Buying Binoculars & Scopes For Birdwatching

Dick Jordan attended a presentation about how to choose binoculars and spotting scopes that was given at the EAC Birding Festival last weekend.  Here are two handouts that he picked up:

• How To Choose A Binocular
  
• How To Choose A Spotting Scope

If you click on the handouts you can view and print them.  (A permanent link to these handouts is on the blog under “Reference Materials” in the “Links” tab at the top of the blog).

Wolf Ridge Hike (5/4) Preview

Here's Wendy's description of this annual Spring outing: "Wildflowers and views! On this hike we see late bloomers in profusion – columbine, fringe cups, ookow and many more. We can expect to see nesting cliff swallows. Last year we saw fairy moths!”

Directions to trailhead: From Highway 101 south bound, take the last exit before the Golden Gate Bridge. Turn right, go under the freeway, and get in the left turn lane to go through the one way tunnel with the 5 minute traffic light. Park at the end of the road. (Rodeo Beach will be on the other side of the road). Time: 40 minutes from COM. Restrooms at trailhead. (Carpoolers can meet at Greenbrae Park & Ride lot around 9:15 - 9:20 am).

Weather forecast: We did this hike on May 6, 2008 and encountered lots of fog and clouds. (Click here for a recap of that outing). Last year we followed the same rate under a blazing sun.  (Click here for the hike recap).
 
As of Wednesday, April 28, the National Weather Service forecast for this year’s hike was near perfect:  was sunny with a high near 67. (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike: Hike "A5 Coastal - Wolf Ridge - Miwok Trails" in the Martins' book, Hiking Marin, shows our route for this 5 mile-plus hike with a 1,000' elevation gain, as does the "Coastal-Miwok Loop" hike in Tracy Salcedo-Chourre's book, Exploring Point Reyes National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area. (Hill 88, our probable lunch spot, is 960' above sea level with lovely views on a clear day). The Google Earth photo below shows the area. (Click on it to open a larger image in your Web browser).

NEW! Tuesday Morning Weather Update

At about 7 a.m. today (Tuesday, April 27th) the infrared and water vapor satellite pictures on the National Weather Service Website showed that the last heavy band of rain was passing over the San Francisco Bay Area.   With luck the rain will begin to lessen by the time we reach the trailhead.

The forecast continues to call for showers and sets the chance of precipitation at 100% with south southwest winds between 18 and 20 mph and gusts as high as 24 mph.  The high temperature will be near 60.

Blown Away, Not Off, At Chimney Rock

Last year just keeping upright at Chimney Rock was a challenge as a strong storm system hit Point Reyes during our hike.  This year was different.

Chimney Rock Hike Photos Now On-Line!

Photos taken by Theresa Fisher and Dick Jordan during last week's Chimney Rock hike are now on-line. 

You can view them in the mini-slideshow window on the blog or by clicking here.

A Tale of Two Species

During our pre-hike confab at Chimney Rock this week Susan Pearson reported on her recent visit to Pinnacles National Monument where she had hoped to see nesting California Condors.  Unfortunately, the birds had at least temporarily flown the coop.

State Parks Measure Submitted for November Ballot

On Monday, a coalition of environmental groups submitted approximately 760,000 signatures to California election officials in support of a ballot measure that would raise funds for state parks. The parks funding campaign needs 433,931 valid signatures of registered voters to qualify the measure for the November 2nd ballot.  Election officials now have until June 24 to certify the measure.

If approved by a simple majority of voters in November, the measure would give Californians free admission to all of California's 278 parks, including redwood forests, historic sites, and beaches in exchange for an increased vehicle registration fees of $18 annually. The measure would raise the state parks operation budget to approximately $500 million a year, compared to the woefully inadequate current budget of $380 million, and would eliminate the need to close parks for a lack of funds
.
(From PCL via Jake Sigg’s Nature News)

Green Gulch GGNRA Hike (April 27) Preview

Here’s Wendy’s description for a hike that we haven’t done (at least in the last two years):  “Today we get to see the beautiful organic vegetable garden at the Zen Center’s Green Gulch Farms on our way up to the Coyote Ridge Trail. Lunch overlooking the ocean on our way back down to Muir Beach.”

Directions to trailhead:  Take the Stinson Beach/Highway 1 exit off Highway 101. Go through Tam Junction, and take Shoreline Highway and follow signs to Muir Beach.

Restrooms at trailhead. Time: 55 minutes from COM.

Weather forecast:  Winter seems determined to hang on this year.  As of Friday, April 23, the was the forecast for the day of the hike:  Rain likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59.  (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike:  Although our actual route may vary, hike A10 (Coastal – Coyote Ridge – Green Gulch) in the Martins’ book, Hiking Marin, covers this area. The GGNRA Marin Headlands map shows the trails.  (Click here for more information on Green Gulch Farm).  The following Google Earth image shows where we will be hiking.

NEW! Read the Meandering Blog on Your Smartphone!

Now whether you’re in Tacoma, Timbuktu, or any place in between, you can easily read the Meandering in Marin blog on your Web-enabled cell phone (especially the iPhone), iPod Touch, or the new Apple iPad.

NEW! Tuesday Morning Weather Update

Tuesday 8:00 a.m.: Here is the latest NWS forecast for Inverness:  Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. High near 52. Breezy, with a west northwest wind between 18 and 22 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

Radar and satellite pictures show that the main energy of the storm has passed through although it appears that unstable cold air coming in behind the front may cause showers throughout the day.

Late Monday Night into Tuesday Weather Forecast

The weather forecast for tomorrow’s hike remains problematic and uncertain.

Rain in the North Bay in the wee hours of Tuesday is likely. 
The storm front will probably pass through in the 6-9 am commute hours.

Right now it is impossible to predict whether it will still be raining when we leave East Marin for Point Reyes, or if we will see much rain or wind during the 9:45 a.m. – 1:45 pm scheduled hike.

Last year it was pouring when we got to Chimney Rock, then the rain stopped, and the wind was mainly on the west side of the peninsula that runs down to the rock itself.  (We lived to tell about it).

Dress warmly, bring rain gear and maybe a thermos of hot coffee/tea/soup.
 
Check the NWS forecast (at nearly 11 pm it remained showers and possibly a thunderstorm. High near 52. Breezy, with a west northwest wind between 18 and 22 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%) and satellite and radar pictures Tuesday morning.  (Don’t forget to look out the window, too).

There is always “Plan B” (drive to Point Reyes Station for a hot meal).

Updates on Tuesday Weather, Changes to the Blog

Weather for Tuesday (4/20) Chimney Rock Hike

As of late Monday afternoon, the weather forecast for tomorrow’s hike was not promising:  Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. High near 52. West northwest wind between 18 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.  (Click here for an updated forecast).

Blog Changes

The Meandering in Marin on Tuesday blog has been substantially revamped (more changes in just the last week).

Clicking on the navigation bar under the group photo (taken in May of 2008 on Hill 88 in the Marin Headlands) will let you quickly access the most important information on the blog:

• About describes the Meandering in Marin program and includes the “Bios” for Wendy and our “staff” of photographers and the blog editor.
  
• Upcoming Hikes lists all future hikes in the current series.  Click on the link to the next hike to read the hike preview.  Click on the link for the “Hike Details” to view and print detailed information for all hikes in the current series.
  
• Photo Albums has a link to photos from the most recent hike as well as photos taken in the past.
  
• Meandering Store has a link to our on-line CafePress.com store where you can order our distinctive merchandise including hats, T-shirts and sweatshirts, note cards, and more.
  
• Links provides links to Websites such as the state and federal parks in Marin and other hiking reference materials.
  
• Silvia Lange Remembered is devoted to the memory of one of long-time Meanderers and has links to photo albums, video clips, and other information about the life of the most extraordinary member of our hiking group.

Easy Mountaineering: Mt. Burdell (April 6)

The fickle Spring weather which damped us with cold showers when we hiked in the Indian Valley Open Space a week earlier had long since blown away leaving us with a marvelous day of sunny skies and temperatures near 70 degrees as we meandered our way across, up, and down the slopes of Mount Burdell.

We started out in a southeasterly direction downhill past the “Big Tank” and into the serpentine rock that courses across the lower reaches of the mountain.  There we hunted for an found Bitterroot, the State Flower of Montana, which in Marin only grows on these rocky patches of ground.

Baby Stars, Blue Dicks, Owls Clover and Poppies were among the many wildflowers blooming in the green mountain meadows.  Violet Green and Tree Swallows swooped after insects, Red-Tailed Hawks soared

overhead, jets left long white contrails across the blue sky, and songbirds sang their hearts out.
 
About an hour and half into the hike we reached the Michako Trail and were headed back uphill. We paused to inspect granary trees maintained by Acorn Woodpecker families, then turned east towards Olompali State Park and continued along the Salt Lick Fire Road before doing a sharp turn back

to the west on our way to the Middle Burdell Fire Road.

We skirted clusters of Holstein and Jersey dairy cows on the upper flanks of the mountain as we approached our lunch stop at Hidden Lake.  This time of year the lake is fairly full.  “Locals” once used it as a swimming hole; now ducks are happy to claim it as their own.
 
Although the fine weather and great scenery tempted us to lie back and take a long nap, by 1:15 pm we had re-shouldered our packs and were headed west on the fire road past hillsides dotted with oaks. Mountain Bluebirds paused from their fly catching chores long enough to sing us a farewell serenade as we turned down the San Andreas Fire Road and returned to our parked cars.

Mount Burdell Hike Photos Now On-Line!

 Photos taken by Walter Drucker, Theresa Fisher, and Dick Jordan during our April 6th hike are now on-line. 

You can view them in the mini-slide show window on the Meandering blog or by clicking here.

Chimney Rock Hike (April 20) Preview

We'll return to Point Reyes National Seashore for this hike which we did just two weeks later in 2009 on April 7th. (Click here for a recap of last year's trek). Here's what Wendy promises for this outing: "This is one of Marin's must-see spring wildflower displays which includes some beautiful endangered flowers. We should see goldfields, tidy tips, California phacelia, coastal prairie larkspur, blue violets, rock cress, sea thrift and more! We can expect to see some elephant seals at the overlook and we'll take time to learn about their history and return from the brink of extinction. Bring binoculars if you have them."

Meandering Blog Gets An "Extreme Makeover"

The Meandering in Marin on Tuesdays blog was showing its age and has need an updated look and a more user-friendly interface.  Luckily, Blogger (which hosts the blog) recently came out with new templates and features to make an "extreme makeover" possible.

You'll find a photo of the "Wandering Nomads" atop Hill 88 above Rodeo Lagoon at the top of the blog.  A new page navigation bar just below the photo will give you quick access to information such as upcoming hikes and links to various resources on the Web which had been located in the sidebar on the right side of the blog.

You'll find links to our on-line photo albums and the Meandering in Marin CafePress.com store on that navigation bar, too.  And a special place on the blog is now devoted to the memory of Silvia Lange.

The latest hike photos "slideshow" window has been enlarged.  Fewer "posts" will appear on the main page of the blog.  And the color scheme is totally different from before. 

All of the information that used to appear on the blog is still there, but easier to find, and the new format should make the blog easier to read.  Look for new features down the road (or make that down the trail).

The only thing that won't change:  You'll continue to receive updates via e-mail when the hike previews and recaps and other information is added to the blog.

Silvia Prodan Lange: A Celebration of Her Life

Silvia Prodan Lange is on Shutterfly and can be viewed and purchased there or by contacting Bill or Wendy Dreskin. Silvia Prodan Lange includes photographs, Silvia’s haiku, poems, and songs as well as tributes like her “honey” Barney’s poem and her niece Karen’s poem. Individual photos from the online album can also be viewed or purchased on that website. Silvia Prodan Lange is 7” H x 9” W, 21 pages softcover, sells at printing cost, approx.$14, plus shipping and handling. A copy will also be preserved in the California Room collection at the Marin Civic Center library in their collection along with Silvia’s Angel Island bibliography and research materials.

There is now available a DVD of the Silvia Lange Angel Island celebration on March 21 created and produced by Aimy Wilbur. Please contact Bill or Wendy Dreskin if you would like a copy of this DVD.

The Silvia blog (silvialange.blogspot.com) is continuing to be updated with poems and writings by and about Silvia Lange.

Correction to On-Line Version of Dick Jordan's Sitka Story

Turns out that the L.A. Times on-line version of Dick Jordan's Sitka story cut off the first and the second paragraph which appeared in the print edition.  This was probably due to a computer snafu.  Here's the way the story should have started out:

"The small red plastic sign on the wall behind the Avis car-rental counter set off alarm bells in my brain: 'A cleaning fee may be charged due to fish smell or having animals in the car or trunk!'

"Now I understood why the heads of long-dead animals adorned the walls of Sitka’s airport terminal and why all those men on the flight from Seattle wore plaid wool shirts. People come to southeast Alaska to kill things. I lost interest in fishing long ago. I get my meat from the market rather than gunning it down in the woods. The odd man out, I had come to eat salmon and halibut, shoot photos of wildlife and listen to classical music."

The on-line version has been corrected and appears at:  http://bit.ly/a14DF4

Dick Jordan's Sitka Story Runs in the L.A. Times

Dick Jordan's story about Sitka ("Sitka, where woodwinds and Alaska wildlife put on a show" ) and four of his photos (plus one other that he didn't take) will appear in the Sunday, April 11 edition of the Los Angeles Times.  (It is already on-line; here's the shortened link to the story on the paper's Website:  http://bit.ly/a14DF4

Meandering Takes A Spring Break (April 13)

Just a reminder that there is NO HIKE on Tuesday, April 13th, as Meandering in Marin goes on "Spring Break."

We resume our hiking schedule the following week (April 20th) at Chimney Rock at Point Reyes National Seashore followed by four more hikes until our "Final Exam" at Rock Spring on Mount Tam on May 18th.

Winter Returns for An Encore at IVC (March 30)

Sun. Good.  Rain. Bad.  Sun. Rain. Sun. Rain. Sun.

Bipolar weather marked our hike in the Indian Valley Open Space.  Sunshine warming us up as we did our pre-hike confab lulled us into believing it was indeed Spring.  All was well, meteorologically speaking, as we walked past the ball field, stopped to check out the new organic produce farm at the edge of the campus, and headed off on the hike.

Puffy white clouds hanging above the Pacheco Pond began to congeal into deep shades of gray as we ascended the trail westward.  Within fifteen minutes jackets that had been doffed in the sun at the bottom the hill were back on, rain hoods had been pulled down to eyebrows, and umbrellas unfurled as a cold rain began to fall in earnest.  But by the time we crested the hill and reached the junction with the Jack Burgi Trail the sun was back out again.

On this Grand-Old-Duke-Of-York (he marched a 1,000 men up the hill, then down again) hike, we went down the Waterfall Trail, hit bottom at the Indian Valley Fire Road and then were climbing back up the Hill Ranch Trail (called the Witzel Trail on the Marin County Open Space District Map).  The on-again-off-again rain washed out our usual lunch stop in a grassy meadow with views of the Bay and we plodded on uphill until we reached the junction with the Wildcat Trail about 12:40 pm and plopped down to eat a quick meal in the suddenly returned sunshine before the next dark cloud could float by and rain on our parade.

Showers continued as we hiked the final downhill leg, but the sun came out and stayed out once we were walking south on the Indian Valley Fire Road again.  We found Pacific tree frog tadpoles in the pools along the fire road and saw hawks circling overhead as we neared the end of the hike.

The farmstand at the organic farm was open when we finished up giving us a chance to do some "grocery shopping" before piling in the cars and heading home.  It was a damp day, but not a washout, and sun at the end left us hopeful that we'd seen the last of Winter heading towards the East Bay and out of our Spring hiking schedule for good.  (Click here to view photos taken by Theresa Fisher and Dick Jordan).

We hiked just under five miles (see the Google Earth image below) in just over four hours.

The vertical profile image for the hike confirms the Grand Old Duke of York attribute.

Mount Burdell Hike (April 6) Preview

This week we return again to the Novato area go hiking.  Last week it was in the open space above Indian Valley College.  This week we hike on Mount Burdell.  Here's Wendy's description of the hike: " This loop takes us by Hidden Lake which is home to thousands of Pacific tree frogs! We may see cream cups, fiddleneck, popcorn flowers and blue-headed gilia, as well as seven or eight species of butterflies. This is the only spot where bitterroot, the Montana state flower, grows in Marin."

Directions to the trailhead: Take Highway 101 north and take the San Marin Drive exit. Go west on San Marin Drive. Turn right on San Andreas Drive. The entrance to the Open Space will be on your right. If you come to the dead end of San Andreas you've only gone about half a block too far. No lot but plenty of curbside parking. 30 minutes from College of Marin. No restrooms on this hike. (Carpoolers can meet at the Mission Street, San Rafael, Park & Ride lot around 9:05 am, or at the Smith Ranch Park & Ride lot around 9:15 am).

Weather forecast: As of Saturday, April, the National Weather Service forecast for the day of the hike was Mostly sunny, with a high near 63. . (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike: Hike "E13 Old Quarry Trail to Mt. Burdell" in the Martin's book, Hiking Marin, shows the general area that we'll be hiking in, although we'll probably turn left at intersection #2 and head directly to Hidden Lake rather than climb all of the way to the summit of the mountain as shown on the Martin's map. You can find a trail map and species list on the Marin County Open Space District's Web site for the Mount Burdell preserve. The Google Earth image below shows where we'll be hiking. (Click on the photo to open a larger image in your Web browser).