Kortum Trail - Wright's Beach to Shell Beach

Today, I took a solo hike on the Kortum Trail from Wright's Beach to Shell Beach.  It was exactly the medicine I needed to breathe and take my mind off the insurrection that happened at the Capitol the previous day.  I have been glued to the news, so I needed to break away.  Naturally, I decided that the coast would be the best place for me to breathe... breathe the sweet smells of the fresh, ocean air, feel the sun on my skin, move my body, and feast my eyes on the dramatic beauty of the Sonoma Coast State Park.

As I drove out to the beach, I listened to the news on NPR while taking in the stunning views in West Sonoma County.  I feel so blessed that I live in this place, where I can escape to nature easily as a relief to what things that are out of my control.  This was the view from my parking spot at Wright's Beach.  .....Exhale...

As I arrived at Wright's Beach Campground, I quickly realized that there is a parking lot immediately off to the right of the entrance that is specifically for the Kortum Trail.  I thought I was going to have to go down the hill and park at the Wright's Beach day use area (which has a fee) but that wasn't the case.   

As I started off on the trail, I quickly realized that this was exactly the right thing to do.  I was listening to an audio book while walking (I love to do that when I walk alone).  For a while now, I have been listening to the biography of George Washington By Ron Chernow.  It is an incredible story, and it is especially poignant to listen to right now as our democracy is in chaos.  It gives me perspective -- things were much harder then and divisions were just as bad, if not worse in the early decades of our country. USA is and has always been a work in progress.  I love biographies, they are most often my top choice for reading material for history and inspiration.

This trail is an easy trail, and it is such a gem!   It is just so dang beautiful every step of the way!  I definitely enjoyed being a lone today and lingering as long as I wanted where ever I wanted.  The surf was high and powerful, and it was warm and sunny.  So enjoyable!  The route I took was about 3.5 miles in total.

One of the things I am enjoying about exploring all the parks, is I am getting a much deeper sense of the lay of the land around here, and how things connect.  I get this sense from high up views, but also as one trail connects to another I discover -- 'Oh, that's where that goes'.   Now, when I drive on Highway one, I have such a deeper knowing about where I'm at and what each beach or trail has to offer.  The same with the non coast hikes.  They all seem to navigate around views of San Pablo Bay or Mount St. Helena, and I can see how things connect from the views.

The first section of this from Wright's beach to Furlong Gulch Beach is reflected in these photos:

Furlong Gulch happens to be Jason's favorite beach that he has been going to for a lifetime, so I was excited to discover that the trail went right past that beach.  A new connection for me!   At this point, the trail takes a pretty steep decline, then back up on the other side of the beach, so this could be hard for some people who have knee problems. Here are some photos from the bridge passing of the creek running through the gulch:

The final stretch to Shell Beach was beautiful and fairly short.  I could have gone the whole distance to blind beach, but I was noticing the diminishing light, and I wanted to make sure I had time to get back to my car before dark!

For me, this hike was restorative.  It felt so good, and helped my mood and my outlook improve significantly.  I highly recommend getting out in nature right as an antidote to everything that is going on in the world.  Its a lot, and self care is extremely important right now.