The Last Hurrah (and Hike) of Summer 2008

Although its theoretically possible that we might experience some 80-plus degree temperatures between now and next May, odds are that are last really warm-weather hike of 2008 took place on October 28th as we made the 430' ascent from Mountain Home to Bootjack. Regardless of the actual temperature, the sun beat down on our backs as we climbed up the Hogback Fire Road, glancing back over our shoulders at the cool fog that had pushed through the Golden Gate and engulfed all of San Francisco except for the TV tower and the very top of either the B of A or TransAmerica Pyramid.

It was quite warm even under the canopy of the mixed forest along the Matt Davis Trail. A Sonoma Chipmunk squeaked at us repeatedly from the shrubbery along the trial as if to say "Only Mad Dogs, Englishmen, and the Tuesday Meanderers in Marin come out to hike in the noon-day sun."

Just before midday we reached the picnic area at Bootjack which we had all to ourselves. As we finished lunch, Silvia donned her Halloween costume and treated us to a musical rendition of the history of King Henry VII's ill-fated second wife, Anne Boleyn.

Crossing Panoramic Highway took us into a cooler microclimate and we descended back to Mountain Home on the Troop 80 Trail through shady groves of redwoods until we hit the paved road leading back to the Mountain Home parking lot from Camp Eastwood below us. Are our months of dry-weather hiking over? Is it time to toss the rain gear in the car on Tuesday? If you believe the National Weather Service forecast for week's end, then summer is drawing to a close.