A Stroll Through The Big Trees (Muir Woods February 10)

If we're lucky, we might spot a critter or two on a hike. This time we saw the cranial remains of several. Before we set off up the trail, Wendy pulled out bags of bones from her car and did a "Show & Tell" with animal skulls.

When we did this hike last August, it looked like winter, with heavy, dripping fog greeting us as we pulled into the lower parking lot at Muir Woods National Monument. The fog persisted through most of the hike with the sun making an appearance when near the end of the hike we finally descended into the valley floor where Redwood Creek runs. However, on this week's hike the sun was out when we met up and continued to shine throughout our trek. But much of the route (up the Dipsea Trail and Deer Park Fire Road, down the Ben Johnson and Hillside Trails) was in shade, and a sometimes brisk and chill wind blew during the day.

After "Show & Tell" and our usual pre-hike "roundtable" discussion of our past week's activities, we "walked the plank" across the creek and began a long, steep climb up the fern lined Dipsea Trail through a mixed Bay, Oak and Fir forest. Along the way, a hand full of runners, perhaps training for the Dipsea Race in June, made their way past us. ( Before we started our hike,Wendy recounted some of the race's historical high points ; click here for more information and on the book about the Dipsea Race by Barry Spitz, also author of Open Spaces: Lands of the Marin County Open Space District).

We finally broke out of the trees about a half-hour later and into the chaparral lands that open toward the ocean, taking us out of Muir Woods and into a section of Mount Tamalpais State Park. In August, we saw many spiders which had woven webs, laden with "dew" from the summer fog, in the Coyote Bush lining the west side of the trail. This time, we saw none. The imminence of spring brought a pair of Red Tail hawks soaring over the hillside in a courting dance. But clouds gathering overhead from the west reminded us that the National Weather Service had predicted a 20% chance of rain after 10 am and even if that deadline wasn't met, precipitation from a winter storm was likely to fall before midnight.

We then veered to the right onto the Deer Park Fire Road and then into a wide lane through the Redwoods which would loom over the trails during the remainder of the hike. In less than an hour we had re-entered the Muir Woods National Monument and reached the junction with the downward leading Ben Johnson trail and like last summer, despite to take an early lunch break in the clearing under the trees where filtered sunlight gave off a little warmth to help warm off the chilly breeze that had sprung up. But the lowly winter solar heat didn't invite us to linger long, and soon many of us were packing up our gear, standing up and getting ready to make our cooling muscle warm up from hiking.

Two and a half miles remained between us and our cars as we turned east off the ridge line and began our descent, over steps and switchbacks, down into that portion of Muir Woods frequented by tourists to the San Francisco Bay Area. In August, we saw the first of the Oyster Mushrooms; this time we also spotted Turkey Tails (true and false), Waxy Caps, and the ever-popular Red Righteous mushroom. Spring wildflowers --- Zigadene, Footsteps of Spring, and Fetid Adder's Tongue --- were abloom. (Click here for Wendy's list of flora and fauna seen on this hike).

Despite the rain of the last week, the trail was fairly dry, with only a few muddy spots, and little if any water running in the streams we crossed --- a reminder that we appear to be in a drought year with little hope of achieving normal rainfall amounts by the end of the "official" rain-measuring season in June.

Like last summer, when we turned south off the Ben Johnson Trail and started our traverse on the Hillside Trail, we encountered tourists hiking a short loop up from the entrance to Muir Woods and back again. But this week there were fewer visitors in the park than six months ago, and when we reached the parking lot we didn't see cars circling and looking for places to park as had been the case in August.

(Pictures of this hike taken 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).