My Hundred-Dollar Hamburger

 

Airplane pilots have a practice they jokingly call “the hundred-dollar hamburger”.  It’s a short flight to a nearby airport to eat lunch at the airport restaurant.  Afterward, the pilot flies home.  When you factor-in the cost of renting the airplane, the pilot spends about $100 for a measly hamburger.  The cost has risen over the years, but the term remains.

But why on earth would a general aviation pilot pay $100 for a lousy hamburger?  Answer:   it is an excuse to fly!!!  We bushcrafters can learn from airplane pilots.  Hiking to a lunch destination is an extremely rewarding experience.  Setting aside even half a day to walk to a picturesque lunch spot is nourishment for the soul.  Our minds slow and we focus in the moment.  We breathe the fresh air and feel the sunshine on our faces.  We enjoy the tranquility of having nowhere to go and all day to get there.

 

Lunch at Arch Rock

I want to share my “hundred-dollar hamburger” from last September.  I spent a day hiking at Pt. Reyes National Seashore.  This national park is a 1.5 hour drive from my home.  Between the driving and the hike, it consumed the better part of a lazy Saturday.

Expecting hot weather and sun, I froze my 3/4-filled water bottles the night before.  I filled them full in the morning and carried an extra half liter of water.  If you freeze your water bottles, leave plenty of airspace since water expands when it changes to ice.  You do not want to rupture your bottles.

I hiked from the Bear Valley Visitor Center up the Meadow Trail to the top of the ridge that runs north-south, separating Bear Valley from the Pacific coast.  The climb to the ridge is about 900 feet of elevation gain over 1.6 miles.  Once at the top, I hiked the Sky Trail south along the ridge top.  The Sky Trail descends on the west (ocean) side of the ridge at an east-west pass.

Near this site is Arch Rock.  It is an arch of rock about 120 feet above the surface of the Pacific.  It reaches out into the water and waves crash through the arch.  Hikers who walk along the top of the arch are treated to a panoramic view up and down the coast behind them.  This was my destination and lunch spot.

From Arch Rock, I hiked East through the pass on the Bear Valley trail.  It parallels the ridge and meanders through coastal woodland back to the visitor center.  The total distance of the hike is just over 11 miles.

 

The Meadow Trail

Hiking up the Meadow Trail, I came to a (surprise!) large meadow.  It is the end of summer and the rains have not yet arrived.  You can see how dry this environment is on the east side of the ridge.

 

 

I found a family of black tailed deer, including this year’s fawn, grazing in the cover of some Douglass Fir.  Black tailed deer are a type of mule deer and are ubiquitous in the coastal areas.

 

 

I stalked up on some California Quail that were sheltering in the cover of low growing Douglass Fir.  Their contact calls gave them away.  It was mid-morning and they had probably just completed their morning feeding.  I managed to get very close before being detected.  What I noticed were very young chicks with a female sentinel.  My understanding is that in good years the females will have a second brood.  They leave the male to rear the first.  Seeing such young birds this late in the summer, with only a female leading them, made me suspect that this might be a second brood.  They were too well concealed for the camera focus to handle…   🙂

As the trail nears the crest, conditions become wetter.  The mist and rains that flow off the ocean provide a more humid microclimate.

 

 

Up on the Ridge

The top of the ridge is covered in ferns and undergrowth normally associated with coastal forest I see at lower elevations.  Huckleberry bushes benefit from the wet, sunny environment along the top of the ridge.  They are a reddish, woody, shrub with alternating serrated leaves.

 

 

Hanging down below the leaves are dark blueish-black berries.

 

 

Huckleberries are related to blueberries.  Notice the flat bottom, just like the blueberries you buy at the supermarket.  Pt. Reyes, although a national park, allows visitors to pick small amounts of berries and mushrooms.  So I was able to enjoy a delicious mid-hike snack.    😀

 

 

Descending to the Pacific

It was all down-hill from here….

 

 

 

 

One plant I want to comment on is California Sagebrush (Artemisia californica) in the foreground below.  Locally, it is referred to as “Cowboy Cologne”.  The story goes that cowboys at the turn of the 20th century were not overly concerned about hygiene.  But when they headed into town, they wanted to smell at least as good as their horses.   🙂  So they rubbed the leaves of this plant on their bodies as a field expedient deodorant.  Its sweet smell makes it one of my favorites.

 

 

Arch Rock

Finally, Arch Rock!

 

 

The view from high over the water was spectacular.  The cool sea breeze on a hot day made it the perfect lunch spot.

 

 

 

 

My poor photography on this hike really does not do justice to the place.  But hopefully you have a feel for what turned out to be an excellent day of hiking!

 

Out to Lunch

Get in the habit of spending a weekend day to hike to a scenic lunch spot.  Make the journey the destination.  It invigorates both the body and mind.  Best of all, hiking rarely costs $100.

Do you have a favorite spot?  I would love to hear about it.

 

More Trips on NatureOutside

Off the Map Adventure – The Sandstone Caves

An Air Disaster and Historical Hike

Half Dome – Almost!

 

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