Adventures: Muir Woods

To continue this year's emerging themes of curiosity and adventure, my partner and I took a day trip to Muir Woods on Thursday. I only hope that I can continue making time for adventures once the semester (the final semester) begins in late January. The last time I visited Muir Woods was over a year ago, and being so close to San Francisco (about a 40 minute drive), I'm scolding myself for not going there more often. This visit I learned that Muir Woods is one of the last old-growth coastal redwood forests on the planet, with most of it's destruction (and preservation) due to human activity.

Sometimes I get tired of being surrounded by looming concrete structures and I find myself returning to a place of comfort when I'm underneath the forest canopy.

We started at the Ocean View trail, hiked up to Panoramic Highway, and took the Lost Trail back to the monument. I love the coastal redwood groves, but just like last year's visit, I found myself scanning the forest floor and fallen trees, searching for mosses, lichen, and fungi. While Rodolfo was eager to reach the top of the trail, I was perfectly happy meandering about in the shaded, low-light areas beneath the canopy--that's where the action is at! I also learned that over 200 different species of fungi reside in Muir Woods! I spotted quite a few mushrooms, some have yet to be identified (but I'll update and add identification once I do), but I have to say I was *very* excited about the mushrooms I spotted today:

Panther Cap, Amanita Pantherina

A purple mushroom?!

Turkey tail mushrooms

  My favorite find of the day: white coral fungus, clavulina cristata

 
As I mentioned earlier, I am generally interested in what's surviving and thriving on the forest floor, but once we hiked up to Panoramic Highway and got a gorgeous view of the redwood groves, a feeling of excitement and awe took over me. As comforting as it is to stand beneath the tall redwoods, it was also exhilarating to overlook the forest. It's just a reminder of much bigger things occurring in the world. Nature has a way of checking the human ego very fast. 

I am really pleased with my first week of 2012, it's been packed with adventures and I've definitely been making use of my two week vacation. Next week I start working again, but I'm determined to continue planning adventures and new activities to do in the Bay Area and beyond. Sometimes I take this city for granted, I spent most of my childhood and adolescence in the Richmond and Sunset District. While these neighborhoods have its little gems, I got too comfortable and didn't start venturing out until I was 20, but hey, it's never too late to start exploring.