Surviving in Point Reyes

A week after our camping trip in Bodega Bay it was time for our next adventure, REALLY camping in Point Reyes.  This trek would involve a two mile hike to our site, which doesn’t sound too bad… Until you realize you’ll be lugging everything you plan on bringing back and forth on this hike.  We only brought the bare necessities: tent, air mattress, pump, lantern, sleeping bag, clothes, food, and water.  By the time we were done with this 48 hour trip, it made Bodega look like a resort, it was definitely “glamping” compared to Point Reyes.

After locating the visitor center with practically no service on our phones we got our camping and parking permits and then we were off to find Laguna Trailhead where our 45 minute hike to Coast Camp began.

We decided on making two trips to bring everything, instead of all at once, since we didn’t know what the trail would be like.  Fabes had his camera equipment strapped to his back and the giant duffle bag with our tent and mattress in his arms.  I had the duffles full of clothes and other supplies, like the lantern and pump.  We probably made it about halfway into the first mile when we needed a break.  We threw everything down, Fabian suggested getting a refund and finding a nearby hotel… Out of breath, I began to think of any other options we had… It was then that I realized we are NOT outdoorsy type people.  Sure, I enjoy hiking and camping… But both at the same time was starting to seem intense.  We were now in Survival Mode.

As we continued on the path, it didn’t seem as bad, only the uphill parts at the beginning.  It wasn’t long before we started making friends with the little woodland creatures.

Once we found our site we set up our tent and mattress, then it was back to the truck for everything else.  When we got back it was around 5pm and we decided to go for a drive so Fabes could get some photo shoots in.

Our first stop was a “shipwreck” in the town of Inverness, which is a popular spot for photographers.  So popular in fact, that when we got there some little hipster, sound cloud band was filming their music video in the boat, ruining most Fabian’s pictures… But we came back later for another round.

After the boat we continued about 20 miles up the road to a lighthouse, which involved more hiking to get to, but this time on a windy cliff.  By the time we got to it we could only take photos from a distance, they still turned out nice… But my favorites were the ones he got of the deer.

On our drive back to the site we came across even more wildlife.  The fox moved too fast to catch a picture of him, but the elk stayed in place for a while, as they were grazing.

By the time we made it back to the Laguna Trail the sun was down, but we were prepared with our headlamps. 

This was probably the most fun we had on that trail even though we were still lugging sleeping bags and ice chests.

Once we were back and settled into our tent we rewarded ourselves with a glass of wine and called it a night.

Waking up the next morning was cold, the tent was damp, and it was nowhere as magical as our first morning in Bodega.  We heard strange footsteps outside the tent… But when we looked out the door, realized it was just a little bunny.

We had our balanced breakfast of fruit, cereal, and yogurt… Then it was time for more hiking!  But this time, a nice walk down to the nearby beach. This was probably my favorite part of the trip, taking pictures of one another, exploring the tide pools, I even found a rope swing… which Fabian had to rescue me from when I couldn’t get down off of it.

Back at camp we made sandwiches to build up energy for our hike back to the truck.  Our little picnic was nice except for all the flies attacking our faces.

This time for our drive we went along the coast, down Highway 1.  We almost got to San Francisco, we could see Sutro Tower in the distance.  We stopped at Muir Beach Overlook for some great photos of the cliffs and then drove back through Muir Woods.  We also made a stop at the Bear Valley Visitor Center, super cute and educational.

For dinner we wanted to try a restaurant in the nearby town of Inverness, mostly because we had run out of food back at camp.  We found a Czech place called Vladmir’s which seemed to be run just by one woman.  We were willing to give it a try, until I saw beef tongue on the menu, and Fabian noticed that they didn’t accept credit cards… So we left and tried a place closer to the camp.  It’s called Farmhouse and it seemed much better, it was full of people, and we had what felt like the most magical chicken dinner ever.

The night hike back to camp was pretty fun again and laying in our sleeping bags was such a relief.  We held each other for warmth while falling asleep listening to the crashing ocean waves next door.

The next morning it was time for the Ultimate Challenge, packing everything up and hauling it all back to the truck.

It wasn’t easy, there were moments when I thought Fabian was going to hate me for booking this trip.  But by taking turns with the heavier bag, and stopping for motivational kisses every so often, we made it.  The entire trip was like a test, but we never fought or got frustrated.  We toughed it out, made each other laugh, and helped one another through it all.  It was definitely a team building experience and we both believe every couple should do something like this at some point, whether you think you’re the “outdoorsy type” or not.  We felt so accomplished during our car ride home.  Even though our trip was only over two nights, we hiked about 15 miles altogether in that short time… and I don’t think I could have done it with anyone else in the world.