Deer Park to Phoenix Lake Hike (3/5) Preview

This is a scenic hike with lunch at Phoenix Lake.  We should see Red Larkspur, Gypsum Spring Beauty, Baby Blue Eyes, and Ground Iris  Maybe we'll hear the first orange-crowned warblers of the season!  (Click here for a recap of our hike in March 2010 or here for photos from past hikes.)

Directions to trailhead:  Go west on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard to Fairfax. As you enter Fairfax, turn left at the gas station, and make an immediate right in front of the movie theater. This puts you on Broadway. Make the first left onto Bolinas Avenue. Just after it veers left, turn left on Porteous Avenue. Follow it to the parking lot at Deer Park. 

15 minutes from College of Marin. Restrooms at trailhead.

Carpoolers can meet at St. Rita's Church at 9:30 a.m. (Click here for a Google Map showing the area near the trailhead and for driving directions).

Weather forecast:  As of Wednesday afternoon, February 27, the National Weather Service forecast for the hike was partly sunny, with a high near 62, and a slight chance of rain. (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike: Presumably we'll follow the same route as in the past. The Martin's Hiking in Marin trail guide does not have a single map and directions for our hike from Deer Park School to Phoenix Lake and back, but you can use the following two maps and hikes from their book to piece together our path:

Start off using the Martin's Hike "C6 - Deer Park Road - Yolanda Trail." Head up the Deer Park Fire Road to Oak Tree Junction, then turn left (to the south) and hike uphill on the Six Points Trail. When you reach the Six Points junction, switch to Hike "C4 - Hidden Meadow - Yolanda Trail" and hike down the Yolanda South Trail to Phoenix Lake.

Using that same hike and map, follow Shaver Grade uphill, and while doing so, refer back to the C6 hike and map to follow the Grade to Five Corners. Continue straight down Deer Park Fire Road to Boy Scout Junction. Cross the fire road and take the Junction Trail back to its intersection with Deer Park Fire Road (just where you turned off onto Six Points Trail when you were headed toward the lake).

Click here for a printable map of the MMWD watershed which shows these trails.

Here's a Google Earth view looking from Deer Park over Bald Hill towards Phoenix Lake. We'll head from bottom to top and a little left of center in this picture to reach the lake, then turn right at the lake and go from top to bottom by starting up Fish Gulch (shown in purple lettering on the photo) and onto the Shaver Grade (shown in white lettering). Click on the photo to open a larger image in your Web browser.

 

College of Marin Spring Hike Registration Now Open!

Registration for the Spring 2013 College of Marin hikes opened on Monday, February 25th.

Here are the details for the Tuesday hikes:

Tuesday Winter 2013 Meandering in Marin  15099

7 Tuesdays, 9:45am–1:45pm

Mar. 26-May 14 (No class Apr. 9)

Fee $119

CRN# 35055 EC

A Day in the Life of a Fire Lookout

If you liked the raw footage of the Mt. Tam Fire Lookout, you'll love this short film made from it.

A Day in the Life of a Fire Lookout. from Gary Yost on Vimeo.

(Click here if the Vimeo video player does not appear in your Web browser or e-mail)

Upcoming Mt. Tam Fire Lookout Documentary

Here is some raw footage from a documentary being produced about the Mount Tam Fire Lookout.

(Click here if the YouTube video player does not appear in your Web browser or e-mail)

Indian Tree Open Space Hike (2/26) Preview

This week we head north and east to the Novato area to hike in the Indian Tree Open Space Preserve.
  

Here's Wendy's hike description:  "We hike a pretty loop trail with views and then lunch in a redwood grove. We should see early wildflowers like Bee Plant, Popcorn Flowers, and Mission Bells.  We'll also be listening for spring bird songs.  This hike is often muddy so waterproof your boots!"  (Click here to read the recap of our hike in this area on February 3, 2009).

Directions: Take Highway 101 north. Exit at San Marin Drive and go west. San Marin becomes Sutro Avenue after if crosses Novato Boulevard. Turn right (west) onto Vineyard Road. The trail starts where the paved road turns into a dirt road.

Time: 35 minutes from College of Marin. No restrooms at trailhead.

Carpoolers meet at 9:15 am at the Park & Ride lot on the east side of Highway 101 at Smith Ranch Road in the Terra Linda area north of the Marin Civic Center and downtown San Rafael.

Weather forecast: As of Wednesday, February 12, the National Weather Service forecast for Tuesday's hike was mostly sunny, with a high near 55. (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike: The Marin County Open Space District operates the preserve on a portion of this area (the North Marin Water District owns adjacent land) and its Web site provides a viewable/printable trail map and a list of the species of various critters we might encounter.

Barry Spitz's book, Open Spaces (Marin County Open Space District, 2000) describes the area and contains a map similar to that found on the MCOSD Web site. The "E9 Deer Camp - Big Trees Trails hike in the Martin's book, Hiking Marin, is much longer (7.2 miles) than the one we'll actually take, but shows the general area where we'll be hiking.

Monday Night Forecast for Tuesday's Steep Ravine Hike

The National Weather forecast as of 9:49 pm on Monday for Tuesday's Steep Ravine hike is slightly more favorable than it was earlier on Monday:

"Showers before 10am, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm between 10am and 4pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4pm. High near 50. Breezy, with a northwest wind 21 to 23 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%."

(Click here for the latest forecast.)

Weather Update: Steep Ravine (2/19) Hike

Here's the National Weather Service forecast during tomorrow's Steep Ravine hike for the area of Mt. Tam where we'll be hiking, as of 10:33 a.m. on Monday, February 18th:

"Rain and possibly a thunderstorm before 4pm, then a chance of rain and thunderstorms after 4pm. Some of the storms could produce small hail. High near 48. West northwest wind 11 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%."

This forecast should be more accurate than the one sent out via hike preview you received via e-mail last week.

(Click here for an updated forecast.)

Audubon Canyon Ranch Hike Photos Now Online!

Photos taken by Theresa Fisher during this week's Audubon Canyon Ranch hike on Mount Tam are now online!

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

Steep Ravine to Dipsea Trail Hike (2/19) Preview

On this favorite February hike we should see Giant Wake Robin, Redwood Evergreen Violets, Star Lilies, Smith’s Fairy Bells, Fetid Adder’s Tongue and Calypso Orchids! We’ll go up Steep Ravine since some of us find the ladder is easier to go up than down. Lunch at Pantoll.  (Click here for a recap of our 2010 hike).

Directions to the trailhead: Take the Stinson Beach/Highway 1 exit off Highway 101. Go through Tam Junction, stay on Route 1, and follow signs to Muir Beach. Pass the road that goes to Muir Beach staying on Route 1 (towards Stinson Beach), pass Slide Ranch, and keep going until you see the locked gate for the Steep Ravine cabins on the west (left) side of the road. There is parking is on the east (right) side of Highway 1.

Time: 1 hour 5 minutes from COM. No restrooms at trailhead, but you can turn in at Muir Beach en route and use the ones in the parking lot or the ones a bit farther north at the overlook on the left-hand side of the highway. 

Carpoolers can meet at the Greenbrae Park & Ride lot at 8:50 a.m.

Weather forecast: As of Thursday, February 14th, the forecast for the hike was a chance of showers and mostly cloudy, with a high near 48. (Click here for an updated forecast.)

More on this hike: If you have the Martins' book, Hiking Marin, look at their hike "B14 Dipsea - Steep Ravine Trails" which starts at Pantoll, goes down the Dipsea, up Steep Ravine, and ends back at Pantoll. Since we're beginning and ending our outing down on Highway 1, our hike will be slightly longer, but basically the reverse of the Martins' hike. (Page 6 of the Mt. Tam State Park brochure has a park map that you can "zoom in" on to see these trails). 

In The Swing at Audubon Canyon Ranch

Great weather for today's hike at Audubon Canyon Ranch meant it was a great time to take a break from hiking and just get in the swing of things.



(Click here if the YouTube video player screen doesn't appear in the e-mail of this post.)

Blithedale Canyon Hike Photos Now Online!

Photos taken by Theresa Fisher during last week's Blithedale Canyon hike on Mount Tam are now online!

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

Audubon Canyon Hike (2/12) Preview

Lucky us!  We have permission to hike in Audubon Canyon Ranch Bolinas Lagoon Preserve! This is beautiful habitat, not usually open to the public. We can hope to see the first Calypso Orchids, Suncups, Star Lillies, and Mission Bells.  (Note: Depending on the rains, there may be some stream crossings walking on logs.)  Click here for a recap of our 2011 hike. View photos from our past hikes at Audubon Canyon ranch in this online album).

Directions to trailhead:  

Coming from North or Central Marin: Take Sir Francis Drake Boulevard to Olema. Turn south (left) on Highway 1 and continue on for about 10 miles to Bolinas Lagoon. The preserve will be on the left approximately 1 mile further south. 

Carpoolers can meet at St. Rita's Church in Fairfax at 8:45 am.

Coming from Southern Marin: From Highway 101 take the Stinson Beach exit. Follow the signs and Highway 1 approximately 12 miles to Stinson Beach. Continue 3 1/2 miles north to the preserve gate on right hand side of the highway.

Time: 1 hour from College of Marin. Restrooms at trailhead.

Weather forecast: As of Tuesday, February 5th, the National Weather Service forecast for the hike was sunny, with a high near 59.  (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike: If you have the Martins' book, Hiking Marin, go to hike "F18 Griffin Loop - Bird Overlook Trails" for a map of trails within the preserve.

There are two major loop trails (probably about 3 miles long each) going uphill and down, and a shorter 0.8 mile loop nearer to the bottom of the hill.

On our 2009 hike we went up the Zumie's Loop Trail, then through Junction 2 on the Martin's map, and continued south to where the Griffin Loop and Bourne trails meet, descended the Griffin Loop trail to the bottom of the hill, and then looped back to the parking area.

Bootjack Hike Photos Now Online!

Photos taken by Theresa Fisher during this week's Bootjack Trail hike on Mount Tam are now online!

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