Beautiful hike on the Kortum Trail with the Saturday Saunterers led by Joe Tenn while Bob Martin is in Europe with Eva.

This hike follows the north section, from Blind Beach to Shell Beach. The trail starts from the cliffs above Blind Beach, overlooking Goat Rock just to the north. The trail heads south along the exposed coastal bluffs to Shell Beach, a sandy pocket beach surrounded by jagged offshore rocks. En route to the beach are southward views that span all the way to Point Reyes.

We visited the big rocks where Martha says that the smooth spots, high on the rocks, were rubbed to that glossy finish by mastodons with itchy backs. They were also festooned with chalk in the cracks from boulderers. The sky was clear and the Pacific very calm, the way it is in late September.

We saw this tuft of pampas grass as we walked down to the black sand of Shell Beach. I suspect the black sand is not from shells, but from the black rocks that mark this sharp cliff. The walk back took a slightly different route which seemed even steeper. Kathy, hiking with us for the first time, got into some difficulty but old pals Rich and Richard made sure she got back to the cars safely.

I spent the walk back trying to find someone to go with me to Earlfest later that day. Jason and David already had tickets through Kaiser, and neither Marsha nor Frances wanted to go.

We drove down to Goat Rock beach and had a nice lunch on the logs and a chatty, fun ride back. Great day, until I got home and discovered my cell phone had fallen out of my pocket. Made some panicky calls to Rich and Richard and, whew! my phone was discovered and promptly returned. Completely blew Earlfest off my agenda. I sewed the pockets on those pants halfway closed before I went to bed that night. Hope I don’t make THAT mistake again!

I set a goal to boat at Lake Berryessa, and prepared for this on my way back from the Solar Eclipse by going to Winters on I-5 and learning the route past these two lakes to Calistoga. I got my chance on Labor Day, and boated with Cathey from Napa, and Brent Swinth. Because the temperatures had been wicked hot, we met at 8:30 a.m. which required leaving at 7 a.m. We were on the water by 9 and enjoyed several dips to cool off. We were off the water by 12:30 when the picnic grounds were filling up with music and fragrances of delicious food.