A Walk In the Woods --- Bolinas Ridge to Randall (August 12th)

It wasn't an auspicious start to the day's hike for the four of us (Susan, Lillian, Silvia, and Dick) who joined Wendy for this hike in the GGNRA. Dick and Wendy missed each other at St. Rita's, Silvia went to St. Rita's instead of waiting to be picked up in the San Geronimo Valley, Dick got sidetracked briefly while giving a lift to a couple whose journey to Inverness was delayed by a flat tire, and all of us drove by the terminus of the Randall trail where we were scheduled to rendezvous and on to Dogtown before reversing course back to the proper meeting point.

Fog hung over the southern half of the Olema Valley as we all piled into Wendy's car for the drive to the Bolinas Ridge trailhead, but we were soon above the marine layer and back into the sun. For most of the first couple of hours of the hike we merely strolled on a level fire road through shady groves of second growth redwoods, occasionally finding ourselves huffing and puffing uphill on a hot, exposed chaparral-lined trail before re-entering the forest. We paused now and and then to stuff our faces with huckleberries growing along the fire road.

By 12:30 we had hiked 3.4 miles to the intersection with the McCurdy trail leading down the ridge into the Olema Valley, and decided to take our lunch break in the shade. National Park Service fire crews engaged in "fuel clearing" along Bolinas Ridge had thoughtfully ground limbs and bark into a nice bed of soft chips for us to rest on bones on while partaking of our midday meal. (About an hour later we passed this crew hard at work).

After meandering along the ridge for a little more than five miles, we passed around the stock gate marking the Randall trail and turned west, slowing snaking our way down the 1.5 miles back to where we'd left the cars parked on Highway 1. Near the end of the trek we encountered a few cattle "hiking" upwards in search of tasty eats.

Except for the fire crew, we saw no other people, one little rodent (spotted by Wendy), a few butterflies, some birds, but no flowers to speak off (although lots of green plants, ferns, and trees).