If the ocean is a graveyard, then perhaps the beach is its gravestone. On the shores of a narrow cove in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, I saw this metaphor stir to life following the ebbing tide and evaporating fog.
Most hikers visit Tennessee Cove with recreation in mind, but that’s not how the area originally earned its reputation. The beach, cove and valley are named after an 1853 shipwreck. The SS Tennessee aimed for the Golden Gate Straight but crashed several miles short on the craggy coast. While the steamship hasn’t sailed in 173 years, it remains in the public eye — if you know where, and when, to look.
Since the metal mimics the surrounding red ribbon chert, it’s easy to overlook the decaying steamer on the eastern end of the cove. But the ocean hasn’t fully claimed it yet. When the tide is low, a pair of corroded engine rods, one resembling a hulking aluminum can tab, protrude from the sand like twin tombstones.
The doomed voyage is among hundreds laid to rest along the Marin County coastline. While the captain and all of its passengers aboard the SS Tennessee survived the wreck, other ships were not as lucky, as one human soul remains unclaimed at the bottom of the unforgiving cove.
2 miles to the beach
The Tennessee Valley Trail is a short, popular hike about 20 minutes from San Francisco. Its trailhead is easy to find around the corner from the Tam Junction, and the mostly flat trail through the Marin Headlands is usually slammed by hikers on weekends…