The One, True (Meandering) Blog

The original Meandering blog on Google’s Blogger server (http://meanderingtuesdays.blogspot.com) can now can be viewed on smartphones in either the regular “Web version” or the easier-to-read “Mobile version.”  Scroll to the bottom of the page on your phone’s Web browser to toggle between these to viewing methods.

As of today, Dick Jordan has stopped posting updates to the WordPress.com version of the blog (http://meanderinginmarinontuesdays.wordpress.com) which he set up to mirror the Blogger version of the blogger before it was “optimized” for viewing on mobile devices. 

Sky Trail To Mt. Wittenberg Hike (2/1) Preview

This loop has spectacular views of the estero and the ocean! (Yes, we do have to hike uphill to earn this reward). Lunch at a scenic spot on Mt. Wittenberg. We often see several species of Amanitas on this hike including the red one with white dots (Amanita muscaria), as well as fairy bathtubs, and sunny-side-ups. Level and downhill after lunch.  (Click here for a recap of the hike we took on February 2, 2010).

Directions to Trailhead:  Take Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. west to Olema. Turn right on Route 1, then make an immediate left onto Bear Valley Road. Continue past the turn-off to Park Headquarters and go left on Limantour Road. Trailhead is 3.3 miles from this turn at the crest of the road. The parking lot is on your left.

 

There are no restrooms at trailhead, so stop at the Bear Valley Visitor Center if you need a restroom prior to the hike; there will be pit toilets at Sky Camp which we'll reach about 10:30 a.m.

50 minutes from College of Marin. Carpoolers should meet at St. Rita's around 8:35-8:40 a.m., and depart around 8:45 a.m. (to allow time for a restroom break at Bear Valley) and 9:00 a.m. at the latest (if driving directly to the trailhead).

Weather forecast:  As of Tuesday evening, January 25, the National Weather Service forecast for the hike was sunny with a high near 56.  (Click here for an updated forecast). 

More on this hike:  We'll do a variation on the 4.6 mile hike "G1 Sky-Horse-Z Ranch Trails" in the Martin's book, Hiking Marin. Presumably we'll do this hike in reverse, going from Junction 1 to 4, then to 3, to 2, and back to 1 before returning to the trailhead.  (Click here for the park's South District Hiking Map which shows these trails).

Winter 2011 Hike List Now Available!

Wendy has just e-mailed the detailed list of hikes for the College of Marin Winter 2011 session (February 1 – March 15).  Click here if you need a copy.

The hike dates and a link to the on-line copy of the hike details can also be found on the “Upcoming Hikes”  page on the Meandering blog.

Sky Oaks to Deer Park “Final Exam” (1/25) Preview

Downhill and level! Maybe we’ll see the first milkmaids of the season!  (Click here for a recap of the hike we did in October of 2009; last January’s hike in this area was rained out).

Remember to bring plate, utensils, cups, and a delicious dish to share at the post-hike luncheon.

This is a shuttle hike, so CALL WENDY AT 457-3949 or send her an e-mail her at bdreskin@comcast.net if you are coming!

Directions to trailhead:  Meet at Deer Park to carpool. Take Bolinas Avenue in Fairfax, turn left on Porteous. (If you see Deer Park Villa you’ve gone a bit too far, turn around.) Go to the parking lot at the end. Drivers leave food in cars at Deer Park.  Shuttle drivers will take us to the parking area just beyond the Sky Oaks pay station and leave their cars there.
 
The day use fee is $8.  You can use $1, $5, or $10 bills and coins at the automated pay station, or a Visa or Mastercard. Annual entrance passes are normally $60 ($30 for those 62 and older), but after September 1st you can buy one for half of those prices and the pass will be valid through January 31, 2011.  (You can pay the annual pass fee at the automated pay station.  Keep one part of the receipt which is a temporary pass good for two weeks, then: 1) stop at the Sky Oaks Ranger Station on the way out and ask them to send the other half of your receipt to the main office in Corte Madera which will issue the permanent pass and mail it to you, or 2) send or take the receipt to the main office yourself).

Restrooms at Deer Park and portable at Sky Oaks, and porta-potty en route. Carpool from St. Rita Church in Fairfax at 9:25 a.m.

Weather forecast:  As of Thursday, January 20, the National Weather Service forecast for the hike was mostly sunny with a high near 60.  (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike:  The Martins' book, Hiking Marin, does not have a hike that matches this one.  But their hikes "C 12 Taylor-Concrete Pipe-Bullfrog FR" and "C7 Deer Park FR-Canyon-Six Points" shows the the general area where we will be hiking as does the MMWD watershed map.

Update On Bolinas-Fairfax Road Closure

MMWD has informed Dick Jordan Tuesdays that the Bolinas-Fairfax the road will be closed in both directions between Azalea Hill and Ridgecrest Boulevard from January 24 through 28, 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

A map of the closed section is available at:

http://www.marinwater.org/documents/AlpineDamClosure.pdf 

For more information, please contact:

Dick Paulson

MMWD Senior Construction Inspector

Tele: 415-945-1569 

or go to MMWD > Construction Updates at marinwater.org

San Geronimo Ridge Hike (1/18) Preview

We scouted this hike in August of 2009 and it was a winner, but rain cancelled our plan to repeat it last winter. We will pass through a pygmy Sargaent cypress area, grasslands, and redwood habitat. There are muddy spots if it has rained, so wear hiking boots and waterproof them.


There is an elevation gain of about 600’.

This is a shuttle hike, so CALL WENDY AT 457-3949 or send her an e-mail her at bdreskin@comcast.net if you are coming!

Directions to meeting point:  Meet 0.2 miles past the Shafter Bridge (and Cronin Fish Viewing Area parking lot) in Samuel P. Taylor State Park. There is some parking along the road here. We'll leave some cars and carpool to Conifer Way in Woodacre.  No restrooms at trailhead. Carpool from St. Rita Church in Fairfax at 9:20 a.m.

Directions to trailhead from meeting point:  For those who will drive to the trailhead from the meeting point, here are directions to Conifer Way: Go east on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. Turn right on Railroad Avenue. Set your odometer when you turn right on Carson Road. At the 0.6 mile mark you will see a sign saying Ivy that makes you think the name of the street as changed. Go right and you will still be on Carson. Go 0.2 miles to the junction of Carson and Conifer Way. (There is another junction of Carson and Conifer which you will pass and ignore.) Cars that can do an "unmaintained road" can turn left on Conifer Way and go to the top to park. Others with low clearance (like the Prius!) park at Carson and Conifer and we'll walk up.

Weather forecast:  As of Tuesday, January 11, the National Weather Service forecast for the hike was sunny with a high near 65. (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike:  On this outing we'll be hiking through the County of Marin's Gary Giacomini Open Space Preserve. After starting up the Conifer Fire Road, then head west along the San Geronimo Ridge Fire Road. (Click here for the MCOS District map which shows these trails). Barry Spitz' book, Open Spaces: Lands of the Marin County Open Space District, discusses this area.

The following Google Earth image shows the area we'll be hiking through; click on it to open a larger image in your Web browser:

Update From The Meandering “IT” Department

Our “IT” staff has been working like dogs to make sure every part of the Meandering In Marin On Tuesdays blog works.  We just updated several of the links to on-line sources of recreational information posted on the “Links” page (at the top of the blog).
 
If you discover any thing else on the blog that isn’t working properly, be sure to e-mail Dick Jordan so he can beat on those IT dogs and get it fixed ASAP.

Spring On Pine Mountain Trail

The six of us who joined Wendy and Bill for the first hike of 2011 were rewarded with almost Spring-like sunny weather and sweeping views of Mt. Tam, White Hill, and northeast across the Bay towards Vallejo.  It was a far cry for January 2010 when this hike was called due to rain, and January 2009 when the cloud bottoms almost whacked us in the head.

After our usual roundtable discussion, we headed up the steep, rocky Pine Mountain Fire Road.  The trail climbs a little over 300’ in the first mile to Oat Hill Road (which heads south and provides access to Little Carson Falls which we visited during our 2009 hike).
 
This time we skipped the side trip to those falls and continued westward for another four-tenths of a mile over a somewhat level section of the route until we met the junction of the Pine Mountain Fire Road (which swings south) and the San Geronimo Ridge Fire Road.  Along this chaparral-lined stretch we encountered Dark-Eyed Juncos, a Meadowlark, a Scrub Jay, and a Kestrel “kiting” (hovering over the brushy slope looking for a late morning snack).

After another three-tenths of a mile and a couple hours into the hike we arrived at the intersection of the San Geronimo Ridge Fire Road and the Cascade Fire Road (shown as the “Repack Road” on some maps) where we had stopped for lunch during our 2009 hike.  But since we had skipped Little Carson, we decided to put off our midday meal and began the long descent toward Cascade Canyon.
 
The Cascade Fire Road runs roughly northeast so over our right shoulders we could look back to the East Peak of Mount Tamalpais as well as straight ahead to a waterfall plunging down White Hill into Cascade Canyon, and over Fairfax and Terra Linda to the Bay.  Although this part of the MMWD watershed covers a largely treeless terrain, we did find a few mushrooms (including one that smells a bit like the inside of a cedar chest) pushing up through the soil in shady spots.

We paused for lunch about 1:15 pm at one of the few level spots along the road.  The sunshine warmed us up and we gazed at Tam while filling our stomachs.
 
Less than half an hour later we were hiking passed a stand of madrone trees still heavy with berries.  The first Indian Warrior of 2011 poked its head toward us in a sign that true Spring was not that far away.

Within another thirty minutes we had entered  what the County of Marin Open Space District is now calling the “Cascade Canyon Nature Preserve.”  A left turn took us two-tenths of a mile up a narrow side canyon to roaring Cascade Falls.

After retracing our steps to the floor of Cascade Canyon, we crossed a bridge and walked another three-tenths of a mile until ending the hike where some of us had left our cars parked at the end of Cascade Drive.  In 2009 water levels were low enough for us to cross the stream that runs along the canyon bottom and take the wide fire road on the south side of the canyon.  This time the rushing water forced us to make our way along much narrower trail that runs along the the north face of the canyon.

After knocking the mud off our boots, we climbed into the waiting vehicles and shuttled those who had parked at the trailhead back to their cars.  About five hours after we started out we were headed home having hiked about four and a half miles, ascending a little over 400’ to the highest point from the trailhead, and then dropping down to about 200’ above sea level at the end.

Pine Mountain Hike Photos Now On-Line!

Photos taken by Dick Jordan during last week’s Pine Mountain-Elliott Preserve Hike are now on-line.
 
You can view them on the blog or click here to go to the on-line album.

Bolinas-Fairfax Road Closure

The Bolinas-Fairfax Road will be closed sometime in January to allow MMWD to do work on Alpine Dam.  The Monday, January 10 edition of the Marin-IJ reported that the road will be closed at the dam.

Dick Jordan spoke to the Sky Oaks Ranger Station on Monday and confirmed that the road will be open for our Alpine-Bon Tempe hike tomorrow, Tuesday, January 11.  However, the ranger staff has been told that the closure will occur by the Meadow Club which means that you will not be able to drive to the parking area for the Pine Mountain Fire Road (where we met for last week’s hike into the Elliott Nature Preserve).

If you are planning on driving the Fairfax-Bolinas Road in January you should call the MMWD Public Information number (415) 945-1438 to find out if the road is open.  (You can also try the Mt. Tam Watershed number, (415) 945-1181 which may have recorded information or allow you to speak directly to a ranger at Sky Oaks).

Alpine Dam to Bon Tempe Dam Hike (1/11) Preview

We hike along a creek with lovely cascades and ferns. This is usually an interesting mushroom hike – in past years we've seen Toothed Jelly Fungus, Rosy Gomphidius, Cowboy's Handkerchief, and The Prince! The start is uphill with some stairs (but we’ll find lots to look at on the way), the end is level - and in between it’s up and down! We end up at the Bon Tempe Dam.  (Click here for a recap of last January’s hike).

This is a shuttle hike, so CALL WENDY AT 457-3949 or send her an e-mail her at bdreskin@comcast.net if you are coming!

Directions to trailhead:  Take the Fairfax-Bolinas Road. Turn in as you would to go to Lake Lagunitas. After the ranger station at Sky Oaks (but before Shaver Grade) there is an unpaved road to the right. Take this to Lake Bon Tempe and park.  MEET HERE AT 9:15 a.m. Porta potties are in the parking lot. (Click here for directions from the MMWD Web site).

From Bon Tempe we’ll carpool to the trailhead (near Alpine Dam). Do not pay the $8 day use fee at the Sky Oaks entrance kiosk if you plan to take people to the trailhead. (You can use $1, $5, or $10 bills and coins at the automated pay station, or a Visa or Mastercard. Annual entrance passes are normally $60 ($30 for those 62 and older), but after September 1st you can buy one for half of those prices and the pass will be valid through January 31, 2011.  (You can pay the annual pass fee at the automated pay station.  Keep one part of the receipt which is a temporary pass good for two weeks, then: 1) stop at the Sky Oaks Ranger Station on the way out and ask them to send the other half of your receipt to the main office in Corte Madera which will issue the permanent pass and mail it to you, or 2) send or take the receipt to the main office yourself).

We’ll need people who are not in a rush to take the driver’s back to their cars parked near Alpine Dam.

Carpool leaves St. Rita Church in Fairfax at 8:55 a.m.

Weather forecast:  As of January 4th, the National Weather Service forecast for this area during the hike was mostly cloudy, with a high near 57 and a slight chance of rain. (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike: There is no comparable hike in the Martins' book, Hiking Marin, but we'll begin our hike just past the dam at Alpine Lake and head east on the Helen Markt Trail, eventually pick up one of the fire roads, and wind our way back to Bon Tempe Lake. (Click here to view, zoom in on, or print a map of the MWWD watershed lands).

Meandering Blog E-Mail Woes

During today’s (January 4) Pine Mountain hike, Dick discovered that at least some of the Tuesday Meanderers are still not getting e-mail updates when new information is posted to the Meandering blog. We’ve got our Meandering IT Department (shown at left) working hard to resolve this problem.

When Dick next writes the next post (after this one) to the blog, he’ll send out a separate e-mail asking you to indicate whether you received it.  However, the best way to insure that you get the blog updates is to go to the blog and take one of the following actions:

1. If you use an RSS news reader such as Google Reader, My Yahoo, or Netvibes, go to “Subscribe To This Blog Via RSS” on the right-hand side of the blog, click on “Posts” and select your RSS reader.  (“Comments” are rarely posted, but you can subscribe to those, too, if you wish).  You may have to go to your RSS reader and click on “Add Content” to insert the blog’s RSS feed or display it.
   
2. Otherwise, go to the E-mail Subscription Box just below the RSS subscription area, enter your e-mail address, and hit “Subscribe.”  This will open up an “E-mail Subscription Request” from Feedburner in a new window in your Web browser.  Type the text displayed in red in the box at the bottom of the form, then click on the “Complete Subscription Request” button.  You’ll probably get an e-mail from Feedburner asking you to click on a link to activate your subscription.  Once you’ve done that, you’ll get blog posts e-mailed to you.

January 4 Hike (Pine Mt./Elliott Preserve) Preview

Wendy did not originally put this first year of 2011 on the Winterim hike list.  Here are the “late breaking” details:

SHUTTLE HIKE - NOTE EARLY STARTING, LATE ENDING TIME
 
CALL WENDY AT 457-3949 or send her an e-mail her at bdreskin@comcast.net if you are coming!
 
This one-way shuttle hike starts in oak/bay/madrone woodland, passes through chaparral, then heads down to a valley with a stream, passing some serpentine rock areas. We'll check out birds and mushrooms as we go.  (Click here for the recap of our hike in this area in January of 2009. The January 2010 hike was cancelled due to bad weather).


Directions to trailhead: We need some people to meet at the end of Cascade Drive in Fairfax at 9:20 a.m. If you have time pressure after class go there as well, since the car shuttle won’t get us back to the trailhead until a little after 2:00 pm. Wendy will drive those drivers to the start of the hike.

Others should meet at the trailhead by taking the Bolinas-Fairfax Road past the Meadow Club (golf course) and up to the crest of the hill. Park in the parking lot across from the Pine Mountain Fire Road. It is a large dirt parking lot on your left, and the fire road is on the right. If you start going downhill and can see Lake Alpine, you’ve gone too far.  There may be a porta-potty at the trailhead.

Carpool to the trailhead (not the end of Cascade Drive) will leave from St. Rita's at 9:25 a.m. (Wendy won't be at St. Rita's she is going early to drive to the end of Cascade Drive).

Weather forecast: As of Monday morning, January 3rd, the National Weather Service forecast for Fairfax for the day of the hike was patchy fog before 10am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 54. East northeast wind between 5 and 7 mph. (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike: We'll be hiking on both MMWD watershed lands (click here for a map that you can view, zoom in on or print) and those of the Marin County Open Space District (click here for a description of the preserve in the Cascade area of Fairfax, or click here for a map of this area).

Update on Hiking Class Registration

It’s a New Year!  But the College of Marin Community Ed on-line registration process is as fraught with problems as ever.


Here’s what you need to know to sign up for the Winter term hiking classes using your computer:

1. Start the registration process at the MyCOM Portal (https://mycom.marin.edu/cp/home/displaylogin).
2. Enter your User Name and Password if you’ve registered on-line since the new system went into place.  (If you don’t have a User Name and Password, Dick suggests calling the phone number for “Older Adults” and asking for assistance: 415-485-9305).
3. Figuring out the right menu choice for signing up for classes is problematic.  Dick clicked on “Add a class”, typed in the course number for Tuesday (15019), and that seemed to work.
4. Paying the $120 class fee with a credit card via the Community Ed Website’s “E-Cashier” was not possible Monday morning. (The College registration office said that the company that handles the transactions had apparently not enabled the on-line payment feature for the Winter term as yet.  Hopefully, that will soon be corrected).  Dick ended up giving the registration office his credit card number over the phone.
5. You can always register via mail, fax (415 460-0773), or in person if you are unable to sign up for classes on-line.  Click here for more information.