It's a very social atmosphere at the Inn. |
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| The place is full of interesting memorabilia... for example, I learned that there used to be a pub, "the Tamalpais Tavern at the mountaintop! How cool is that? Too bad that's all gone... |
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| The deck out front. |
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| Hummingbirds! |
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| They even have a bathtub upstairs if you are so inclined. |
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| Down on the road there's even a horseshoe pit. Kai did a great job retrieving the shoes for me. |
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| Another great reason to stay at the inn.... |
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| Above the morning fog. |
I woke up early to take advantage of the awesome trails at my doorstep. Didn't see a single soul on my run. Dipping in and out of the fog was a real treat.
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| on the Coastal Trail |
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| And back at WP inn |
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| Took a nice outdoor cold shower at the cabin! I mean c'mon how can you pass that up. |
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| more horseshoes! |
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| check out Kai's arranging job. |
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| We had a fantastic breakfast... the kitchen is amazing. Has everything you need to go all gourmet. Plus all the spices you can dream of. |
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| One Sunday a month in the summer, the members of WP Inn cook up a Pancake breakfast for folks to enjoy. It's a fundraiser for the inn, and I think it'd be a terrific way to start off your Sunday. Eat pancakes at the Inn. Then hike down and drink beer at the Tourist Club. |
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| After breakfast we all hiked back down to the van, which was parked at Pantoll. Both legs of the hike were very leisurely, as you can see on the ridewithgps maps. |
And finally... the timelapse. Fog can be quite beautiful...
