Mt. Tamalpais is located outside San Francisco within a day's trip.  Gary Snyder initiated a walk around the mountain as part of his Zen practice from Japan.  Snyder wanted to open the mountain to urban dwellers nearby in San Francisco and Berkeley so they could appreciate the watershed that brought them water.  It is the highest peak in the area and is a single mountain rising from sea level.  Muir Woods is part of the protected area which pays homage to John Muir's walks in the redwoods.  Snyder decided to “open the mountain” and walked for a day chanting Buddhist mantras with other poets on Mt. Tam.  He created a poem dedicated to his walk.  I took two walks around the mountain.  The fog has a way of embracing like mother's arms and isolating one from the city life on the edge of the mountain.  Once inside the mountain's domain, I felt the inner essence through both the visual and tactile sensations.  It was after the tactile walk that I wrote the most profound poems in homage to Snyder and Mt. Tam.