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Wow Place #268: Indian Rock, Berkeley, CA
There a lot of things that are NOT important about Indian Rock Park in Berkeley, CA.
It’s not important, for example, that the park features a large rock outcropping as its central feature, rewarding climbers to the top with a stunning, panoramic western view of the San Francisco Bay.
It’s not important that Indian Rock has long been used as a practice site for serious rock climbers and “boulderers.” The Sierra Club began climbing here as far back as the 1950s. Richard M. Leonard, the “father of modern rock climbing,” learned his climbing techniques at Indian Rock. David Brower, found of Friends of the Earth, not only developed his mountaineering methods at this site, he then used this knowledge to prep training manuals during World War II; his manuals proved instrumental in the 86th Regiment of the U.S. Army’s ability to surprise the Germans at Riva Ridge in the North Apennines in Italy.
It’s not important that Indian Rock, volcanic in origin, boasts the largest number of similar rhyolite rock formations in the area. Just a block away, Mortar Rock Park has its own complex of granite outcroppings. Here you can find remains of acorn-grinding pits carved into the solid rock, made by the local indigenous Huichin and Ohlone peoples.
None of this is important.
What’s important is that on a fine August day in 2012, I took this lovely woman, Donica, whom I’d only recently met, up the carved steps of Indian Rock. It was right around sunset, so the entire Bay Area was laid out before us. To the left was the Bay Bridge, connecting Oakland with San Francisco. Far off in the distance to the right were the soaring, red spires of the Golden Gate Bridge. Ahead of us, the City’s myriad lights were just starting to twinkle on as the day faded into evening. Moved by both the sight and the moment, I leaned over to my sweetie and we shared our first kiss.
My wife and I have been together ever since. Thank you, Indian Rock. You ARE important!
(The ongoing task in life is to determine what’s “important” – and what’s not. I would argue that the time you spend with your loved ones is the most important thing of all. Your accomplishments at work…the places you visit…your interests and hobbies… these all matter. But at the end of the day, what you remember most are the moments spent with the people you care about. Enough said.)