Muir Woods (Dipsea to Ben Johnson) Hike (Nov. 3) Preview

The state government taketh (Mt. Tam) away, but the federal government giveth (Muir Woods) to us for our next hike on Tuesday, November 3rd.  Here's Wendy's description of the hike: "Instead of racing up the Dipsea, we’ll stop to admire ancient redwoods, beautiful views, and hopefully some mushrooms."  (Click here to read the recap of our last hike on these trails on February 10, 2009).

Directions to trailhead: From Highway 101 take the Stinson Beach exit, turn left (west) on Shoreline Highway, right on Panoramic Highway and left on Muir Woods Road. Meet at Muir Woods Parking Lot #2. Time: 35 minutes from College of Marin. Restrooms at trailhead. (Carpoolers can meet at the Greenbrae Park & Ride lot near the intersection of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and Highway 101 at 9:10 am).

Weather forecast: As of Thursday, October 29, the National Weather Service forecast for Mill Valley on Tuesday, November 3rd, is sunny with a high near 73. (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike: We'll hike up the Dipsea Trail, then descend back to the floor of Muir Woods on the Ben Johnson Trail. (Click here to view and download the park trail map). If you have Tracy Salcedo-Chourre's book, Exploring Point Reyes National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area, you'll see that she proposes hiking this route in the reverse direction (up the Ben Johnson, down the Dipsea) from our plan, but her book will at least give you an idea of what our hike will be like.

NEW! Changes to the Meandering in Marin on Tuesdays Blog

The Meandering in Marin blog has a few new wrinkles:

• Upcoming Hike List: Go to the right hand column of the blog right under the mini-slideshow of photos from the last hike) to find a list all future hikes in the current session in date order (soonest to latest).  However, there is no longer a link from each hike on the list to the details for that hike.
• Details for All Hikes:  If you've mislaid your copy of the details for all of the hikes in the current session, just click on the link just below the Upcoming Hikes list on the blog, view, and print out another copy.  The revised schedule for Fall 2 (including the change in location for the November 3 and 10 hikes) is now on-line.  (If you happen to have an iPhone, or another "smartphone" that can store and read PDF files, you can put the detailed hike list on your phone.  For iPhones, get the Documents to Go program from the Apple App Store).
  

• E-mailed Hike Preview:  Dick will continue to e-mail you his usual hike preview a few days before each hike with a description of the outing, directions to the trailhead, link to the National Weather Service forecast for that Tuesday, etc.  

• Post-Hike Recaps:  An abbreviated post-hike recap will appear in the left-hand side of the blog.  Just click on "Read More" at the end of this short version to read the entire recap.  (The entire recap will continue to be e-mailed to you after each hike).

Don't forget to check out the right-hand column of the blog for links to other useful Web sites, archives of past blog posts, and the on-line albums of hike photos.

Up High Towards the Sky and Above the Bay (Tennessee Valley, Oct. 27)

Fifteen of us kicked off the Fall 2009 hiking series, Part Deux, on the last Tuesday in October with a hike high above Tennessee Valley.  After doing our usual recap of our activities and adventures during the past week, we set off on a mile and half steady climb up the Marincello Trail hitting an elevation of almost exactly 800' above sea-level.  Along the way we stopped to enjoy views back towards Mount Tam, east across Richardson Bay, and south down the coast past San Francisco, while Wendy filled us in the history of  Marincello, a new city planned, but never built, in the Marin Headlands. 

Tennessee Valley Hike Photos Now On-Line!

Photos from this week's hike above Tennessee Valley taken by Theresa Fisher and Dick Jordan are now on-line. 

You can view them in the mini-slideshow window on the Meandering blog, or by clicking here to go directly to the Picasa Web album of the latest hike photos.

NEW! Tuesday Hike Schedule Revised Due to State Park Closures

Wendy has revised the Tuesday Fall 2 hike schedule to take into account the weekday closures at California State Parks in Marin.  Here are the changes:

• November 3:  Hike the Dipsea and Ben John Trails in Muir Woods (replaces the Bootjack to Mt. Theater hike)
• November 10:  Hike the Indian Tree Open Space in Novato (replaces the China Camp State Park hike)

Click here to view and print a revised list of all Fall 2 Tuesday hikes.

Marincello Hike (October 27) Photos by Theresa Fisher

Click here for the link to Theresa Fisher's Facebook album of photos she took on yesterday's hike from Tennessee Valley up the Marincello Trail and back down Oakwood Valley.  (Dick Jordan will post these photos and some of his own on the blog later this week).

State Park Closures in Marin Annouced!

The Wednesday, October 28th issue of the Marin I-J says that all six of Marin's State Parks will be closed at least periodically because of the state's budget woes.  Some of these closures will impact our Meandering in Marin hikes.  

It looks like we'll need a new starting point or a "Plan B" hike for next Tuesday, November 3rd, when we planned to hike from Bootjack parking lot on Mt. Tam to West Point Inn and then on to the Mountain Theater, since the Bootjack parking lot will be closed.  Standby for an update on this outing.  The only other Fall 2 session hike that could be affected by the closures include the one at China Camp State Park (November 10).

Our Winter and Spring hikes on Mount Tam may be limited to areas below the Ridgecrest, since it looks like the state is closing road access to the top of the mountain on weekdays.  We usually hike in Olompali State Park during the Spring, but this year the park will be closed weekdays as will Tomales Bay State Park.

The closures will be in effect through the current fiscal year which ends June 30, 2010.

Route for Today's Marincello Hike

Dick's iPhone battery apparently died during today's hike, but if you click on this link, you can see the first 3.7 miles we covered (basically until we got to or near the flat area in Oakwood Valley). If you have Google Earth on your computer, you can download the hike and rotate and tilt the image.

Marincello Hike at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail: Share and Plan your Trips

I-J Publishes Story on Hiking in Marin

Today's (Sunday, October 25) Marin IJ features a supplement entitled "Marin 101" with a story about eight local hikes.  Click here to read it on-line.

October 27 Tennessee Valley, GGNRA: Hike Preview

Last week's "Final Exam" hike took us from Tennessee Valley north towards Mill Valley, then west toward the ocean, before looping back to the start.

This week's loop hike will take us south from Tennessee Valley and features panoramic views of the Bay. You’ll appreciate the fact that it’s open space as you learn about Marincello, a city of 18,000 that was planned for this area! (See photo of a model of the Marincello development at the left).

We may see hawks like the Northern harrier, brush rabbits, and even a coyote.

Directions to trailhead:  Take the Stinson Beach exit from Highway101. Follow signs to Stinson Beach and Muir Woods, then turn left on Tennessee Valley Road and take it to the parking lot at the end.

Time: 40 minutes from College of Marin. Portables at trailhead. One section can be very muddy, so waterproof your hiking boots if we’ve had any rain!

Weather forecast:  As of Wednesday, October 21, the National Weather Service forecast for the area of our hike is sunny with a high near 65.  (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike:  You won't find this hike described in either the Martins' book, Hiking Marin, or Tracy Salcedo-Chourre's Exploring Point Reyes Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area.  Look instead at the GGNRA Marin Headlands trail map.  We'll head up the Marincello and Bobcat Trails, do a sharp turn and head down the Alta and Oakwood Valley Trails, then cross Tennessee Valley Road and walk west on the Rhubarb Trail until we get back to the parking lot.

Bikes On Bill's Trail in Devil's Gulch?

After returning home from Europe a dozen days ago, I've been catching up on e-mail, snail mail, newsletters, etc.  I see from Theresa Fisher's photos that when you hiked in Devil's Gulch two weeks ago you went up Bill's Trail and that Theresa wasn't able to find out any information about that route.

Tonight I picked up the September-October issue of the Marin Conservation League newsletter and found a story about MCL's battle with the State Parks over turning Bill's Trail into a multi-use (e.g., mountain bikes as well as hikers and horses) trail. (Click here to read it).