Days like this are one of the reasons I started writing a blog. Sometimes you are out on an everyday ride, run, or other adventure and come across something awesome.
It was chilly, cold and foggy when I left the house on my mountain bike. My new Pentax Optio W90 waterproof digital camera had just arrived the day before. I was excited about trying it out, but had no idea if I’d find anything worth photographing.
I was bundled up as I climbed toward Camp Tamarancho in Fairfax, CA. Camp Tamarancho is home to one of the few bike legal singletrack loops in Marin County. There are roughly nine miles of sweet, winding singletrack specifically built for bicycles (with lots of options to add more miles and variations outside of Tamarancho’s property. The property is owned by the Boy Scouts of Marin. The Boy Scouts generously agreed to let bicycle specific singletrack be built along the perimeter of their property in exchange for a pay-to-ride system. Ride singletrack, support the Boy Scouts. Pretty good deal for all.
The fog was still heavy and thick when I got to the trailhead. There is something about fog that I just love. It makes old trails new and mysterious again.
The ferns and moss were especially happy about the moist air. Here and there the sun began to break through.
Droplets from the moist fog hung in the spiderwebs, making them shine.
Around the corner along Wagon Wheel trail I emerged from the fog that hung in the valleys below. The East peak of Mount Tamalpais is visible in the background.
Descending back into the transition between fog and sun, the sun created stunning rays through the fog.
No camera tricks here. The fog was rapidly burning off and created a halo of rays through the trees. I was lucky to be here at the right time. A few minutes earlier and I would have been in dense fog. A few minutes later and it would have burned off.
The density of the fog changed as I rode further. Here, the trail is barely visible.
I finally popped out onto a ridge line in the sun and was out of the fog for good. I quietly rolled up on a bobcat hunting in the grass on the other side of this old fence, but was a few seconds too slow to get out the camera. Bobcats aren’t uncommon in Marin County. Being fast enough to photograph them, though, is extremely rare.
Many of the posts on this blog are about doing high adrenaline, high intensity adventures. This one, just about the joy of being outdoors in the right place at the right time. Well, there was 20 miles on the mountain bike, too.
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Stunning pictures of the sun through the fog/trees… amazing.
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I was very lucky to be at the right place at the the right time. I love the way the coastal fog makes everything look new and mysterious. Other times I hate the way the dampness soaks through your clothes and leaves you freezing. Mostly like it though.
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