Walking the entire San Francisco Bay Trail

I love hoofing any section of the San Francisco Bay Trail. Whether in Pinole, Novato, or Burlingame, it is a treat to experience the diversity of the trail and the bay.

A small group of women, average age sixty, recently walked the entire thing, including the finished and unfinished portions of the planned 500-mile trail. It took them four years, and they did it by walking the segments contiguously one Sunday a month.

I first walked with them at their halfway point when I covered their adventure for Estuary News. I met them as a journalist and continued walking with them as a friend. 

And now they have finished! You can read about their accomplishment in my article for the Bay Area Monitor. 

Forging Layered Trails of History

When I'm hiking on a trail steeped in history, I like to think of the history as layers beneath my feet.

I contemplate the people who lived there along with the corresponding natural and cultural histories, and then with my imagination place them in layers and set them in motion all at once. 

Read my latest in the Bay Area Monitor, Forging Layered Trails of History, that highlights the San Francisco Bay Trail in Richmond, Big Basin Redwood State Park, and Patwino Worrtla Kodoi Dihi.

Patwino Worrtla Kodoi Dihi
by Aleta George

Walking the San Francisco Bay Trail

Photo by Aleta George

A small and steadfast group of women are walking the entire San Francisco Bay Trail, a proposed 500-mile trail that when finished will ring the bay. They are tackling one segment at a time, in order, once a month. After two years, they have covered more than half the trail, both the finished, and as best they can, the unfinished portions.

I had the pleasure to walk several segments of the trail with them to cover their journey for Estuary News. You can read my story here.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the year the region launched the Bay Trail. To date, public and private landowners have completed 356 miles of trail. 

Photo by Kathy Briccetti