Mount Vision
Storms, storms, and more storms. But not today!
With a name like that, I was expecting some splendid views and good photography--
so naturally I wanted to wait for a pleasant and sunny day.
But storm after storm had been pummelling the Northern Coast this long winter season,
and if cloudy skies weren't mucking up the lighting, I've ridden enough muddy trails to not be excited by the prospect.
But sun was promised for today, and trails would hopefully be not too bad with a couple of days to
dry out from the last mid-week storm.
Kenny and I had ridden the Inverness Ridge trail before... but uphill, which was in the wrong direction.
This loop I had devised allowed it to be ridden downhill, which was a vast
improvement by any yardstick.
Plus, it gave me an opportunity to check out Mount Vision Road.
Some mountain bikers look for tricky downhill stunts, and some seek the long
aerobic grades for a healthy cardiac workout.
When I go ridding, I'm looking for good composition and lighting.
Fogs and overcasts are to be expected in these parts, and sometimes can help create a mood.
A light overcast once worked for a Bolinas Ridge exhibit,
but the overcast today was looking a bit thick.
Photos
Click to expand
Zoom, zoom.
The first six miles or so was a miserable ride along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard to the Mount Vision turnoff,
where cars are just speeding by.
Here's the city of Inverness, along Tomales Bay, and some of the old fishing docks.
It was nice to get Sir Francis Drake out of the way quickly,
because the rest of the ride was pure joy.
Finally, the start of Mount Vision Road!
Once in awhile the clouds would break to let a little sun through.
It is all paved and cars can drive it, but it is hardly wider than a fireroad.
The moderate climbing was well worth getting off Sir Francis Drake.
Here, there was hardly any traffic to worry about.
Climbing higher and higher allowed plenty of times to gaze over the rolling farmlands to the west.
Eventually, deciduous trees along the valley give way to a Cypress forest near the crest of the ridge.
Passing the final grove, maybe about 1000 feet up, one rounds the corner...
...to a vista point looking west over Drakes Estero. That whole area down there is the subject of
another photo exhibit. The bay to the right (Drakes Bay)
is were I crossed the little bridge just past the
old Christmas Tree farm, and the small hill next to the bay to the left (Limantour Bay) is Drakes Head.
Beyond the Cypress Grove lies mostly coastal scrub near the summit.
Here we start to see some of the burnt trunks from the fire of '95.
Actually, the climb up to Mount Vision probably would have been a decent workout if I weren't stopping
every few hundred feet to take some pictures. With a light overcast, lighting was very hit-or-miss today.
In all fairness, a cloudy, foggy greyness seems typical for weather in this portion of the park,
creating a dank and somber mood that has a beauty of its own, but problematic for taking pictures.
The Inverness Ridge Trail begins at Point Reyes Hill, just beyond Mount Vision.
The two peaks would be easily confused, because the area is called Mount Vision, but the highest
peak is actually Point Reyes Hill.
This is a rarely-used singletrack passing along the crest of Inverness Ridge to Limantour Road.
Looking to the left you'll have a splendid view of Tomales Bay--
a long thin channel passing over the San Andreas Fault.
On the near shore, amongst the trees, you can just barely seek the city of Inverness in this shot.
Beyond that lies Bolinas Ridge at it diminishes to the north.
Descending the southern face of Point Reyes Hill,
and gazing southward along the length of Inverness Ridge, you can see the whole northern portion of the ridge
was hit by a severe
forest fire in October '95,
leaving nothing but a dead forest of skeletal trunks.
That year conditions were particularly dry.
Right now I can only imagine what that must have been like.
Reaching the bottom of the Point Reyes Hill, the singletrack continues over the hills and valleys,
along the crest of Inverness Ridge.
Finishing up the off-road portion of the ride,
he last stretch of the Inverness Ridge Trail is a fireroad.
To the right of the trail can be seen the extremely thick,
heavy, and uniform growth of Bishop Pine sapplings since the fire struck.
The next shot, almost to Limantour Road, is looking back upon Point Reyes Hill/Mount Vision.
One last look into the waning afternoon before descending Limantour Road back to the start.
I don't know what the couple cars thought of me, sweating up Mount Vision Road, as they passed by-- but
I can say for certain that I sure felt sorry for them! There is no better way to enjoy this little stretch
of asphalt than on a bike. Since it has been awhile that I've been riding much, I have to admit the granny
gear proved it's usefulness, maybe once or twice.
This is really a 17-mile road ride, where for maybe 3 of those miles a mountain bike is actually necessary.
But the ride is a great way to enjoy the leading edge of the Pacific Plate in its counterclockwise rotation to Alaska.
Point Reyes trail access being the way it is, the only way to put a good loop together is for a lot of it
to be on pavement. But that isn't such a bad thing if you're just stretching out the legs after
a much-too-long biking break, or the trails are still drying out.
Besides, except for Sir Francis Drake and Highway 1, the roads in this area are remote and lovely without much traffic.
(b. February 28, 2004)
Back to Point Reyes.
Back to Gatetrails.com.
Zoom, zoom.
The first six miles or so was a miserable ride along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard to the Mount Vision turnoff,
where cars are just speeding by.
Here's the city of Inverness, along Tomales Bay, and some of the old fishing docks.
It was nice to get Sir Francis Drake out of the way quickly,
because the rest of the ride was pure joy.
Finally, the start of Mount Vision Road!
Once in awhile the clouds would break to let a little sun through.
It is all paved and cars can drive it, but it is hardly wider than a fireroad.
The moderate climbing was well worth getting off Sir Francis Drake.
Here, there was hardly any traffic to worry about.
Climbing higher and higher allowed plenty of times to gaze over the rolling farmlands to the west.
Eventually, deciduous trees along the valley give way to a Cypress forest near the crest of the ridge.
Passing the final grove, maybe about 1000 feet up, one rounds the corner...
...to a vista point looking west over Drakes Estero. That whole area down there is the subject of
another photo exhibit. The bay to the right (Drakes Bay)
is were I crossed the little bridge just past the
old Christmas Tree farm, and the small hill next to the bay to the left (Limantour Bay) is Drakes Head.
Beyond the Cypress Grove lies mostly coastal scrub near the summit.
Here we start to see some of the burnt trunks from the fire of '95.
Actually, the climb up to Mount Vision probably would have been a decent workout if I weren't stopping
every few hundred feet to take some pictures. With a light overcast, lighting was very hit-or-miss today.
In all fairness, a cloudy, foggy greyness seems typical for weather in this portion of the park,
creating a dank and somber mood that has a beauty of its own, but problematic for taking pictures.
The Inverness Ridge Trail begins at Point Reyes Hill, just beyond Mount Vision.
The two peaks would be easily confused, because the area is called Mount Vision, but the highest
peak is actually Point Reyes Hill.
This is a rarely-used singletrack passing along the crest of Inverness Ridge to Limantour Road.
Looking to the left you'll have a splendid view of Tomales Bay--
a long thin channel passing over the San Andreas Fault.
On the near shore, amongst the trees, you can just barely seek the city of Inverness in this shot.
Beyond that lies Bolinas Ridge at it diminishes to the north.
Descending the southern face of Point Reyes Hill,
and gazing southward along the length of Inverness Ridge, you can see the whole northern portion of the ridge
was hit by a severe
forest fire in October '95,
leaving nothing but a dead forest of skeletal trunks.
That year conditions were particularly dry.
Right now I can only imagine what that must have been like.
Reaching the bottom of the Point Reyes Hill, the singletrack continues over the hills and valleys,
along the crest of Inverness Ridge.
Finishing up the off-road portion of the ride,
he last stretch of the Inverness Ridge Trail is a fireroad.
To the right of the trail can be seen the extremely thick,
heavy, and uniform growth of Bishop Pine sapplings since the fire struck.
The next shot, almost to Limantour Road, is looking back upon Point Reyes Hill/Mount Vision.
One last look into the waning afternoon before descending Limantour Road back to the start.