First Trail Challenge 2017 Hike

This was the first hike Coppertone and I did as part of the 2017 Sonoma Regional Parks Trails Challenge.  We'll probably only end up doing their 5 hike challenge.  Their intreaguing 50th anniversay challenge might be more than we can manage given our schedule through the rest of the year.

We started off at the north end of the trail in Gualala Point Regional Park.  There is an entry fee to get in there, but we had a parks pass (highly recommended) and didn't want to contend with any parking issues at Walk On Beach to the south.

It was a little strange walking past the quiet, seemingly empty houses at the Sea Ranch development.  We saw more seagulls than people in or around their houses.  It was like a weird scene in a sci-fi movie where everyone except the protagonist disappears.

The trail is very easy to follow along and there's not much elevation gain other than a creek crossing here and there.  There were a number of markers with historical tidbits about the various activities that took place on the land in the past, including bombing runs by aircraft during World War II!

The win was incredibly strong today, particularly when hiking back up to Gualala Point Regional Park.  If we didn't have straps on our hats we would have lost both of them for certain.  On the plus side, that helped keep things much cooler than the temps were further inland, which is why we picked this hike in the first place.