Friday, May 28, 2010

Muddy Hollow Trailhead Hike (6/1) Preview

Uplands, Limantour Estero This week we return to Point Reyes National Seashore to do a loop hike from the Muddy Hollow Trailhead.

Here's Wendy's description of our upcoming hike: "Great views and, we hope, some tule elk! Last year we saw several endangered Myrtle's Silverspots. Note: this hike is longer than we usually do (about 7 miles), but last time we made it back on time."

Monday, May 24, 2010

A Pocketful of Birds

When Dick Jordan (who is taking some time off from hiking) returns to meandering with the Tuesday group, he'll be carrying several hundred birds around in his pocket thanks to his recent purchase of the iBird Pro field guide application for his iPhone.



Toni Sings In The Mayflower Chorus!

Toni (in green in the photo at the left) from our Tuesday hiking group performs with the Mayflower Community Chorus of San Rafael.

Click here for more information on the Chorus and its upcoming shows.  Toni recommends the Sunday, June 6th concert at the Church of Saint Raphael (the Mission) in downtown San Rafael.

UPDATE! Bolinas Ridge to Randall Trail Hike (5/25/10)

REMEMBER THAT THIS IS A SHUTTLE HIKE SO CALL WENDY AT 457-3949 OR EMAIL bdreskin@comcast.net if you are coming!

Directions to trailhead: We’ll meet at 9:20 a.m. on Route One at the bottom of Randall Trail which is about 3 miles north of Dogtown and about 3 miles south of Five Brooks. (The Point Reyes National Seashore says to allow 15 minutes for the drive from the Bear Valley Visitor Center, and that it is just under 6 miles from the intersection of Highway 1 and Sir Francis Drake at Olema south to the Randall trailhead). Carpool leaves St. Rita’s at 8:25 a.m.

Park in one of the large dirt pullouts on either side of the road. The Park Service notes that the sign for the Randall Trail is aligned parallel to Highway 1 on the east side of the road and can easily be missed). From the Randall trailhead we’ll carpool up the Bolinas-Fairfax Road to Ridgecrest Boulevard and hike along Bolinas Ridge Fire Road and then down the Randall Trail to Highway 1.

No restrooms at either the Randall Trail or Bolinas Ridge trailheads.  Stop at the Bear Valley Visitor Center if you need to “use the facilities.”  

Weather forecast: As of Monday afternoon, May 24, the National Weather Service forecast for the hike was rain likely, mainly after 11am. Cloudy, with a high near 58. South southeast wind between 8 and 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. (Click here for an updated forecast).

A Fine “Final Exam” (Rock Spring 5/18)

Hats On To Us! Mother Nature's bipolar disorder continued this week as she tried to decide whether it was Spring or still Winter.  Rain fell as we drove toward the trailhead and we were bundled up in our cold weather gear when we met at the Rock Spring.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Rock Spring Hike Photos Now On-Line!

GoogleEarth_3D-ZoomedInWithStats Photos taken by Walt Drucker, Theresa Fisher and Dick Jordan during this week’s Rock Spring hike are now on-line.
 
Click here to view the on-line album or go to the mini-slide window on the Meandering blog.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Bolinas Ridge to Randall Trail Shuttle Hike (5/25) Preview

Decision Time As summer begins we move west in Marin to take one of our hikes in the GGNRA. Slightly longer than usual at 5.3 miles, but lots of downhill.  (Click here for a recap of our last summer hike in August of 2008).

CALL WENDY AT 457-3949 OR EMAIL bdreskin@comcast.net if you are coming!

Directions to trailhead: We’ll meet on Route One at the bottom of Randall Trail which is about 3 miles north of Dogtown and about 3 miles south of Five Brooks. (The Point Reyes National Seashore says to allow 15 minutes for the drive from the Bear Valley Visitor Center, and that it is just under 6 miles from the intersection of Highway 1 and Sir Francis Drake at Olema south to the Randall trailhead).

Park in one of the large dirt pullouts on either side of the road. The Park Service notes that the sign for the Randall Trail is aligned parallel to Highway 1 on the east side of the road and can easily be missed). From the Randall trailhead we’ll carpool up the Bolinas-Fairfax Road to Ridgecrest Boulevard and hike along Bolinas Ridge Fire Road and then down the Randall Trail to Highway 1.

Weather forecast: As of Tuesday evening, May 18, the National Weather Service forecast for the hike was partly cloudy, a slight chance of rain, with a high near 59. (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike:  None of Dick Jordan's hiking books describe this hike, but you can find the Fairfax-Bolinas Road, Bolinas Ridge Fire Road, and the Randall Trail in the bottom right-hand section of the park map shown below in this post on the "Meandering" blog. (Use the plus-sign button under the drop-down arrow button to enlarge the map for easier reading):

(Click here to view and print a copy of the map. If you have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer you can print the document. Once you see the document on the "Scribd" Web site, click on the "Download" icon and then on the "PDF" icon to open the document on your computer).

NEW! Summer Hike Schedule On-Line!

The Summer 2010 Tuesday Meandering hike list is now on-line.

Our first hike will be next Tuesday, May 25, from Bolinas Ridge to the Randall Trail.  Hikes will continue every Tuesday through the "Final Exam" at Tomales Bay State Park on June 29th.

Then we will have a week off and resume hiking from July 13-27, skip two weeks, and finish from August 17-31.  (Details on the July and August hikes will be available at a later date).

Sunday, May 16, 2010

A Hike With A View (West Ridgecrest 5/11)

P1060410-Huddle Bolinas Ridge provides opportunities for long-distance hiking with views west over the Pacific Ocean.  Each year we usually hike north from the intersection of the Bolinas-Fairfax Road and Ridgecrest to the Randall trail and then descend to the Olema Valley.  This time we hiked south and and then retraced our steps to the starting point.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Rock Spring “Final Exam” (5/18) Preview

As we did last year, we'll wrap up the Spring College of Marin hiking series with this Mount Tamalpais State Park hike. (Click here for a recap of last year's May 12th walk). Here's Wendy's outline for the hike:  “We could see coral roots (a native orchid), Mount Tamalpais jewel flower, and golden banners on this mostly shady loop hike.
Bring a plate and utensils, and food to share for the Gourmet Final!"


Wednesday, May 12, 2010

The Blog Continues

Computer With Man with Question Mark Although Dick Jordan can only type poorly using his left hand, he has purchased voice dictation software that should allow him to continue to write the blog as long as he can make it to the hikes!

Dick Takes A Spill!

Picture 17 Dick Jordan fell on the trail during yesterday’s Ridgecrest hike.  The good news:  He didn’t break any bones.  The bad news is that he has “Gamekeeper’s Thumb” (aka “Skier’s Thumb”) and will have to wear a cast for six weeks.  Hopefully, he’ll still be able to make next week’s hike.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Good News, Bad News Hike (Wolf Ridge)

There was good news, and bad news for our Wolf Ridge hike.

P1060183-LookingSouth The bad news:  Fog predicted to extend inland in the morning, followed by sunshine (and no shade) the rest of the day.
The good news:  The fog was long gone by the time we arrived at the trailhead and unlike last year when the hot sun cooked our brains this year a slight breeze kept the temperature down to about 70:  A perfect day for hiking in an area with perfect views.  (Click here to view photos taken by Theresa Fisher and Dick Jordan).

Saturday, May 8, 2010

West Ridgecrest Hike Photos, New Photo Albums, Now On-Line!


Hiking The Bay Ridge Trail Photos shot by Theresa Fisher and Dick Jordan during last week's West Ridgecrest hike are now on-line.  View them on the blog or click here for the on-line album.

Dick Jordan has began archiving photos by area rather than date.  So if you missed the photos from the Wolf Ridge hike, or want to browse those for a specific trail, you'll be able to find them under the "Photo Albums" tab at the top of the blog.  (New albums for the Spring 2010 hikes have been set up; others will be added each week.  It will take Dick a while to move photos from 2008 through Winter 2010 into these new "by place" albums).

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

West Ridgecrest, Mt. Tam Hike (5/11) Preview

Looking Down on Bolinas On this hike (not a loop) we’ll explore a section of the Coastal Trail with views of Stinson Beach and Bolinas Lagoon. When Ridgecrest Boulevard opened as a toll road in the 1920s it was proclaimed California’s “Most Scenic Drive.” It’s even better hiking!

Directions to trailhead:  THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO REACH THE TRAILHEAD:
  1. Take the Fairfax Bolinas Road from Fairfax to Ridgecrest Boulevard (about 50 minutes driving time from the College of Marin; car poolers can meet at St. Rita’s around 9:00-9:15 am); OR
  2. 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.
Turn left at Rock Springs onto Ridgecrest Boulevard.  (Driving time from College of Marin about 1 hour)
Park on left at junction with the Fairfax-Bolinas Road. No restrooms at trailhead.

Weather forecast:  As of Thursday, May 6, the National Weather Service forecast for the time of the hike was mostly sunny,with a high near 60. (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike:  This hike isn’t mentioned in any of Dick Jordan’s trail guides, but we’ll be hiking south on the Coastal Trail which parallels Ridgecrest Boulevard until we reach the junction with the McKennan Gulch Trail (which heads downhill to Bolinas Lagoon) and then we will retrace our steps back north.
 
(Click here and go to page 6 of the Mt. Tam State Park brochure for the park map; click on the percentage magnification box at the top of the page and increase to about 125%-150% to get a good view of the trail which runs just west of the road).

image

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

“One Stop Shopping” For Outdoor Recreation

While we were having lunch below Hill 88 in the GGNRA today, Dick Jordan checked his e-mail (nothing like having an iPhone and a strong signal on the trail) during lunch and learned the following from the California State Parks Department:
 
“No matter where you are.  No matter what kind of outdoor recreation area you are looking for, you can find it on this site within a few clicks and a few minutes, period.  No one has ever provided this much in a one-stop shopping package, not ever.
  
Computer With Man with Question MarkCalifornia State Parks and the GreenInfo Network are announcing a web portal that makes it dramatically easier for the public to search for any kind of open-space and recreational lands in the Golden State.  No matter where you happen to be and no matter what other part of the state you want to search, this new web site shows you everything from federal wilderness areas to neighborhood tot lots.”

(Dick will be attending a presentation on this new Website on Friday and will post further details on the Meandering In Marin on Tuesdays blog).

Monday, May 3, 2010

Zen And The Art Of Hiking (Green Gulch 4/27)

Wet.  Again.
Wet Start The last (hopefully) of this Winter’s storms was blowing through the Bay Area as we drove to the trailhead at Muir Beach for this week’s hike around and above Green Gulch Farm.  But despite the foreboding weather forecast most of us gathered for our weekly pre-hike confab in the mud of the parking lot.

We began by crossing a bridge over Redwood Creek and turning east away from the beach and toward the entry to Green Gulch.  On the way to the farm we passed horses grazing inGrazin' In the Rain the drizzly rain and Vetch and Thimbleberry growing along the Middle Green Gulch Trail.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Green Gulch Hike Photos Now On-Line!

Off To The Farm

Photos taken by Walt Drucker and Dick Jordan during our Green Gulch hike this past week are now on-line.
 
Click here to view the on-line Picasa Web album or go to the blog and view them in the mini-slideshow window.