Wall Beach
Camp Review
We kayaked to Wall Beach from Miller Boat Launch.
The forecast had stated that the gusts would be up to 13 mph of headwind, but it was much lower than that. Whew!
It was overcast the whole time, which meant that it was cold; so cold that Cassie kept her PFD on top of her puffy for extra warmth.
Around 7 pm, a fleet of kayakers parked on the north side of Wall Beach—they were bioluminescence tourists with a guide. The said guide built a bonfire, and they stood around the fire while they chatted. At around 8 pm, they discussed the Miwok people, bioluminescence, and the wildlife around Tomales Bay. They then took to their kayaks at around 8:30 pm. But because sound travels far and the kayakers were going back and forth along the shoreline, it was loud until 9:30 pm or so, when the bioluminescence kayakers went home.
On the southern end of Wall Beach, there is an elevated and flattened area that is meant for tents. There were two level spots for small tents, which we used one of. There was lots of bird poop, but it did not smell. On the beach, next to the tent area, there was a small fire ring and that’s where we cooked dinner and breakfast.
We had the beach to ourselves for the night. When we woke up, it was just us and the kayaking fishermen on the bay.
What I Learned
We cooked peanut noodles from scratch and it was one of the best meals that I’ve had backpacking. Cassie made the sauce while I cooked the noodles and cut the veggies. For the sauce we used 3 packets of peanut butter, 2 packets of soy sauce, 2 packets of sriracha, 1 packet of True lime, about a teaspoon of honey, maybe a quarter teaspoon of garlic powder, and some water. For noodles, we used 2 Maruchan noodles packets. Lastly, for the veggies, we cut up 1 carrot, 1 shallot, and 1 small head of Romain lettuce.
I finally saw bioluminescence! I wasn’t in the water, but from the campsite, we were able to see the bioluminescence on the surf as it hit the beach and when kayakers were paddling by. It was subtle and pretty.
When we landed our kayaks on Wall Beach, we saw a big red crab next to our kayaks. I took a video of it, and while I was doing that, it came up to my phone to attack it. What a feisty little dude! We also saw a ton of birds, otters, and a golden beetle.
Our knockoff Jetboil’s piezoelectric would not light after the ramen boiled over and got everything wet. Thank goodness I had an emergency Bic lighter in my pack! After two years of carrying that everywhere, I finally got to use it!
2.0 miles, 1 hr 10 mins, 7 mph SE (wind)
1.3 miles, 38 mins, 0 mph (wind)
What Happened?
A few days before this, we were driving home together when we were trying to better optimize our weekend plans. We had plans on Saturday noon and on Sunday morning, but what adventures and exploration could we fit into Saturday afternoon and night? We looked on recreation.gov website for the Point Reyes area and Cassie saw that Tomales Boat camp reservation was available for Saturday night! She immediately booked it and we celebrated our good fortune.
On Saturday, after a delicious lunch with Cassie’s family, we drove to Miller Boat Launch, inflated our kayaks, put our camping stuff on it, and launched our kayaks into Tomales Bay. When we launched, I had about 35 lbs of stuff in the single person kayak, while Cassie had about 18 lbs of stuff in the double. I rode the single due to its instability.
We couldn’t see the beaches clearly, so we headed to Pelican Point. As we got closer, we saw that the two beaches closest were both occupied. So we headed north, hoping that Wall Beach or White Gulch Campsite would be empty. Thankfully, Wall Beach was, so we beached our kayaks and got our campsite set up. We then cooked a delicious dinner, as it was 7 pm already. After, we did the dishes, brushed our teeth, and retired to the tent. I journaled a bit while Cassie warmed up, listening to her audiobook (Project Hail Mary). We went to bed earlier than usual and had a great night of sleep.
After 10–11 hours of sleeping, we woke up to the calls of the Steller’s Jay and Wrentits. Looking around, I saw that Tomales Bay was as calm as I’ve ever seen it—with the surface of the water as flat as a mirror.
We slowly got up and enjoyed the peacefulness of our private beach, well until the power boats started to motor around the bay. But even with that, we were able to see a family of otters swim on by, and then dash on the beach back to their beach house. We enjoyed all this and more while drinking hot milk tea.
We paddled back to the boat launch with a short visit to Hog Island in the middle of Tomales Bay. The island was a bird fortress and we made sure not to disturb them too much. At the boat ramp, we cleaned up as best as we could, put everything into the trunk, and headed off to Point Reyes Station, where we explored the small town, and found a delicious bakery.
