This is the first time we hiked in the afternoon. It was warm and 80⁰ when we started, but as the afternoon progressed, it became progressively cooler. We had to negotiate a killer 1000 ft. ascent over the first mile by Mori Ridge Rd, a wide dirt trail. There is pretty much no shade cover either during this section or on the rest of our hike today. We were climbing with our back to the Pacific but looking at the ridge covered by dense greenery ahead.
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| Nike Missile Control Site SF-51 |
The trail changes name to Sweeney Ridge Rd after Notch Trail intersection. Hiking another half-mile or so got us to Nike Missile Control Site SF-51, a Cold War-era defense installation that is an eye sore with graffiti today. Do take a moment to read up on the history of this interesting site that got decommissioned in 1974 once ICBMs came into being.
The hike gets very interesting once on Sweeney Ridge Rd. For one, the grueling climb is done with. In addition, right before the Nike Missile Station, you have a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean on the left, San Francisco in the center, and SFO airport and the bay on the right with San Andreas Reservoir tucked behind it. Simply amazing!
Sweeney Ridge Rd becomes a paved blacktop road from here for the next half-mile or so. We were walking on top of the ridge that was a distant mountain when we were climbing a while ago. The stretch is level and offers views of the pacific coast on one side and San Francisco Bay on the other. We came upon the San Francisco Discovery site, a place we visited during our first hike.
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| Farallon Islands |
After a very brief overlap with our path from before, we turned right on Baquiano Trail towards Farallon Trail. While it was partially cloudy and somewhat hazy, I could still clearly see Farallon Islands in the ocean, floating beautifully amidst the glistening waters of the Pacific.
Baquiano Trail heads west, towards the ocean. Over the next mile, the trail descends gently before coming up on Farallon Overlook Trail. Apollo and I continued on the trail before I stopped at a spot where I felt the overlook would provide the best view. For Apollo's sake, I was consciously trying to keep the hike to less than 8 miles, given the afternoon heat and humidity.
Mori Point was right behind where we started our hike from Mori Ridge Rd. Right ahead of where we turned around were Rockaway Beach and Farallon Island in the distance. We had hiked the section between Mori Point and Rockaway Beach right by the coast in May, a day after our first hike at Sweeney Ridge.
Our hike today would look exactly like a mirror image of the letter C. We turned around and retraced our path, by Baquiano Trail -> Sweeney Ridge Rd -> Mori Ridge Rd to the trailhead by Shelldance Orchid Gardens. The 7.4 mile out and back hike involved about 1400 feet climb, including the grueling 1000-foot first mile and took us nearly two and a half hours. This hike is tougher than the hike from Sneath Lane. But it is well worth the extra effort!
#Hiking #HikingWithDogs #SweeneyRidge #ShellDanceOrchidGarden #GGNRA
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