My First OAC Hike

One of my new goals since late last year has been to find new activities I can get involved with on a regular basis. Most of last year, I toyed around with finding something new, but between my job change and not coming across much of interest, I didn't make any progress. Thing is, I'm tired of just being the "working girl" and have felt it's time to finally get off my patootie and branch out to do new things and meet new people. I've been keeping my options open, a new activity could involve something physical, something cultural, or even philanthropic. My only requirement has been that I get excited about whatever it is. You can't force yourself to do things that don't interest you, you know?

The first activity that struck a chord with me was hiking. I'd done several online searches and spoke to some friends, but until I came upon the Outdoor Adventure Club (OAC) based out of the city (San Francisco for those who don't live in the area), I hadn't gotten all that motivated to take part. There are so many places to explore in the Bay Area, but I envisioned myself possibly getting lonely or lost if I tried to follow a map out of a hiking book on my own. When I came upon the OAC website I knew it was the place I needed to start!

My first hike was the last weekend of January. OAC organizes hikes (among many other activities) in the North, South, and East Bay, but the one that pulled me in was a hike to the Tourist Club in Marin County, north of San Francisco. It's a place I've always wanted to see. You can't get there by car, it's only accessible via hiking trails. The OAC group I joined met at 10:30am at the Pantoll Ranger Station, about 5 miles north of Mill Valley. This was about a 40 minute drive from my apartment, not too bad. I was pleasantly surprised that I wasn't the youngest or oldest person in the group. There were 7 of us and we were led by a spirited guide named Heather. She was just what I expected a hiking guide to be, she knew the trails very well and had some history to share with us along the way. The hike was approximately 9 miles long. Here's a photo of the group during our lunch break at the Tourist Club and the photo Heather took right before we set off on the last half of our hike. I'm 3rd from the left. Mom, my new Patagonia vest you gave me for Christmas is on under my windbreaker. It was great! Oh and sis, my new hiking capri pants were purchased using the lovely gift card you gave me. : )




Initially, I was concerned about the distance of the hike. Originally, it was described as a 6.5 mile hike. Since I hadn't been on a real hike since before my knee trouble began, I didn't know what I could handle or not. A few days before the hike, we received an email that they were considering extending the length of the hike to 9 miles and wanted to make sure everyone was OK with it. I thought about sending a reply in protest, but I didn't want to spoil the hike for everyone else or cancel for that matter. I really wanted to get out and enjoy the trails and see the Tourist Club. I decided I'd take a chance and just see how it went. This is a view towards the end of our hike. So pretty!


All in all, it ended up being a great day! The people were easy to talk to and the scenery was spectacular. The only thing I didn't capture were the redwood trees we walked through near Muir Woods. I still can't believe I hiked 9 miles! And get this... the next day, my knee didn't hurt at all! Is that crazy or what? I was truly shocked. Yes, a lot of other muscles hurt (omg, believe me!), but not my knee. I thought, "Maybe this is my new thing?!" At least, it can be one of my new activities. I'm already signed up for another hike near Pt. Reyes in early March. : )