Spring Is Ablooming

For those of you who don't read the "Sporting Green" in the Sunday San Francisco Chronicle, today's edition has a story entitled "Blooming good time for spring sights" by Outdoor writer Tom Stienstra which lists eleven places in California to look for wildflowers blooming over the next six weeks.

Aububon Canyon Ranch Hike Photos Now On-Line!

Neither Dick Jordan nor Theresa Fisher made the Audubon Canyon hike on February 23rd, but thanks to Walter Drucker, you can click here to see these photos from the outing.

Spring "Meandering" Registration Starts Monday!

You can sign up for the Spring "Meandering in Marin" hiking series beginning on Monday, March 1st at 8 a.m.

Wendy will now be leading hikes on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.  Cost is $115.  Following is a list of the dates and course numbers for each.  You can click here to register on-line.

• 7 Mondays, 9:45am-1:45pm
• Mar. 29-May 17 (No class Apr. 12)
• Course #35043 EC
• 7 Tuesdays, 9:45am-1:45pm
• Mar. 30-May 18 (No class Apr. 13)
• Course #35044 EC
• 7 Thursdays, 9:45am-1:45pm
• Apr. 1-May 20 (No class Apr. 15)
• Course #35045 EC 

(Clicking on the course number should give you the detailed list of hike information, but at the moment, the Monday and Tuesday lists show the Winter hikes and only the Thursday list is for Spring.  Presumably the College will fix that soon)

Deer Park to Phoenix Lake Hike (3/2) Preview

On this lovely loop we can expect baby blue eyes, hound's tongue, and scarlet larkspur!  (Click here for a recap of our hike in March 2009).

Directions to trailhead:  Go west on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard to Fairfax. As you enter Fairfax, turn left at the gas station, and make an immediate right in front of the movie theater. This puts you on Broadway. Make the first left onto Bolinas Avenue. Just after it veers left, turn left on Porteous Avenue. Follow it to the parking lot at Deer Park. 15 minutes from College of Marin. Restrooms at trailhead. (Click here for a Google Map showing the area near the trailhead and for driving directions).

Weather forecast:  As of Wednesday, February 24th, the National Weather Service forecast for the hike was mostly cloudy with a high near 59 and a chance of showers.(Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike: Presumably we'll follow the same route as last year. The Martin's Hiking in Marin trail guide does not have a single map and directions for our hike from Deer Park School to Phoenix Lake and back, but you can use the following two maps and hikes from their book to piece together our path:

Start off using the Martin's Hike "C6 - Deer Park Road - Yolanda Trail". Head up the Deer Park Fire Road to Oak Tree Junction, then turn left (to the south) and hike uphill on the Six Points Trail. When you reach the Six Points junction, switch to Hike "C4 - Hidden Meadow - Yolanda Trail" and hike down the Yolanda South Trail to Phoenix Lake.

Using that same hike and map, follow Shaver Grade uphill, and while doing so, refer back to the C6 hike and map to follow the Grade to Five Corners. Continue straight down Deer Park Fire Road to Boy Scout Junction. Cross the fire road and take the Junction Trail back to its intersection with Deer Park Fire Road (just where you turned off onto Six Points Trail when you were headed toward the lake).

MMWD has a printable map of its watershed which shows these trails, and here's a Google Earth view looking from Deer Park over Bald Hill towards Phoenix Lake. We'll head from bottom to top and a little left of center in this picture to reach the lake, then turn right at the lake and go from top to bottom by starting up Fish Gulch (shown in purple lettering on the photo) and onto the Shaver Grade (shown in white lettering). Click on the photo to open a larger image in your Web browser.

 

Feeling Like A Couch Potato?

If you're not getting in enough group hiking, check out "No excuses, couch potatoes" by Outdoor writer Tom Stienstra in today's San Francisco Chronicle Sporting Green section.  He lists seven upcoming hikes in Marin, including variations on the last two that we have done on Mount Tam this month.

A Dry Day At Steep Ravine (Feb. 16)

Steep Ravine.  No rain.  No wind.  Yipeeeeee!

Fog hugged the shoreline on the Bay and Pacific sides of Mount Tam as we set off from home for our annual Steep Ravine hike, but the trailhead was in the sun and we had a warm Spring-in-Winter day for our hike this year.  Last year the bad weather kept all but seven of us (including Wendy and one of her former students) at home.  This time our numbers doubled.

Although the weather was dry there was ample evidence of recent heavy rains.  Plywood covered the trail near the highway, water flowed abundantly down Webb Creek, and most of the moss-covered bridges were in a sorry state of repair.  About halfway to Pantoll a good-sized section of the trail had fallen away and a crew, made up almost entirely of volunteers, was working hard to ensure safe passage for hikers.

But Spring was in the air, and although we encountered any number of mushrooms, including brilliant colored Scarlet Waxy Caps and Red Righteous, wildflowers like Star Lily and Ground Iris were blooming and birds were bursting into song.  The good weather also brought out several groups of hikers, a change from the past two years when we've been the only fools willing to brave the rainstorms.

At exactly high-noon we reached Pantoll, sloughed off our packs, and sat down to enjoy lunch and let our throbbing quadriceps muscles relax.  After a half-hour of lollygagging, we moseyed down the Old Mine Trail (which was closed for repairs last year, but now is in excellent condition) for a half-mile, then broke out of the trees and into the open meadows where the Dipsea Trail runs 7.1 miles over the shoulder of the mountain on its way from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach.  Although the skies were a bit hazy, and a low bank of fog hung back from the coast, we could see south towards Pacific and east to Mount Diablo.

We passed Lone Tree Spring and looked downhill to the left into the Lone Tree Creek watershed that parallels Steep Ravine.  Then we were back into the mixed forest of Douglas Fir, Redwood, and Bay, descending gradually, then steeply over a long set of steps, until we were back at the bridge that crosses Webb Creek and meets the Steep Ravine trail.  By about 2:15 pm we were back at the highway, stomping our feet on the pavement to knock off the mud that we'd picked up on the uphill hike, with our legs feeling a little rubbery from the three-quarters of a mile long downhill section.

Hike "B14" in the Martins' book, Hiking Marin, is 3.6 miles long with a 1,100' elevation gain, but doesn't include the leg between the highway and the bridge where the Steep Ravine and Dispea trails meet.  According to Theresa Fisher's GPS, we hiked 5.5 miles with an elevation change of over 1,300', which explains why some of us were complaining of sore muscles the next day!

Here is the Google Earth image showing our route:

 and the hike profile provided by Theresa's GPS:

Most of us turned our cars south and headed back past Muir Beach, but Dick retraced his route home after last year's hike, stopping south of Stinson Beach and along the edge of Bolinas Lagoon to shoot a few last photos before continuing north through the Olema Valley, then east and "over the hill" into Fairfax and to his home in San Anselmo.

(Click here to view photos taken by Dick and Theresa).

Audubon Canyon Ranch Hike (2/23) Preview

Lucky us!  For the second year in a row we have permission to hike in Audubon Canyon Ranch Bolinas Lagoon Preserve! This is beautiful habitat, not usually open to the public. (Note: Depending on the rains, there may be some stream crossings walking on logs.)  Click here for a recap of the hike we took in February of 2009.

Directions to trailhead: Coming from North or Central Marin: Take Sir Francis Drake Boulevard to Olema. Turn south (left) on Highway 1 and follow for about 10 miles to Bolinas Lagoon. Preserve will be on the left approximately 1 mile further. Carpoolers can meet at St. Rita's Church in Fairfax at 8:45 am.

Coming from Southern Marin: From Highway 101 take the Stinson Beach exit. Follow approximately 12 miles to Stinson Beach. Continue 3 1/2 miles north to the preserve gate on right hand side of the highway.

Time: 1 hour from College of Marin. Restrooms at trailhead.

Weather forecast: As of Wednesday, February 17th, the National Weather Service forecast for Bolinas on Tuesday, February 23rd, was cloudy with a chance of rain and a high near 57. (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike: If you have the Martins' book, Hiking Marin, go to hike "F18 Griffin Loop - Bird Overlook Trails" for a map of trails within the preserve. There are two major loop trails (probably about 3 miles long each) going uphill and down, and a shorter 0.8 mile loop nearer to the bottom of the hill.  Last year we hiked up the Zumie's Loop Trail, went through Junction 2 on the Martin's map, and continued south to where the Griffin Loop and Bourne trails meet, descended the Griffin Loop trail to the bottom of the hill, and then looped back to the parking area.

Wendy Is How Old?

In case you didn't get the memo, Wendy is now 60 years young.  Click here to see photos that Theresa Fisher took at Wendy's party on Saturday.

(Photo at left is Silvia Lange singing "Happy Birthday" to Wendy when we hiked at Audubon Canyon Ranch in February 2009).

Ups And Downs: Bootjack Loop On Mount Tam (Feb. 9)

Despite an adverse weather forecast, the clouds began to part when we left the parking lot at Bootjack and began our mile long uphill climb to the Mountain Theater.  Along the way we saw the first of many streams rushing down the mountain thanks to copious precipitation over the last few weeks.  Abundant lichens, moss, and funghi reminded us that it is still mid-winter even on the south-facing slopes of Tam.

About an hour after starting out we gathered on the "stage" of the theater to discuss which musical play performed here was our favorite.  Then we walked across the stone seats built years ago and headed east down the Rock Springs Trail towards the West Point Inn.  Along this section of the trail we had sweeping views across the Marin Headlands to San Francisco and the East Bay, and south along the coast towards Pacifica. 

The wind began to blow strong and cold as we sat at the picnic tables on the porch of the West Point Inn and most of us wolfed down our lunch, then bought a hot drink from the Inn and sat on the front steps, out of the wind, and in the sun.

Clouds began to gather as we trooped a half-mile down the Nora Trail and then began a traverse back to Bootjack along the Matt Davis Trail.  Manzanita and Huckleberry were blooming, and Indian Paintbrush and Indian Warrior pushed their red and crimson stalks up from the soil.  A light, misty drizzle came and went, producing only the tiny amounts of water compared to that flowing down the mountain.

Ambling along at an average speed of 1.6 mph, we covered the 4.4 miles in about 4.5 hours, finishing the hike about half hour behind schedule.  Here's a profile of the hike and a Google Earth image that shows our route.  (Click here to view photos taken by Theresa Fisher and Dick Jordan during the hike).

 

 

Steep Ravine to Dipsea Trail Hike (2/16) Preview

On this favorite February hike we should see giant wake robin, redwood evergreen violets, star lilies, Smith’s fairy bells, fetid adder’s tongue and calypso orchids! We’ll go up Steep Ravine since some of us find the ladder is easier to go up than down. Lunch at Pantoll.  (Click here for a recap of last year's hike).

Directions to the trailhead: Take the Stinson Beach/Highway 1 exit off Highway 101. Go through Tam Junction, stay on Route 1, and follow signs to Muir Beach. Pass the road that goes to Muir Beach staying on Route 1 (towards Stinson Beach), pass Slide Ranch, and keep going until you see the locked gate for the Steep Ravine cabins on the west (left) side of the road. There is parking is on the east (right) side. Time: 1 hour 5 minutes from COM. No restrooms at trailhead (but you can turn in at Muir Beach en route and use the ones in the parking lot).

Weather forecast: When we have hiked in this area on this date during the past two years, strong storms buffeted the coast, and it rained heavily enough to discourage several of our group from making the trek. But as of Sunday, February 14th, the forecast for this area on the day of the hike is not bad at all: Partly sunny with a high near 58, and north to northwest wind between 5 and 9 mph. . (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike: If you have the Martins' book, Hiking Marin, look at their hike "B14 Dipsea - Steep Ravine Trails" which starts at Pantoll, goes down the Dipsea, up Steep Ravine, and ends back at Pantoll. Since we're beginning and ending our outing down on Highway 1, our hike will be slightly longer, but basically the reverse of the Martins' hike. (Page 6 of the Mt. Tam State Park brochure has a park map that you can "zoom in" on to see these trails). 

First Hike of Winter (Sky Trail to Mt. Wittenburg)

The first hike of winter once again began up Sky Trail to Mount Wittenburg at Point Reyes National Seashore.  Two years ago we had drizzy rain that washed out our lunch stop on top of the mountain.  Last year we had sunny skies.  This year the weather was "tween"---cool at the outset, with the sun peeking through the clouds now and again, and no rain at all.

Old hands and a couple of new hikers met at the trailhead about a quarter to ten to recap the past week's activities and fondly remember our absent friend, Silvia Lange.  Then it was straight uphill for an hour plus until we reached Sky Camp and took a break to hear about the history of the long-gone "Z" Ranch which stood at this location.

About two hours into the hike Chimney Rock could be spotted through the trees and off to the west.  Within another half hour we were sprawled out on the top of Mount Wittenburg to enjoy a lunch break before winding our way northward and downhill to our starting point.

Along the way we saw a number of mushrooms and the flowers heralding the nearness of Spring and the ultimate end to what has been a wet Winter in Marin. 

Bootjack to Mountain Theater Hike (2/9) Preview

A mostly shady trail takes us up to the Mountain Theater where you’ll learn the history of its construction and the tradition of drama* on the Mountain.  Lunch at the historic West Point Inn."

(*The Mountain Theater - a.k.a. The Cushing Memorial Theater- in Mount Tamalpais State Park was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. The natural-stone amphitheater seats 3,750 people and features the Mountain Play each spring, produced every year since 1913).  (Click here for a recap of our November 11, 2008 hike).
.
Directions to Trailhead:  Take the Stinson Beach/Highway 1 exit off Highway 101. Go west through Tam Valley and up onto the ridge. Turn right onto Panoramic Highway and follow signs to Mt. Tamalpais.  Bootjack is about 2 miles past Mountain Home.

As you drive up the mountain, look for the Bootjack picnic area and parking lot ($8/car if you don't have a state park pass) on your right --- if you get to Pantoll at the crest of Panoramic Highway, you've gone too far and need to turn around and drive back down the mountain. (Click here for a map of Mt. Tam that you can view and print out).

Restrooms at trailhead and lunch stop. Driving time from College of Marin: 55 minutes.  Carpoolers meet at Greenbrae Park & Ride Lot at 9:00 a.m.

Weather forecast:  As of Monday morning, February 8, the National Weather Service forecast for the hike was for mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 4pm, northwest wind around 17 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph, and a high near 45.  (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike:  Hike "B12 Bootjack - Rock Springs Trails" in the Martins' book, Hiking Marin, shows the trails in this area although we could take a slightly different route.  (Click here to view a copy of the Mount Tamalpais State Park brochure; the park map on page 6 shows the trails).

UPDATE (Wednesday, February 3, 4:15 pm): The Search for Silvia

In case you didn't receive it, here is the latest e-mail from Bill Dreskin:
 

Dear Friends of Silvia,

 

If anyone happens to have any information, or knows of resources or someone with expertise in the area of satellite imagery, that would be helpful.  A private detective and former FBI special agent wrote: "One of the Southern California wildfire arsons was solved by reviewing dated satellite images of the point of origin, zooming in on a pickup truck and

running the plate. How about that for resolution? That would require GPS

coordinates." 

 

The question is whether there is possibly such satellite data and if it is available from a military or commercial satellite, and the probability of such a time window for capture.  What are the refresh intervals and at what resolution?  We only need 20 meters or 30 meters, resolution, not high resolution 2 meters.

 

1) I estimate that resoutionl needed (still or video) to be helpful would be approx. 20 meters or higher resolution, not 2 meters!  Even 30 meters might be adequate.  We do not need car make, etc.  Just enough resolution to see an unidentifiable  person walk across the North Beach parking lot with a dog on a leash, and see where they went.   And of course a 30 meters view of the beach would be helpful too.  Being able to see water come up near to the parking lot would also be helpful.

 

2) GPS

Point Reyes Beach North

Latitude Longitude

N 38 04.639 W 122 58.503

 

3)  Reports from people at the beach around that time (1 PM) for Sunday, January 24 at Point Reyes Beach North for 11:41 AM to 12:20 PM were sunny, no clouds, blue skies, beach visibility good, no mist or fog.    

 

It may be that there are no commercial or military satellites with adequate update rates to capture that time frame and that the arson case was just luck that they had the right time frame. 

 

Thanks.

 

Bill

NEW WINTER HIKE SCHEDULE

Dicks seems to have at least temporarily solved his computer problems.  Click here to view and print the REVISED Winter 2010 Hike Schedule and Descriptions.  If you didn't already make a note of it, we've made these changes to the schedule:

• Feb. 16:  Steep Ravine/Dipsea (Originally set for Feb. 23)
• Feb 23:  Audubon Canyon Ranch (Originally set for Feb. 16)

HIKE SCHEDULE CHANGE! FEB 16 & 23

Our hike schedule for February 16th and 23rd has been reversed. The new schedule is:

• Feb. 16:  Steep Ravine (originally set for Feb. 23)
• Feb 23:  Audubon Canyon Ranch (originally set for Feb. 16)

Dick is having some computer problems that are preventing him from uploading the revised list to Scribd.com, but he will e-mail you an updated list.