Stepping Back In Time - Olompali SHP (April 28)

Last week at Rodeo Lagoon we stood around wearing shorts in 80 degree weather during our pre-hike confab. Despite sunny skies, this week it was back to wool hats and warm jackets as a brisk, chill wind blew across the parking lot at Olompali State Historic Park while we chatted about what we'd all been up to during the past seven days.

Although Olompali is about as scenic a spot as you will find in northeast Marin, and in some respects our hike was reminiscent of our ramble in the hills above Indian Valley College in March, the past and more recent history of this spot is significant. The Miwok tribe inhabited this area as early as 1,500 years ago. Camilo Ynitia, the last Miwok "headman", obtained a Mexican land grant for the ranch's 8,000-plus acres, thanks in part to the help of General Mariano Vallejo. He sold the ranch to James Black, one of Marin's most prominent 19th century residents, in 1852. In turn, Black gave Rancho Olompali to his daughter, Mary, and her husband, San Francisco dentist Galen Burdell (for whom the mountain, at whose east foot the ranch sits, is named) as a wedding present when they tied the knot in 1863. Rancho Olompali remained in the Burdell family until 1943. It was acquired by the University of San Francisco, then sold several times. The various owner rented the ranch to various people.

When the rock band The Grateful Dead lived there in 1966 it became a gathering place for musicians. such as Janis Joplin and Grace Slick. Don McCoy, a local business man -turned- "hippie", leased Olompali in 1967 and turned it into a Utopian or hippie commune for a group known as "The Chosen Family". (Our own Kathy admitted to "partying hearty" here during that era, but alas, could only regale us with vague recollections of her "wild times" at Olompali). Finally, the State of California, together with Marin County, purchased the property (just 700 acres out of Camilo Ynita's original 8,000-odd acre land grant) in 1977 to preserve it as a State Historic Park. (Click here for other historic information on the ranch from the State Park's Web site). The Annual Olompali Heritage Day celebration will take place at the park on Sunday, May 17th, from 10 am - 4 pm (click here for more information).

As we set off on the hike, one of the first remnants of Rancho Olompali we passed was the hedge of pomegranate bushes planted my Mary Burdell. A little farther on was a Victorian era garden which she created (hopefully soon to be revived by a grant secured through "The Olompali People", a group supporting the park). Barns and a foreman's house from the ranch mark the beginning of the uphill climb toward the summit of Mount Burdell.

After walking north and then west passing the ranch buildings, the trail swings 90 degrees to the south and traverses the hillside. From here one can look down on the ranch and across Highway 101 towards the Petaluma River. Along this section, the purple blooms of Rattlesnake Grass were prominent. The path then bends back to the north and west, climbing through grasslands dotted with oaks, bays, and madrones.

As the elevation increased, the trail through the woodlands became lined with ferns. Where the banks were shaded and damp, we found "adobes" built by turret spiders. Breaks in the trees here and there afforded views east to Cougar Mountain and the hills flanking the Lakeview Highway.

Around midday we reached a meadow carpeted with Rattlesnake Grass, and plopped down for lunch. Just as we were about to head back down the trail to the ranch, Wendy snared a curious brown moth and popped it into her magnifying viewer. Small heart-shaped designs dotted its wings when closed, but an orange and black design appeared when the moth unfurled its "flight feathers". (Research done after the hike revealed that its common name is "Greater Yellow Underwing". It's a native to Eurasia and was introduced to Nova Scotia in 1979. Since then it has spread north to the Arctic Ocean, west to the Pacific, and south to the Gulf of Mexico. The larvae feed on a variety of crops and vegetables, plus grasses).

After retracing our steps, we zig-zagged our way a half mile down the eastern side of Mount Burdell until we reached the "Miwok Village". We took a break and sat at picnic tables while Wendy recounted some of the history of the ranch. As we passed the ranch buildings again at the end of this loop hike, we saw Acorn Woodpeckers and Northern Orioles flying from tree to tree. (Click here for Wendy's list of all of the plants and critters we saw on this hike).

Theresa did not bring her GPS with her on this hike, so we've had to estimate the distance and elevation gain for this hike. According to Martins' book, Hiking Marin the "lower loop" trail in the park is 2.7 miles long and at its highest point climbs to 800' above sea level. We probably hiked a mile or less beyond the lower trail's junction with the Upper Mountain Burdell Trail, and gained another 100' or so of elevation before stopping for lunch, then walked a mile or so back to the trail junction. So the overall distance we walked was probably about 4.5-5.0 miles, and we most likely reached an altitude of 900-1,000' at the acme of the hike. (A 10 mile-plus hike round trip hike leads to the 1,558' summit of Mount Burdell; it's 3.35 miles to the top from the junction of the lower and upper trails).

The Google Earth image below shows Highway 101 at the top, the ranch and its buildings below, and the lower slopes of the eastern flank of Mount Burdell and the bottom of the picture. (Click on the photo to open a larger image in your Web browser).


(Pictures taken by Theresa Fisher and Dick Jordan during the 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).