and then Just Plain Hot Summer (today on Wolf Ridge). Although just a day earlier the National Weather Service had forecast a high of only 71 degrees for the coast west of Sausalito, Dick noticed that the thermometer in his car that measures outside temperatures kept steadily climbing as he drove south on Highway 101 to reach the trailhead. But travelling west under the headlands through the Baker-Barry Tunnel leading to Fort Cronkhite and Rodeo Lagoon, he figured there would be a cool breeze blowing off the ocean. No such luck --- it was 80 degrees when he pulled into the parking lot by the beach.Standing by our cars in our shorts and chatting was comfortable enough and if we would have
been smarter, we might have just turned this outing into a day at the beach. But after ten minutes of exchanging news of the past week's activities, we headed for the Coastal Trail. The trail comes close to the cliff's edge during the first 
quarter mile with views back to Rodeo Beach as well as out to sea. The route climbs steadily, alternating between cow track and remnants of old roads, lined with wildflowers. Within twenty minutes we were feeling the heat of the day. With no cooling fog flowing in off the ocean, it promised to be a long, hot walk to the top of Hill 88. Fortunately, Theresa Fisher helped us beat the heat by spraying us with a wet breeze from a squirt bottle.
Part of the rocky headlands surrounding the Golden Gate are composed of serpentine rock, but in this area the underlying strata is mostly chert that making up what is known as the Franciscan Complex. Millions of little fossil shells, called radiolaria, created these rocks, often seen folded and bent along this part of the California coast.
About a half hour into the hike we reached Battery Townsley. Built in
1938 to house two 16-inch naval guns powerful enough to lob a projectile over the Farallone Islands and hit ships more than 30 miles out to sea, it is now home to nesting Cliff Swallows. Flying in with mud to shore up their nests in the ceiling of the battery, they looked like miniature dive-bombers as they swooped in through the ocean-side gun port. 
When we stopped here on our hike last May, the coast was shrouded in fog; today it was an entirely different story as you can see from Dick's attire shown in this composite of photos taken by Theresa in 2008 and today. The entry to the battery acted like a breeze-way so we were happy to linger a bit in the shade while Wendy recounted the history of this fortification.
Within a few minutes after leaving Battery Townsley we had ascended far enough t
o be able to look south and east toward San Francisco and see the Golden Gate Bridge rising above the Marin Headlands. Here the trail changed from narrow path into a stone staircase followed by a steep scramble up a dirt chute and 
back to the road which dead-ends with a drop-off over the cliff and into the sea.This would have been a great place to wait for a bus and ride back downhill, but alas, no bus was coming so we huffed and puffed our way upwards for another forty minutes until we topped out the hike at 960 feet above sea level at the summit of Hill 88.
The Integrated Fire Control SF-88 Nike Missile installation in the Marin Headlands was located a
top Hill 88. (One of Dick's high school classmates was stationed here in 1968). It one of several Nike installations ringing the San Francisco Bay Area.Today, hawks and Turkey Vultures rather than Nike ground-to-air
guided missiles soar over this part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. A few crumbling buildings remain at the site. We sat in the shade under one of the structures that once held a radar dome, enjoying our lunch out of the midday sun (into which only Mad Dogs, Englishmen, and Meanderers in Marin dare to venture).
Last year, we "wandering nomads" posed for a group portrait atop Hill 88, clad in jackets, fleece, and wool hats. The fog was so thick the usual 360 degree vistas were non-existent. Instead of sitting in the shade, we sprawled out in the open during lunch, hoping tha
t a few warming tentacles of sunshine might pierce the clouds and reach us huddled on the ground. Six of us featured in that 2008 photo made a repeat appearance in this year's group shot. (Both photos were taken by Dick who was "slipped into" the picture by Theresa Fisher using "post-production" Photoshop manipulation).
After a half-hour lunch break we began our descent of Hill 88. To the north and west we could see the hills above Muir Beach, Bolinas Mesa, and all of the way to Point Reyes and Chimney Rock. As we made a sharp turn back to the east onto the Miwok Trail, we looked down into Tennessee Valley and across the hills where we had hiked last fall. The temperature had continued to climb
and hit 90 as we traversed the slopes below Hill 88. (Before the hike was over, six of us would throw in the towel and head for home early). The sun was baking our brains, but brought out a raft of different wildflowers (including Iris, Lupine, and Columbine) along this section of the trail. (Click here for Wendy's list of all of the plants and critters we saw on this hike).An hour after lunch we hit the junction where the Miwok splits itself in two: Straight east for another mile and a half
until it meets the Bobcat Trail, and our route --- straight downhill to the south along the western edge of the Gerbode Valley for a similar distance until the Miwok and Bobcat join again. The broad fire road is easy to follow and offers views of the hills surrounding the valley as well as south to San Francisco.About a quarter hour walking down this section of the trail we began to feel the sea-breeze finally kicking in. Thirty minutes of hiking brought us back to Bunker Road where "Susan's Taxi" was waiting to shuttle the foot-weary the final three-quarters of a mile, while five of us crossed the road and made our way back above the northern shore of Rodeo Lagoon and the hike's
terminus. When everyone else headed home, Dick lingered on the beach enjoying the 20 degree drop in temperature, shooting a few final photos, and watching the Cliff Swallows scoop up mud for their nests.Theresa's GPS said we did 4.9 miles, a bit less than the distance given for the hike in the Martins' book, Hiking Marin, which pegs it at 5.2 miles. (Our route is shown in blue on the following Google Earth photo; click on it to open a larger image in your Web browser).
The Martins say there is a 1,000 elevation gain on the hike, while Theresa's GPS says that we climbed to 940'. (Click on the following hike profile to open a large image in your Web browser).
(Pictures taken by Theresa Fisher and Dick Jordan during the Wolf Ridge hike 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).
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