Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Registration for Winter COM Hikes Begins Tuesday, January 3rd

Registration for the Winter 2012 College of Marin session opens on Tuesday, January 3rd.

Here is the information you need to sign up for the Monday (listed first) or Tuesday hikes:


7 Mondays, 9:45am–1:45pm
Jan. 30–Mar. 19 (No class Feb. 20)
Fee $119
CRN# 15025 EC

7 Tuesdays, 9:45am–1:45pm
Jan. 31–Mar. 13
Fee $119
CRN# 15026 EC

Click here if you want to view or print the full College of Marin Community Education Schedule for Winter 2012.  (Schedules were to be mailed out on Tuesday, December 27).




Alpine Dam to Bon Tempe Dam Hike (1/3) 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 our January 2010 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 for Marin residents 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, 2012.  (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 Tuesday, December 27th, the National Weather Service forecast for this area during the hike was partly sunny, with a high near 62. . (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).

Thursday, December 22, 2011

No Hike Next Week!

Just a reminder that there is no hike on Tuesday, December 27th.

Our next outing will be on Tuesday, January 3rd.

Happy Holidays from the Meandering in Marin on Tuesdays blog!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

No Hike Next Week!

Just a reminder that there is no hike on Tuesday, December 20th.

Our next outing will be on Tuesday, January 3rd.

Happy Holidays from the Meandering in Marin on Tuesdays blog!

Monday, December 12, 2011

Lake Lagunitas "Final Exam" Hike Photos Now Online!

Photos taken by Theresa Fisher during our December 6th Lake Lagunitas "Final Exam" hike are now online!

View them on the Meandering blog or click here for the on-line album.

Friday, December 9, 2011

New "Central Marin Community Map Book"

San Anselmo-Fairfax Patch

Here's a new book of maps that will either be delivered to you or that you can pick up at various locations in Marin:
B0c08e846bf26ca2ab576ea1ecaf4405 Comprehensive Map Covers Ross Valley
Innovative free maps come to Central Marin....
Visit Patch.com for more local news, reviews, and info.
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Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Mushroom Identification Guide

In case you didn't get a copy of Wendy's mushroom identification guide when we did the Bahia hike or via Theresa Fisher's recent e-mail, click here to view and download a copy.

Bahia Hike Photos Now Online!

Photos taken by Theresa Fisher during our November 29th Bahia hike are now online!

View them on the Meandering blog or click here for the on-line album.

Pine Mt./Elliott Preserve Hike (12/13) Preview


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 Tuesday afternoon, December 6th, the National Weather Service forecast for Fairfax onthe day of the hike was mostly sunny, with a high near 59. (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 (now called Cascade Canyon Open Space Preserve insttead of Elliott Preserve) on the District's Website, or click here for a map of this area).

Cranberry Soup Recipe

Click here to view and print the recipe for the cranberry soup Dick Jordan brought to today's "Final Exam" hike around Lake Lagunitas.