To top off the Spring Break Week Of Hiking, I went with my friend and mom to Angel Island because, remarkably, I haven't really been there before. (Well, I have been there once before, but I was on vicodin with a broken arm, and hence, that visit a) isn't part of my memory and b) doesn't count. :))
After catching the Tiburon Angel Island Ferry ($13.50 round trip), we decided to have what we termed an 'active cultural' day rather than a 'hiking' day, so we weren't under any pressure, personal or otherwise, to rack up some miles. Instead, we would take advantage of the cultural info on the island and mix in a lower mileage hike to top off the day.
Below: The fog bell at the beach (and the beach) near the Immigration Station. This bell was one of the first things detained immigrants saw as they stepped off the immigration boat onto the island.
Below: The beach on the beach side of the bell above; this beach was the first American land upon which to step for many immigrants landing at Angel Island. I imagine lots of fascinating stories lie in those sand grains.
Since we were on a cultural hiking day, we went first to the Immigration Station for a tour, which turns out, after quite a lot of confusion on our part, to be $7 on top of the state park entrance. It's obvious, in retrospect, that the tour would cost some money, but at the time, with the ferry's 'including state park entrance," we thought we had already paid for the tour. We paid, of course, but with some puzzled expressions, but eventually we figured it out.
Mea culpa and no problems, and the tour is well worth the money.
The Immigration Station there is described as the 'Guardian of the West' (in contrast to Ellis Island's description as "Gateway to the West"), and the Immigration Station slogan was, unfortunately, well deserved. The guide had lots of stories about immigration detention, particularly of the Chinese immigrants (with the various Exclusion Acts vs just about every Eastern ethnicity, it seems), and the carvings on the walls of each room tell more tales of woe. All very sobering, particularly since right now I'm reading Simon Weisenthal's The Sunflower. Not the same thing, I know, but parts do smack of each other in a disturbing way.
Below: Chinese poetry carved into the wall, lamenting the poet's stay in detention on Angel Island:
After the sobering tour, we decided to walk the Perimeter Trail--a paved road used mostly by mountain bikers, who rent or bought their bikes with them from the main land. It was paved (con), but it had some great views of the surrounding lands and sea.
As always on the majority of CA hikes, the island, as you can imagine, has some gorgeous views of the Bay area--the bridges (Bay, Richmond, Golden Gate), Tiburon area, Mount Tam, Racoon Stait, Alcatraz, Treasure Island, and so on.
Plenty of stunning views on a sunny day (a sunny time which snuck in between two storm systems). Great timing for us.
Below: My friend Caroline also went with us to enjoy the day. Here she is looking toward what I think is the Richmond Bridge.
From Caroline's attire, you can see that layers are a must on the island (or really anywhere in the Bay area coast); the island has a warm sheltered side and then a side that isn't so warm and sheltered. While it was a beautiful sunny day, for a while there, we all had on gloves and scarves, but by the end of the day/hike--around 4 or so, by the time we reached back to the ferry again, we had peeled off to long sleeve t's and baseball hats.
Below: These flowers are everywhere, and they're stunning at this time of year. They have a kind of pink glow to them because of their tiny little pink hairy edges to their blossoms.
A great day had by all--apart from those who missed the last ferry off the island. I'm not sure what they were going to do next, but they didn't look pleased at their situation.
Next time I'm on Angel Island, I'll walk the trail up to Mount Livermore; the views are said to be fantastic up there plus no paving, which will be a plus.
All in all, a fun, low key hiking day. Good fun. Definitely worth the trip.
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