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Friday Slide Show: On The Bay Trail
18 August 2017
We couldn't believe it had been almost a year since our last hike on the Bay Trail when we visited Sierra Point. So we drove back to South San Francisco last weekend to explore the segment just south of that.
We followed East Grand to the end where there is a little parking lot for shoreline access behind the ominous corporate headquarters of the Ominous Corp. We were just south of San Bruno Point Park, in fact.
The asphalt path heads down a short hill and west to Colma Creek with views overlooking the East Bay hills and San Francisco International Airport. If you have your cellphone with you to pay, you can rent a bike for $1 to pedal the path.
There was so much to see, we ended up taking 93 photos.
It was blustery. We changed lenses in our camera bag during a calm spell. We knew we'd want our longest focal length. And we suspected we'd like some wide angle shots, too. So it was the 18-200mm zoom for this walk.
If it wasn't nearly as sheltered a walk as Sierra Point, it was just as photogenic. Our first glimpse of the gray San Mateo Bridge in the distance with the golden hills, the greenish bay and the blue sky was captivating.
In fact, the pastels of the afternoon are quickly forgotten in Lightroom, where the tweaking tends to increase saturation and contrast. We had to constantly remind ourselves that there is beauty is subtlety too.
The dusty rocks led to a small beach with clear water. We were surprised to see the rocks under the wavelets, actually. Those colors spoke for themselves.
Slide Show Route. We walked southwest after we shot the San Mateo bridge (A) to the footbridge (B) to the windsurfers (C) and the birds (D).
But it wasn't just landscapes that caught our eye as we wandered along the path (marked in yellow on the map).
There were the planes taking off from the airport, rising into the fog on its way in. There were the wind surfers skitting across the harbor only to take a dunking when, jumping to the other side of the board, they inevitably fell in. There were the birds arriving for the night, herons, egrets, terns, seagulls, sandpipers, you name it.
And there were some interesting trees and flowers along the way, too. We don't know their names but we appreciated taking a few close-us to vary the show.
There was so much to see, we ended up taking 93 photos. And we could have kept going but it was late in the afternoon and we had to shop for dinner. Just like the birds that congregated at the edge of the water as we hustled back to the car.
The Bay Trail reflects the diversity of the area, each segment with its own treasures. And it remains a pretty safe and quiet stroll on the weekends. We passed maybe as handful of pleasant fellow beings as we hiked along.
With 500 miles to explore, we hope to mine its photographic pleasures for a while to come.
