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

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.

 The jumping off point for the hike sits below towering redwood trees and is pleasantly cool in the summer, but absolutely freezing in the winter as it was in January of 2009 when we hiked to the Randall trail.  Although we did this hike in May we didn't linger long in the chill morning air before setting out up and then down in the forested section at the beginning of of this hike.  We trudged along through the trees for about 45 minutes before breaking out into the open meadows which run down slope towards Bolinas Lagoon.
 
Few clouds hung in the sky and the temperature probably never hit 70 as we made our way southward.  The grasses were not as high as an elephant's eye, but at times reached above our kneecaps. Ookow, California Poppies, and Clover bloomed along the trail.

When the Coastal Trail nudged up against Ridgecrest we turned west along the McKennan Trail to have lunch in a very special spot:  The place where Wendy and Bill were married 36 years ago.

On the way back some of us opted to walk along the more level and wide paved road while the rest of us meandered back across the meadows and through the trees to the parking lot.


Last week we started at sea level and climbed nearly 1000 feet.  This hike began and 1,500’ and had its ups and downs, but overall was relatively level over the course of the nearly 5 miles that we covered.