When we arrived at Mount Tamalpais State Park, the interns sacrificed their phones, and Roger
led us in a fun name game involving hacky sacks and tennis balls, and helped the interns map
out our path. We decided to take the Dipsea Trail, tasking intern Angel with navigating using our
physical map. Our plan was to see if we had enough time to complete the loop, or turn around
and continue back the way we came.
And off we went! We hiked up, up, up the mountain, stopping only to identify some plants and
animals, allowing some breaks from the climb.
After hiking for about an hour, we found a beautiful grove of Redwoods to stop in and eat our
delicious lunch of PB&J and pita and hummus, with sides of carrots, pretzels, and Mott’s
gummies. Intern Angel said that “lunch was one of my favorite parts of the hike; sitting under the
giant redwood trees while the mist cooled us down from the strenuous uphill hike, and making
hummus pitas with veggies and pretzels with the group.”
We then continued the trek, determined to either make it to the loop, or decide to turn around to
ensure our timely arrival back to the East Bay. Eventually, we made it to the summit, and found
a random porta-potty, where we took a break to discuss our next moves. From the summit, we
could see the rolling hills stretching all the way to the coast, reminding us how far we’d climbed.
Our instructors discussed the options, emphasizing the time it took us to hike up, and the time
we had to be back in Berkeley. Knowing that it would be a quicker walk down, but the end of our
day was approaching, we decided that it was in our best interest to head down the trail, going
back the way we came.
While on the way down the mountain, instructor Roger taught us a fun new game called
“Contact” while instructor Delvon played an alphabet-based game with some interns. Contact
involved thinking of a word, and the other players must work together to guess what that word is
through giving clues to other words that start with the same letter(s). For example, if Roger’s
word was “Table”, and he gave us on the letter “T”, one player could say “a type of
transportation”, and if another player said “contact”, they would say their word at the same time.
If both players said “train”, then Roger would have to give them another letter (“T-A”), until the
players guessed his word. This entertained us for half of the trek down, until we moved on to
alphabet-themed games. Intern Hazel took to listing animal species that started with every letter
of the alphabet, while Delvon and other interns listed different food items that started with each
alphabetical letter.
After an hour of stimulating games, we made it back to the parking lot. Overall, we hiked 6.19
miles with over 1,400 feet of elevation gain. Instructor Delvon and one of the interns counted
over 1,500 physical stairs! All the students left feeling tired, but grateful to have gained
connections, time management and navigation skills, and meaningful experience outdoors.
Some interns said they hadn’t been on a hike in years, and many expressed a desire to return
to Mount Tamalpais on their own in the future. Intern Martha said that “going to Mount
Tamalpais with Earth Team was honestly one of the best days I’ve had in a while. Just being out
there, hiking and breathing fresh air, felt really grounding.” In addition to experiencing the fresh
air, intern Martha said that “what made it even better was getting to talk with the other people in
Earth Team. It was nice realizing how easy it was to connect and have real conversations. The
instructors were super kind and welcoming, too, which made me feel comfortable being myself.”
Intern Hazel agreed, saying that the hike “was a good chance to relax and spend some time
outdoors […] that made me feel more energized while being able to chat with friends and have a
good time.”
On the drive back to Berkeley, the group felt closer than ever, having bonded over some
exercise and silly conversations. The van was quiet, and a few naps were taken, but all the
interns expressed their gratitude for instructors Delvon and Roger for leading us on an
incredible day hike at Mount Tam.
We are very grateful to Big City Mountaineers, especially instructors Delvon and Roger, for
leading this trip and making it some memorable. And a special thank you to our funders for
making this memorable trip possible: the California Coastal Commission’s Whale Tail Grant, the
Joseph and Vera Long Foundation, and the eeBLUE 21st CCLC Watershed STEM Education
Partnership Grant.
