Chimney Sweep

Thriller solved, $5 million renovation carried out

After 14 months of construction, $ 5 million spending and the discovery of a 90-year-old mystery box, Point Reyes Lighthouse in West Marin County is slated to reopen in October, the National Park Service has confirmed.

When the crews deconstructed the original tower and replaced 150 years of wear and tear and history, they found a bigger task than initially expected – and in a wall, something like a time capsule.

A worker found an old wooden box that was traced back to the lighthouse keeper in the 1920s and 30s. In the box were old papers from the San Francisco Examiner and the Defender (from Marin).

In one of them, the August 9, 1929 issue of the Examiner, a large map was published showing the planned course of the Hearst Zeppelin “round the world flight”. Then, on a sports page dated April 22, 1929, a Yankees boxing score listed Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig beating 3-4, each with a hit against the Philadelphia A in a 7-4 loss. Magical stuff.

When visitors get their first glimpse of the lighthouse’s renovation, it will feel similar too. A restoration project started in August 2018 was originally supposed to take two months. It was delayed again and again due to surprise discoveries and additional work. The exact date for the reopening next month has not yet been set, park officials said, but it is imminent. It is possible that the newspapers from the mystery box are displayed behind glass for the visitors.

In 2017, 2.45 million people visited the Point Reyes National Seashore, 400,000 of them according to the park staff about the lighthouse. One of the Bay Area’s most popular parks is now back on the radar.

A visit to the light

From the park’s headquarters in the Bear Valley Visitor Center, the drive to Point Reyes Lighthouse is further and takes longer than many expect. It’s more than 20 miles (one way) and takes about 45 minutes. There is no cell phone service. Then, when you get there, some underestimate the short walk to the lighthouse and back.

From the parking lot, it’s a 0.6km walk with a steep descent that leads to the base of the lighthouse. At the leading edge over the rock there is a railing and a fence. Then when you go back the climb, according to rangers, is the same as walking up the stairs of a 25-story building. Some visitors are not ready for this.

During the renovation, the 35 meter high lighthouse tower was reconstructed. The huge clock-like machinery that controls the lights has been dismantled and rebuilt. The footpath to the lighthouse has been dug and replaced. The buildings next to the lighthouse were painted and re-covered. The visitor center was gutted and redesigned with a new floor and cupboards.

When the facility reopens, the park inside the lighthouse provides access to the lower chamber with exhibits and a view of the machines and frame for the historic Fresnel lens, usually limited when faculty are available.

A symbol of the city

Point Reyes – the landform – is a hammerhead-shaped peninsula. It is tilted from the lighthouse to the west, the Chimney Rock Headlands to the east.

Point Reyes is unmatched for whale watching (from land) in winter, ocean views and seabird sighting (on clear days), wildflowers (on the headlands in spring), and fog (in summer).

From the razor-sharp land bridge that connects the Point to the Headlands, you can walk to the base of the headland, turn around and enjoy the ocean and its breakers crashing into the rocks on one side and the calm waters of Drakes Bay on the lap the other side on the bank.

There are times when it can sparkle near Drakes Beach, Inverness Ridge, and Bolinas in West Marin, and yet Point Reyes is in the mist. According to the National Park Service, it is the second foggy place in North America, behind the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, the No. 1 consensus from many polls.

In summer, dead fog often buries the landform protruding 10 miles into the sea – and the nearby boulder-lined shore – creating a treacherous expanse of water. When the lighthouse was built in 1870, park historians believe that more than 50 ships crashed and sank here. Park staff discovered an 1887 story from The Chronicle that read, “God help the unfortunate sailor who drifts on its shores.”

The coming season

In the high season, gray whales migrate, where their routes often take them in close proximity as they pass Point Reyes. This begins at the end of December and lasts until spring. With high runs and sightings, it can get tight in the viewing area at the foot of the lighthouse.

To remedy this, the park must be accessible by shuttle bus on fair weather weekends from late December to early April. Rangers will block the main road to the lighthouse at South Beach Junction. A ticket for the shuttle bus is $ 7 and is available at the nearby Drakes Beach Visitor Center. The park does not assume the shuttle bus will be needed on weekdays or weekends with storms.

Often times the best clarity for views is in October and November. Very few people are in the fog of death on weekdays in the morning or at any time.

During winter storms it can be exciting to see the gust lines over the ocean. Under a dark blanket of clouds, a cell sends pounding rain, often for half a mile or so, into the ocean below. It can rain so hard that the surface of the sea pits like the surface of a golf ball.

When you stand at the base of the lighthouse, you can sometimes see a gust that moves across the territorial sea and then envelops you. Suddenly the view is close to zero. The water pours from the brim of your hat. The breakers hammer on the rocks below.

At this moment you realize how lucky you are to be on land and not on a boat at sea, like so many over the years who have faced the old sea and its dangers and secrets here.

For more information, call Point Reyes National Seashore at 415-464-5100 or visit www.nps.gov/pore.

Tom Stienstra is the outdoor writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: tstienstra@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @StienstraTom

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