Indian Summer In The Hills of Fairfax

The local Indians no longer roam the hills around Fairfax, but it was definitely still summer once again for our Tuesday hike with temperatures around 80-plus by the time we returned to our cars.

We met around 9:45 am for our usual "pre-hike confab", greeted new members of the group (Kathy, Neil and Hilke), played Porta-Potty Hide-And-Seek (we sought it, but it wasn't to be found in its normal spot near the parking area), and then set out north and east. The first half of the hike from the Sky Oaks ranger station, down the Taylor Trail, and across the Concrete Pipe Road to Five Points is covered by the map set out in the hike preview post to the blog. Trail closure on the route Wendy normally takes to loop back to Sky Oaks sent us on a long detour over hill and dale to Deer Park School, climbing the steep uphill grade to Six Points, the down the northern section of the Yolanda Trail and the Deer Park Trail until we reached the Deer Park Fire Road. Great views of Mt. Tam were had along the way. (Click here for a map and hike description from the Martin's book, Hiking Marin, showing the area we hiked through from Five Corners to Deer Park School).

At lunch time we had "table service" in the picnic area near Deer Park School and because of the warm weather, Neil and Dick threatened to "jump suit" and hike through town to the "Scoop" ice cream parlor and then take a cab back to the Sky Oaks trailhead. (Not being able to recruit any more defectors, they reluctantly joined the rest of the group and trudged back up the Deer Park Fire Road, clambered up the Junction Trail and Deer Park Road, and backtracked on the Concrete Pipe Road and Taylor Trail to our starting point).

Despite the very warm conditions and lack of recent rains, mushrooms were already popping up on this hike, heralding the onset of fungus season.

(Photos from the hike taken can be viewed on the blog or by clicking here to access to on-line album of photos from this hike).

Here's Wendy list of plants, animals, birds and insects we encountered. :

FUNGI

First BOLETE of the season, CHICKEN-OF-THE-WOODS (on black oak)

MAMMALS

Black-tailed deer, home of dusky footed wood rat

BIRDS

Lots of dark-eyed juncos, HERMIT THRUSH (they do breed in Marin, but many migrants from as far north as Alaska start swelling the local population at the end of September), RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET (number increase from early Sept until mid-October when they become common), red-shouldered hawk circling and calling, scrub jays, turkey vultures, acorn woodpeckers.

Heard: Northern flicker

BUTTERFLIES One California sister, CA ringlets

TREES

Big leaf maple turning yellow, black oak starting to lose leaves, lots of buckeyes on the buckeye trees, berries on the madrone trees.

(Click here if you want to view and print a copy of this list. If you have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer you can print the document. Once you see the document on the "Scribd" Web site, click on the "Download" icon and then on the "PDF" icon to open the document on your computer).