A Good News and Bad News Hike (Palomarin June 16)

We had good news and bad news on our June 16th hike from Palomarin Trailhead to Bass Lake and back.

The good news was that the sun was shining as we drove south through the Olema Valley to Bolinas. The bad news is that the sun quit shining when we pulled into the parking lot at the trailhead. The good news is that the sun quit shining and the clouds and sea breeze kept us from getting our brains cooked as we hiked along the mostly exposed section of the trail that runs for a mile or so through a brushy area descending downslope towards the coast.

The good news is that Wendy's husband, Bill, a professional nature photographer and artist, came along on the hike. The bad news is that about 2o minutes into the hike, Dick discovered that he had neglected to recharge both of his camera's batteries after our last outing at Abbott's Lagoon two weeks earlier. The good news is that Dick had tossed his cell phone in his pack instead of leaving it in his car, so he could use its camera to take pictures. The bad news is that his cell phone takes lousy photos.

The good news is that Bill brought a camera with him. The bad news is that Bill forgot to check the charge on his camera's batteries, too. The good news is that both Dick and Bill were able to take a few photos before their camera batteries gave up the ghost, and that Stan had his camera along and could shoot photos as well. The bad news is that we ended up with far fewer pictures than usual. The good news is that blog readers don't have to look at so many photos!

The bad news is that there were several cars in the trailhead parking lot when we arrived. The good news is that we saw no one else during the hike up to Bass Lake and during our lunch break in that area. The bad news is that it was like commute hour when we left the lake and head back to our cars, with hikers coming up on us from behind, and approaching us from the south. The good news is that there were only seven of us, so massive "head on" and "rear end" collisions with other groups of hikers didn't happen. The bad news is that there were so few of us along on the hike.

The good news is that this trail is fairly level. The bad news is that there is a fairly long, steep section between Abalone Point and the junction of the Coast Trail and Lake Ranch Trail. The good news is that the sun wasn't beating down on us so the uphill slog was pretty easy.

The good news is that we saw quite a few different birds, a good smattering of flowers and plants, some interesting bugs (which Wendy hasn't been able to definitively identify), and even some "late bloomer" mushrooms. The bad news is that Theresa Fisher wasn't along so we don't have as many plant photos as usual. (Click here to read Wendy's "What We Saw" list of flora and fauna seen on this hike).

The good news is that we had a good time on a relatively easy hike. The bad news is that, like all of our hikes, it ended too soon.

The following Google Earth Image shows the area where we hiked. The Palomarin trailhead parking lot is in the lower right-hand corner of the image just south of a large grove of eucalyptus trees, and Bass Lake is clearly marked in the left-hand side of the photo. The trail is visible as it snakes its way up the coast, crossing over or going along the edge of four small canyons along the 2.7 mile route to Bass Lake. (Click on the image to open a larger version in your Web browser).