Our History from the Beginning
and 80 th , 7-14 day backpacking trip as professional guide last summer. Best mountaineering accomplishments were reaching the summits of Mt. McKinley (20,350’) in 1975 and Huyana Potesi (19,995’) in the Bolivian Andes at age 63 in 1987.” SS: What got you interested in Point Reyes? “My introduction to the land that was to become Point Reyes National Seashore was in 1933. My grandmother knew some people who lived in Bear Valley and, because of her infectious charm and enthusiasm for nature, she was given virtual carte blanche to this then-remote ranch country. Tagging along with her, I got to see and appreci- ate something of this area as early as age nine. Little did I know that I would someday come to explore the whole area until I knew intimately the high hills overlooking the sea, the deep forests, the perennially green meadows, the sandy beaches, the steep cliffs rising abruptly off the beach, the waterfalls plunging into the sea, the wildlife, the ocean caves and the springtime wind that sets the hillside grasses and flowers to dancing. Writing Exploring Point Reyes was the logical extension of this experience. I wanted to open the eyes of people in this large metropolitan area to the great wilderness experi- ence they have right here in their own backyard.”
tive policies that were adverse to public education. Class sizes were excessive, salaries were low, hiring and firing policies were unfair, and non-tenured teachers had it hard. A strong teachers union was the only tool there was to deal with these problems. When merit pay was proposed, we strongly opposed it because we saw its use as a political device by administrators to reward the compliant teacher and punish those teachers who had the courage to speak out against unjust administrative policies. I recall that in the spring there was never enough money to meet our pay demands, but at the end of the summer money always materialized for other uses. We wryly called the phenom- enon the Miracle of James St., which was where school decisions of this type took place.” SS: Have you really been a runner all your life? “I like to say that I started running when I was two and first said ‘No’ to my mother. In 1939, I wanted to be on the high school team and wear a uniform. I tried out unsuccessfully for the hurdles and floundered around in some other events that were known only by their last names, and I tried the 440 and came in third. I not only made the team and got a uniform, but I graduated to ‘Phil.’ And, of course, nothing succeeds like success. The 440 became my event. I was second at All City as a Junior and won it as a Senior. This was at Lowell High School, which in those days was the academic citadel in SF along with a fine athletic tradition. (If a little name dropping is permissible, Art Hoppe was in my class and Pierre Salinger six months behind.) In Masters Track, I had the 5th fastest 800 meter time in the world in my age group (55-59) in 1980. Was second in the U.S. Nationals that year and won the Pan-American in Los Angeles setting the meet record. Had the third fastest 400 meter time in the U.S. in 1981 and placed second in U.S. Nationals 400 meters at Eugene, Oregon, in 1984, my last year of competition. I like to run alone and generally work out at Pt. Reyes, Taylor Park or on the Marin College track. Last month I ran 100 miles, but I notice I’m slowing up . . . doing between a 7:10 or 7:30 mile now.” SS: What got you into backpacking and mountaineering? “Besides those wonderful summers in Lagunitas, there would be the school year Sunday hikes on Mt. Tam in the late ’30s and early ’40s. We’d start up Tam from Mill Valley and circle around ending in downtown Ross. We’d board the orange clang-clang train to Sausalito and then grab the ferry home to SF. The ferries were great fun in those days with lots of immigrants singing native songs, playing music, wearing lederhosen . . . it was wonderful! It was only natural that these adventures would become more ambitious hikes that evolved into backpacking and literally elevated into mountain climbing. Ended my last,
Posing by the “ADOPT-A-TRAIL Friends of Phil Arnot” sign at Bear Valley, Point Reyes National Seashore
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50 th Anniversary
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