Mount Tamalpais, which in the Coast Miwok language means “west hill”, stands 2579 feet tall, jutting up from suburban communities which populate Marin County, California, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. After a 25 minute drive through the wealthy neighborhoods of Mill Valley, a twisty two-lane road deposits me at the Rock Spring Trailhead, where I leave civilization behind and immerse myself in nature’s stillness. And as I walk through the redwood and oak forests which cloak the upper slopes of Mt. Tam, I can’t help but think of water.

Excerpt from Rock Spring: Mt. Tamalpais