Another Fine Day of Hiking (Lake Lagunitias, December 2nd)

Monday's dreary damp fog completely dissipated long before we reached the trailhead, and we had a glorious sunny day with temperatures in the mid-60's to hike around Lake Lagunitas in the hills above Fairfax. Although waterfowl were not as abundant as can be on the lake, the recent rain seems to have caused an explosion in both the mushroom and newt populations in this area as we saw several species of each during the walk. (Click here to view Wendy's list of flora and fauna spotted on this hike.)

The easy part came first with a stroll around the southern edge of Lake Lagunitas. After crossing the dry East Fork of Lagunitas Creek with a stop for newt spotting, we continued east, climbing steeply out of the lake basin on the Lakeview Road, took a break at the crest of the road to catch our breath and remove a layer of clothing, then headed downhill, turning north at the junction of Eldridge Grade (which ascends to the East Peak of Mount Tam) and the Filter Plant Road (aka Southern Marin Line Road). Along this section of the route we were rewarded with sweeping views to the hills around Fairfax and off to east towards the Bay.

All of this downhill moseying meant, of course, that eventually we'd be forced to climb upwards again to regain the elevation we'd lost, hike past the MMWD filter plant, and return to the parking lot so we could "take" our "Final Exam." There was enough food to feed a small army, so even with a fairly large turnout for this hike, we still didn't manage to scarf up all of the culinary goodies that we'd brought to share at our potluck luncheon.

(Pictures of this hike shot by Theresa Fisher and Dick Jordan are now on-line. You can view them in the mini-slideshow window in the "Meandering In Marin On Tuesdays" blog, or by clicking here to go directly to the Picasa Web album of photos from the latest hike).