Drakes Estero Trail to Sunset Beach Hike

Details: about 9 miles round trip, approximately 4 hrs with photo stops and a lunch break. This trail is a hiking and biking trail. Note: As of 1/26/11 impassable on a bike after 2 miles, read on for details.

Getting out of the car at the Estero Trail parking lot, was enough movement to necessitate removing a layer. The sun was shining and the bright blue skies were filled with wispy and playful clouds stretching the horizon.

All rights reserved. Photo by Tressa Bronner 2011.

The first mile or so meanders through a thick pine stand. We welcomed the shady start to our hike as we were overdressed for this beautiful day. Amongst the trees we found several groupings of mushrooms poking out from beneath the duff. Once out of the pine stand, we reach the bridge across Home Bay. I have often stood on the bridge and watched countless leopard sharks swim beneath, in and out of the shallow feeding area past the bridge. But not today, the tide was out and only a small channel of water remained in the labyrinth that was the exposed mud of Home Bay. I stood and looked into the water reflecting the clouds and marveled, but not at sharks.

Looking Southwest into Home Bay from Bridge
All rights reserved. Photo By Tressa Bronner 2011

After the bridge, the trail proceeds uphill with views overlooking the estero. Bring your binoculars along as you are often within range to check out shorebirds and rafts of migrating water fowl. After about 3/4 of a mile, the trail got a bit tricky. Cows graze in the area and at some points it seems as if you are just following a cow trail, not an actual park trail. As we descended a shaded hill the wet mud had been trudged by cows and all that remained was a 4 inch wide bridge that was solid enough to support the weight of an adult. This bridge often shifted, as it was the residual non-path of the cows, so hopping back and forth between bridges was necessary to avoid the muddy hoof holes filled with puddles. This left us wondering how one would pass when the bridges were trampled. The trail continued in this way for quite some time: dry sections, muddy sections, followed by muddy almost impassable sections that left me wishing for rain boots but wondering about the bike tire tread tracks I saw, followed by dry sections. I enjoyed the challenge, but this trail is not suitable for all abilities nor bikes at this not-quite-dry time.

Lone Eucalyptus.
All rights reserved. Photo by Tressa Bronner 2011.

We decided on the trail out to Sunset Beach, the shorter of the two options, since we had a time restraint.  If you stay on the main path, you can continue on to Drakes Head and beyond.  The trail out to the beach has lovely views and a couple of fresh water ponds. We stopped at the bench for a picnic in the sunshine. There is also a trail that continues on, but since we weren't there for the sunset, we opted not to get out feet wet. Walking past the large sandbar we stopped to watch the harbor seals catching rays on their temporary beach. About thirty seals were gathered, stretched out, enjoying the balmy weather.

Turning around we received flyovers by two flocks of American White Pelicans that were roaming the estero. At one point they circled around us three times before finally coming in for a landing on a fresh water pond. What a treat to hear their wing flaps and watch their splash landing into the pond.

Estero Trail Overlook
All rights reserved. Photo by Tressa Bronner 2011.

All in all, a lovely day, gorgeous scenery, solitude, just a bit sloshy at points. This bike/hike will be much easier in summer and fall once dried out. I would say kayaking is the best way to explore the estero during these lovely winter days, as long as you check the tide first. Mud in your boots, while not fun, is much easier than a mud flat to cross in your kayak. Get out there soon! The estero closes annually to kayakers for harbor seal protection on March 1st until June 30th.

Leopard Sharks in Tomales Bay and Drakes Estero

Leopard Shark. Photo by Kambiz Kamrani. 2005

The easily identified Leopard Shark is often encountered in our waters near Point Reyes, often when paddling near them in our kayaks on tomales Bay and Drakes Estero. But it is in the turbid estuarine environment where this attractive little hunter really shines. Paddling around in June and July we often see the water roiling about with tails and fins as these beautiful fish find mates and give birth.

Leopard Sharks do not rule these murky waters uncontested. They share estuaries with, among other, Shovelnose Guitarfish, Bat Rays, and the Brown Smoothhound Shark. The Leopard Shark and Brown Smoothhound are closely related and would be expected to be competing for the same resources. A study looking at the feeding habits of the Leopard Shark and the Brown Smoothhound in San Francisco Bay found that both species feed predominantly on shrimps, crabs, and fishes, but that Brown Smoothhounds hunt predominantly in rocky intertidal areas while the Leopard Shark tends to feed more in muddy areas of estuarine waters.

Leopard Shark at Point Dume. Photo by Heal the Bay. 2008

Leopard Sharks have a richly varied diet and employ several predatory tricks to secure their meals. Some Leopard Sharks feed heavily on Fat Inn-Keeper Worms, which are forcefully sucked from their U-shaped burrows. Others mutilate burrowing clams by nipping off their fleshy siphons (breathing tubes which stick out of the mud), completely ignoring the rest of the critter. When feeding on circling, densely packed schools of anchovies, Leopard Sharks have been reported to circle in the opposite direction with their jaws open, snatching up the small fish that crash right into their mouths. Their adaptable feeding behavior and appetite for several different species, undoubtedly contribute to their success.

"Jaws" Leopard Shark. Photo by Kambiz Kamrani. 2005

The Facts:

Size: At birth, Leopard Sharks are 7-8 inches. At maturity males are 28-47 inches, females are larger, 43-51 inches. The maximum recorded length is 71 inches.

Reproduction: Males mature at 7years, females at 10 years. They are ovoviviparous, meaning that they give birth to live young that have hatched from eggs within the body. The gestation period is around 12 months, at which point they give birth to 4-30 pups alternate years.

Diet: Juveniles mainly eat shore crabs. While adults have learned a scattered diet of small fish, rock crab, worms, clam siphons, and fish eggs.

Habitat: Leopard sharks are found in and around estuaries, sand bars, rocky reefs, kelp forests and especially like pliable muddy bottoms where food can be found and pried out easily.

Depth: Intertidal, literally inches deep, to about 300 feet.

Hog Island Holiday Weekend

The sun was shining when we met at Miller Park Boat Launch on Sunday to explore around the White Gulch area and enjoy a picnic lunch on the beach. When we launched the tide was still ebbing, so we rode the current north toward Walker Creek and the oyster beds. There was still just enough water to paddle through the area and soon we saw something thrashing in the water just ahead of us.

As we got closer we discovered dozens of leopard sharks, small bottom feeding sharks that eat critters living in the muddy bottom of Tomales Bay. They were everywhere, swimming over each other, breaking the surface of the water, and swimming beneath our kayaks. It was a wonderful spectacle to see so many of them up close. After floating in the area for awhile the sharks had disturbed so much of the bottom, we could no longer see through the murky water. The sharks were still darting about and would surprise us by surging away from our kayaks if we unknowingly got too close.

We continued north and then across the bay seeing hundreds of buffleheads and some grebes floating in rafts. On the sand bar at Hog Island dozens of cormorants sat with a lone Great Blue Heron. As we crossed the bay, a renegade wind from the southeast picked up. As the wind gained strength, so did our appetite. We found an unoccupied beach, tucked into the lee and enjoyed a nice lunch from a couple of local stops in Point Reyes Station. We were hoping the wind would die down as we feasted, but it seemed to be gaining strength. We made it back safely to our cars and not soon after the wind had died down completely, flattening out the bay as the tide started to flood back in.

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