Tafoni Sandstone April 21 ~ ExGld
Hello Explorers!
For those able, I hope most of you took the time to experience the eclipse today. For most of the day, I got reports from those of you who travelled to the path of totality; and whether or not the clouds cooperated, I was delighted to see so many of you seeking the grand adventure.
Meanwhile, I can feel the weather warming and my desire to go exploring gaining momentum. We're going to have three events closely following each other, so now is a good time to start making your plans to come out and join us. As a quick reminder these events are: the Tafoni Sandstone on April 21st, the annual Steeplechase on May 4th, then a visit to the EBMUD Water Treatment plant on May 18th. Calls to Adventure for each of these will go out in the weeks leading up to the events, but I'll try to remind you of the dates throughout.
Tafoni Sandstone, April 21st
In the hills of San Mateo there's a traveller with a curious tale. A large monolithic rock, which millions of years ago was located deep undersea and off the shore of Southern California, is on a grand tour of the Pacific Coast, and currently situated in a redwood forest. As with so many of our expeditions, the Tafoni Sandstone started as a lure dangled by a fellow explorer at an event and as explorers and adventurers ourselves it's always best to pay our respects to quirky, well traveled explorers/artists when they come visiting. Now it's finally time to see it for ourselves.
The details for this event are below. You don't need to register in advance, just show up. It is noted though that parking is limited at the trailhead. So arrive early, carpool if you can, and give yourself time if you need to park down the road and hike up to our meeting spot.
Where: Skeggs Point Parking Lot
When: Sunday, April 21st at 9am
Hiking details: ~4 mile loop, 700 ft elevation gain
What to bring: Bring a picnic lunch, water, comfortable hiking shoes, weather appropriate layers, jaunty hat
What to expect: Weather might be a factor, so be on the lookout. There are no formal restrooms at the parking lot or along the trail. Find the group with the red flag at the parking lot. We'll break for lunch at the rock, then finish the loop. At the end (and for those interested) we'll visit the Methuselah tree. My "speed of exploration" calculation indicates we'll likely by finished with everything by 2pm.
Events Coming Soon
As mentioned above, we have two more events after the Tafoni Sandstone expedition. May 4th is going to be Steeplechase, where we visit each of the carousels in San Francisco looking to re-infuse whimsy to our fair city. Then on May 18th, we have a tour with East Bay Municipal Utility District's water treatment plant.
Steeplechase is a more the merrier event, open to any and all. Meanwhile, the water treatment plant tour is limited so we'll be sending out a registration for that event on May 6th. Now is a great time to mark your calendars.
Events Coming Later
We also have a couple events on our calendar that are occupying a ton of our time logistics-wise. August 16th-18th is going to be our summer campout weekend, and one where we'll be on the American River rafting! Then on October 11-13th we have our next story heavy epic adventure weekend, which you won't want to miss. There's a link to our events calendar at the bottom of all our emails, so if you want to make sure you're available this is a great way.
I look forward to seeing some of you in the next couple of weeks. If you have any questions, or if you'd like to dangle the lure of another adventure, you're always free to reach out!
Semper Explorandum!
-Dr Professor