An easy little puzzle cache to get you started on the Sonoma Baylands Trail, or maybe just a quick park and grab before you brave the Highway 37 traffic.
In the last century, thousands of acres of salt marshes were diked off and drained to create fields to grow hay and raise dairy cows — 85 percent of tidal marshes ringing San Francisco Bay were lost to similar types of development. But, regardless of whether the tides still splash across these lands, the salt marshes and the agricultural fields are all considered “baylands.”
In 2003, a casino was proposed for the middle of this ecologically sensitive region. Just one year later, with the support of numerous local organizations and community members, the Sonoma Land Trust raised $20 million to acquire and permanently protect the formerly proposed casino site — now known as the Sears Point Restoration Project. The Sears Point site offers a unique opportunity to restore nearly 1,000 acres of historic tidal marsh habitat that will benefit the baylands ecosystem and endangered species, and provide Bay Area communities with improved water quality, flood protection and recreation.
Today, Sears Point is a markedly different place than it was years ago. The tides ebb and flow across submerged channels as cordgrass and pickleweed are retaking their places on the edges of the new marsh. Once again, the natural rhythms of the bay are audible in the calls of thousands of shorebirds and waterfowl. It’ll take another 20 to 30 years for the new wetland to reach its full potential as a buffer against climate change. That’s a long time, but until then, Bay Area residents will be steadfast witnesses to the growing marsh.
The San Francisco Bay Trail, a planned 500-mile path around the entire San Francisco Bay, with 345 miles currently in place, runs through all nine Bay Area counties. With the new trail addition linking to the older Sonoma Baylands section, hikers and bicyclists can travel a seamless four-mile stretch through the stunning San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
While out on the trail, look for egrets, scaups, hawks and, perhaps, even an occasional river otter. Although it’s unlikely you’ll see the smaller and more secretive residents, like the endangered Ridgway’s rail and salt marsh harvest mouse, they too make their homes in the refuge. Sonoma Land Trust and its partners have restored Sears Point and built the Bay Trail running alongside it for future generations — generations of wildlife and generations of people who will appreciate and steward it ... forever.
The trail guides keep moving, but a good source can be found here: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/San_Pablo_Bay/plan_your_visit.html
The cache can be found at: N 38° 7.ABC W 122° 28.DEF
ABC = The length of the Sears Point Trail x 660
DEF = The length of the new Eliot Trail x 164
The cache is a film canister, reachable without climbing and fences.
PLEASE NOTE: While this cache is still dog-friendly, the Baylands Trail has now disallowed dogs completely. A bummer for those of us whose entire reason to cache is to get out there with the pups.
Have Fun!!