Mount Tamalpais; A Place Above the Clouds
Mount Tamalpais rises above Marin County, just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, reaching 2,571 feet at its peak. It is one of the most beloved natural landmarks in the Bay Area, and one that carries a significance that goes well beyond its views.
The mountain's name comes from the Coast Miwok people, for whom it has long held sacred meaning, tamal meaning west, pais meaning hill or mountain. That spiritual character has drawn people to it across centuries and cultures. In 1965, poet Gary Snyder, together with Allen Ginsberg and Philip Whalen, began a ritualized walking meditation around the mountain inspired by Buddhist and Hindu circumambulation practices, the act of moving around a sacred place with intention and attention. That tradition continues today, with walks taking place every solstice and equinox.
I visited on a May evening for sunset, with a small hike and a picnic. One of my favorite places close to San Francisco.
Standing on Mount Tamalpais at sunset, watching the light change over the bay, it is easy to understand why this place has meant something to people for so long. There is a quality to the air and the light up there that is hard to describe, a sense of immensity and stillness that makes the city below feel very far away. We were looking out at the horizon and it genuinely felt like floating above the clouds.
Gary Snyder, who lived on the mountain's southeast slope in the 1950s and initiated the circumambulation tradition, described the spirit of the place simply: "The main thing is to pay your regards, to play, to engage, to stop and pay attention. It's just a way of stopping and looking, at yourself too."
That feels exactly right. Mount Tamalpais is the kind of place that asks nothing of you except to be present.