I don’t know if this could be classified as a smile, but I would certainly call it a look of pure contentment!
I hadn’t expected to be hiking in the Sierra Nevada Mountains when I visited Pt. Lobos just south of Carmel on the Central California coast two weeks ago, but that’s what geologists claim. They say the same thing about Pt. Reyes National Seashore north of San Francisco, another favorite hangout of mine. We can blame crashing oceanic and continental plates, and the ever-restless San Andreas Fault, which is responsible for much of California’s earthquake history. Millions of years ago, according to geologists, the Pacific Plate broke off a section of the southern Sierra Nevada Range from the North American Plate and has been carrying it northward along the coast ever since.
I became something of a believer when I ran into granite on the North Shore of the nature preserve. When I think granite, I usually think of the Sierras.
I found this granite outcrop along the North Shore Trail.
And this large granitic island with its colony of cormorants just off the north shore.
I started my Pt. Lobos adventure at the entrance station and hiked over to Whaler’s Cove, which is on the North Shore. Once upon a time there had been a station for hunting whales here. From about 1850 to 1880, men would go out in small boats to harpoon whales and then bring them into the cove for processing. Mainly, they were interested in killing the whales to obtain oil for lanterns. A large Grey Whale produces close to a thousand gallons. Kerosene eliminated that industry, which was fortunate for the whales. A small museum in the cove tells about the whale hunting and other human activities at Pt. Lobos.
This small museum located at Whaler’s Cove once housed whalers.
I found this whale bone carving of the Carmel Mission inside…
And surprisingly, an old deep sea diver’s suit.
Just outside the museum I found a pair of information signs. One featured this carved representation of the prevailing northwest winds that the area experiences in the spring and summer.
And a Monterey Cypress on the other.
What fascinated me most about Whaler Cove were the harbor seals, however. There were a number along the shore: lazing in the bay, rolling around in the sand, and sun bathing on the shore. There was even a mom nursing her pup. My camera and I were quite busy.
Here is another shot of the Harbor Seal I featured at the top of the post. This time the seal’s eyes are open. The water provided a magnifying effect to make the already plump seal appear even rounder.
This seal was coming out of the water…
And this one was ecstatically rolling back and forth, apparently using the sand for a good scratch.
I caught a pup lined up for breakfast!
It was when I left the cove and hiked up the ridge behind it on the North Shore Trail that I started noticing the granite— not to mention all sorts of other things. There were moss-covered trees, cormorants building nests, lots of gorgeous wildflowers, and several impressive Monterey Cypress trees.
Hiking up the ridge on the North Shore Trail gave me this view back across Whaler’s Cove toward the coastal hills above Carmel. The small, white building seen on the hill is the Carmelite Monastery.
An old trail sign told me I was not lost. The total hike took me around three hours but about an hour of that was devoted to photography.
A group of cormorants was nesting on Guillemot Island, the large granite island I featured earlier.
This fellow was busily gathering nesting materials. I watched as he carried it over to his lady-love.
Flowers were everywhere. I will feature some closeups on my next blog about Pt. Lobos.
I came upon this ghostly, moss-covered tree…
And several dramatic views of Monterey Cypress.
The most impressive, however, was the cypress named Old Veteran.
I’ll conclude today’s post with a view of Old Veteran from the other side. Next Monday I’ll feature the south side of Pt. Lobos, which is surprisingly different.
Next Blog: Lost in a snowstorm with survival at stake. I return to my outdoor adventure series.
Wandering through Time and Place 