This week we return to Point Reyes National Seashore for the first hike of the Fall season. We explore four habitats: coastal scrub, beach, marsh, and a riparian (streamside) habitat with alders and willows. Lunch at the beach. We may see some of the tule elk that have been transferred from Tomales Point.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 Park Headquarters (stop here if you need a restroom --- there is none at the trailhead) and go left on Limantour Road.
Turn left at the sign for the youth hostel. Follow that road until you see a right turn across a bridge to the Laguna Trailhead by the Clem Miller Education Center. Park in the parking lot.
55 minutes from College of Marin. Carpoolers can meet at St. Rita’s Church in Fairfax at 9:00 a.m.
No restrooms at trailhead. Outhouse en route before lunch.
Weather forecast: Here is the National Weather Service forecast for the hike, as of Monday morning, September 12: Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 61. West northwest wind between 8 and 13 mph. (Click here for an updated forecast).
More on this hike: Dick Jordan thinks we last did this hike in June of 2008. (Unfortunately, he wasn’t along, so there is no recap of that outing).
From the Laguna Trailhead we'll go southwest on the Laguna Trail to its junction with the Fire Lane Trail [we hiked this section in the opposite direction as the final leg of our August 16, 2011 hike from Sky Trail to the Laguna Trailhead], follow that down to the ocean, take a short “side trip” to Coast Camp to use the “facilities”, then hike northward paralleling the sea on the Coast Trail before turning back inland to the Laguna Trailhead. Total distance covered should be approximately 5 miles.
The “Laguna-Coast Trail Loop” hike in Exploring Point Reyes National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area by Tracy Salcedo-Chourre describes the route we’ll take. The trails we’ll follow are shown on the the North District Hiking Map on the Point Reyes National Seashore Website.
You will also find them on the map for hike “G4 Sky – Woodward Valley – Coast Trails” in the Martins’ book, Hiking Marin, although we are not doing that specific hike.
No comments:
Post a Comment