not heading to Sausalito?

I was thinking of heading into the Marin Headlands today...there is a hostel there. I wake up with the dreadful task of trying to pack my too-heavy pack and heft it around (80% of the weight is food. There isn't a whole lot in my pack right now other than that and a few articles of clothing). After a few soul searching moments in the hostel and a quick jaunt to the Apple Store, I realize I just don't feel like making that hike today. I play online and check out Amtrak and greyhound bus schedules. I find great deals. Did you know that for $159 you can get a 21-day pass for all trains in California, and you can travel any 7 days within that time period? I do some serious pondering and realize that I am going to take this trek some place else. I have a semi-deadline to stick to so I am going to do the one thing I deem crucial at this point. I am going to arrange some train travel and although it won't be that California train pass, I will be heading north. I am going to explore some cities. I don't really know which cities I am headed for and when I will get back to hiking, but for now I am going to head north and explore. Dear readers, don't think I am bailing on my hike or that this decision was made lightly. I started this hike for myself and I am still doing it my way for myself. The reality is Northern California is remote. It looks a bit hard to trek across or at least pretty hard to do without a support team helping you. Every couple of miles there is a river or lake or something that during the winter months breaches its border and connects to the ocean. Without hiring a boat, it will be next to impossible, especially if I plan to connect with my mother in Portland, Oregon in two weeks time. I will still intersperse these rides with day hikes. It is safer that way. I have been warned several times by locals and by others that the mountain lions and bears in the area make trekking alone HIGHLY ADVISED AGAINST. Then again, I don't know what the public transportation really looks like up north. This is not a definitive decision, and I may change my mind later, but it is how I feel today. Who knows about tomorrow? I move my things to the HI Fisherman's Wharf hostel at Fort Mason and decide I should go back with my newly recharged camera battery and take the photos I missed getting yesterday. I grab a bus to the Golden Gate Bridge and hike south back over the bluff top trails and stairs I stumbled over yesterday. Today is a foggy day and the views are not as great, but I am having a great hike up and down the hills. When I reach Sea Cliff Boulevard again, I turn back and hike on the trail for a third time. The views are stunning, regardless of the number of times you do the hike. I reach the Golden Gate Bridge at 5:28 pm and decide it is now or never (okay, not never, but more like now or tomorrow!). I will hike the bridge today. I start the walk with several other tourists. Our camera flashes giving an odd sense of celebrity to this massive red bridge (technically it is painted International Orange, according to the sign). After the first support beam, I note that I am the only person still walking the bridge...all tourists turn back. I am passed by speeding cyclists and runners. I take a flurry of photos: of the bridge, of the water, of the cyclists, of the lowering sun, and of everything around me. I even take my self-portrait. I hike to the other side, observe the warnings about suicide and finding hope...the sign reads "jumping from this bridge has a fatal consequence." I pass the Marin County welcome sign and admire the skyline of San Francisco from this vantage point. I hike the bridge back. What other choice do I have?...haha. Suddenly I am lost in thought and mesmerized by the activity around me. The sweat on the runner's body faintly reflects the setting sun. I yearn to be working that hard, sweating that hard, feeling my heart pumping against my ribs on this magnificent bridge as I suck in a few more gasps of air. The cyclists whiz by making a barely there swishing sound at the moment before they pass. The runners give a slightly more intimate look into their personalities. Some wheeze, others look strong, but all listen to their ipods. A faint hint of a voice and musical notes is discharged into the air, escaping somewhere between the headphones and MP3 player at that moment they pass. Like some great experiment to prove the existence of the Doppler Effect, I am treated to micro seconds of Michael Jackson's Thriller, then a hip hop beat, and later the distinct sound of "I will survive." The sun is close to setting and I capture the moments by photographing the cyclists on the other side of the bridge and then playing with the shutter speed on my camera. I reach the San Francisco side of the bridge in time to watch the sunset behind it. Simply fantastic! As if perfectly timed with the sunset, my body responds to a sudden chill in the air. The sun has set after all. I wait 46 minutes for the bus #28 back to Fort Mason. I am the only person on the bus and the bus driver decides to put her "garage" sign on the front of the bus after she finishes the scheduled route (so other people will not be confused as to why she is veering off her route) and she drives me directly to my hostel. Somehow, I manage to either find the nicest people in the city or I bring it out in them!? This hostel has a kitchen so I cook up spelt pasta, sun-dried tomatoes, tomato, and veggie chik nuggets for dinner and I do my laundry. It is a relaxed evening and I make friends with my hostel mates, before heading to bed with my suduko puzzle book.

A quick glance at the miles ahead of me and I think...geez! I wonder if I will be able to do this safely on my own.