dipsea

elusive:  1) difficult to find, catch or achieve.
             2) difficult to remember or recall.

The Dipsea Race is a 7.1 mile cross country race that starts in Mill Valley and ends at Stinson beach, crossing Mt. Tamalpais and boasting over 2000 feet of elevation gain and loss over the course of the race.

The "trail" itself is hard to find and follow, but the name Dipsea is synonymous with the beloved Mt. Tamalpais, the Marin Headlands, and Bay Area trail running in general.  A friend back home turned me on to it.  I'm on a quest to find it/run it.

Yesterday, during a 5 mile trail run on Mt. Tam (as it is affectionately known around here), I crossed the path of the Dipsea trail...  but where did it go?

Today I head back to Mill Valley to find the starting point of the Dipsea, which consists of 676 stairs.  Yes.