Muir Beach: Good News, Bad News

In case you didn't read today's I-J story or missed hearing about it during today's Green Gulch Hike, there's both good news and bad news about Muir Beach for we Meanderers.

The bad news: The parking lot at Muir Beach (which is in the GGNRA) will be closed from sometime in mid-to-late June through November, and all restrooms and services provided by the National Park Service will be eliminated.

The good news: We only hike in that area as a group once each Spring, so we've "Been there, Done that" for 2013.

The bad news: If you want to get to the beach or trails out of Muir Beach from next month and into Fall, there won't be anywhere nearby to park. You'll have to hike in from a place like Tennessee Valley.

The good news: When Muir beach reopens after restoration work on Redwood Creek and Big Lagoon, and redesign of the parking lot, there will be as many parking spaces as before and brand-new toilets, and a new picnic area.
 

West Ridgecrest Hike Photos Now Online!

Photos taken by Theresa Fisher during last week's West Ridgecrest hike are now online!

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




Here's a slideshow version of Theresa's photos.


(Click here if the video player does not display)
And as a special bonus, here's a short video Theresa shot during the hike.


(Click here if the video player does not display)

Green Gulch Hike (4/30) Preview

Here’s Wendy’s description for next week's hike:  “Today we get to see the beautiful organic vegetable garden at the Zen Center’s Green Gulch Farms on our way up to the Coyote Ridge Trail. Lunch overlooking the ocean on our way back down to Muir Beach.”  (Click here for a recap or here for the on-line album of photos from a previous hike on these trails).

Directions to trailhead:  Take the Stinson Beach/Highway 1 exit off Highway 101. Go through Tam Junction, and take Shoreline Highway and follow signs to Muir Beach.

Restrooms at trailhead. Time: 55 minutes from COM.  Carpoolers can meet at the Greenbrae Park and Ride lot at 9:00 a.m.

Weather forecast: As of Friday, April 26,  the forecast for the day of the hike was sunny, with a high near 76.  (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike:  Although our actual route may vary, hike A10 (Coastal – Coyote Ridge – Green Gulch) in the Martins’ book, Hiking Marin, covers this area.  (Click here for more information on Green Gulch Farm).  The following Google Earth image shows where we will be hiking.

Mountain Play Centennial Celebration Kicks Off This Weekend

Each year, we Meanderers trek from Bootjack to the West Point Inn with a stop at the Mountain Theater to listen to Wendy talk about the history of the Mountain Play which has been staged there annually since 1913.

This year the Mountain Play celebrates its 100th anniversary with performances of The Sound of Music on weekends from May 19th through June 16th. (Click here to buy tickets.)

A special exhibit about the history of the play is at the Marin History Museum's "outpost" at 1025 Court Street in San Rafael, in the Courthouse Square area.



On Sunday, 4/28/2013 at 8:00 PM, Thursday, 5/2/2013 at 5:00 PM, and Sunday,
5/5/2013 at 7:00 PM, MarinTV's educational channel (Comcast Channel 30) will broadcast a 90 minute special presentation of a April 23rd event at which Mountain Play Executive Director Sara Pearson spoke and showed slides of the play's first 100 years. Mountain Play performers sang selections from past shows. Director Jay Manley discussed the upcoming production of The Sound of Music.

The Mountain Play will be feted by the Marin History Museum on Saturday, May 4th, from 12:00 - 3:00 pm at the Boyd Gate House & Boyd Memorial Park.

Historian and author Fred Runner will do an audio-visual presentation on the Mountain Play's centennial on Thursday, June 20 at noon in Room 330 of the Marin Civic Center.

Marin's Mountain Play: 100 Years of Theatre on Mount Tamalpais, written by Dick Jordan's friend, Elisabeth Ptak, is available at local bookstores including Book Passage and Point Reyes Books, where she gave readings earlier this month.

You can learn more about the history of the Mountain Play by watching videos on the Mountain Play's YouTube Channel.

Dick's Jordan "Making Book - The Book Launch" Now on YouTube

Dick Jordan's short documentary, "Making Book - The Book Launch," about Pat Bracewell's book, "Shadow on the Crown," which was filmed at Book Passage book store in Corte Madera, had its final airing on CMCM's MarinTv this morning. 

If you missed seeing it on-air, you can now watch it on YouTube: http://youtu.be/lbn5xjCh38I

"We Are Meanderers!" Video

Here's the short video clip Dick Jordan made today using the Vine video app on his iPhone.



(Click here if the YouTube video player doesn't display)

Seeing Seals By The Seashore

Here's a one-minute video Dick Jordan made with the "Ptch" iPhone app from video he shot near Chimney Rock last Friday of the release of Northern Elephant Seals by The Marine Mammal Center.



(Click here if you don't see the "Ptch" video player screen.)

West Ridgecrest Hike (4/23) Preview

This week we return again to West Marin.  On this hike (not a loop) we’ll explore a section of the Coastal Trail with views of Stinson Beach and Bolinas Lagoon. When Ridgecrest Boulevard opened as a toll road in the 1920s it was proclaimed California’s “Most Scenic Drive.” It’s even better hiking!  Clintonia could be in bloom by now!  (Click here for the recap of our 2010 hike.  Photos from past hikes are in this on-line album.)

Directions to trailhead:  THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO REACH THE TRAILHEAD:

1. Take the Fairfax Bolinas Road from Fairfax to Ridgecrest Boulevard. Park at the junction with the Fairfax-Bolinas Road. (About 1 hour driving time from the College of Marin; car poolers can meet at St. Rita’s by 9:00 am); OR
   
2. Take the Stinson Beach/Highway 1 exit off Highway 101.  Go west through Tam Valley and up onto the ridge. Turn right onto Panoramic Highway and follow signs to Mt. Tamalpais. Turn left at Rock Springs onto Ridgecrest Boulevard. Park on left at junction with the Fairfax-Bolinas Road.  (Driving time from College of Marin about 1 hour).

No restrooms at trailhead.

Weather forecast:  As of Thursday, April 18th, the National Weather Service forecast for the time of the hike was sunny, with a high near 75. Light north northwest wind. (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike:  This hike isn’t mentioned in any of Dick Jordan’s trail guides, but we’ll be hiking south on the Coastal Trail which parallels Ridgecrest Boulevard until we reach the junction with the McKennan Gulch Trail (which heads downhill to Bolinas Lagoon) and then we will retrace our steps back north.
 
(Click here and go to page 6 of the Mt. Tam State Park brochure for the park map; click on the percentage magnification box at the top of the page and increase to about 125%-150% to get a good view of the trail which runs just west of the road).

Mount Burdell Hike Photos Now Online!

Photos taken by Theresa Fisher during this week's Mount Burdell hike are now online!

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

New broadcast times, dates for Dick Jordan's TV Show

The broadcast dates/times for Dick Jordan's mini-documentary, "Making Book - The Book Launch," filmed during the February 7, 2013 book launch party at Book Passage for Pat Bracewell's book, "Shadow on the Crown," on MarinTV (Comcast Channel 26 in Marin County) have been changed.

You can watch it live on:

• Monday, April 15 at 6:30 pm (new date/time)
• Saturday, April 20 at 5:30 pm (as originally scheduled)
• Friday, April 26 at 8:30 am (new date and time). 

The Tuesday, April 16, 8:30 pm broadcast was rescheduled to April 15.

After the final broadcast, the film will be available for viewing on YouTube and the CMCM.tv Website. Here's the link to the the trailer, if you missed seeing it.

(Dick has been invited to be a guest on the weekend travel show broadcast by Portland, Oregon radio station KPAM.)

Meanderers Running Amok! (Updated)

Since Dick Jordan's Website is down (for the second day in a row), he made this "time lapse" video while twiddling his thumbs waiting for his own blog to go back online.



(Click here if the YouTube video player doesn't appear)   (Update: The "click here" link to YouTube was omitted in the original post)

Dick Jordan's First TV "Special" Set to Air

Dick Jordan's first TV special, "Making Book - The Book Launch," filmed during the February 7, 2013 book launch party at the Book Passage bookstore in Corte Madera, California for Pat Bracewell's book, "Shadow on the Crown," will air on MarinTV (Comcast Channel 26 in Marin) on Tuesday, 04/16/13 at 08:30 PM, and Saturday, 04/20/13, at 05:30 PM.

After the final broadcast, the film will be available for viewing on YouTube and the CMCM.tv Website (cmcm.tv) by those who missed the broadcast or don’t have access to Comcast’s cable channels in Marin.

Here's the film’s trailer:


(Click here if the YouTube video player doesn't appear)

Chimney Rock Hike Photos Now Online!

Photos taken by Theresa Fisher, Ted Rathbun, and Dick Jordan during last week's Chimney Rock hike are now online!

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

Here's a 6-second video Dick shot using the "Vine" app for iPhone.

(Click here if you can't see the video playing.)

NO HIKE, TUESDAY, APRIL 9

Just a reminder that there will be no hike this coming Tuesday, April 9th.

Our next scheduled hike is Tuesday, April 16th, at the Mount Burdell Open Space Preserve in Novato.

"Green Fire" Airing on PBS This Month!

Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time," the Emmy award-winning documentary that was screened at last month's Geography of Hope conference in Point Reyes Station, will air this month on Bay Area PBS stations. Here's the broadcast schedule:

• Tuesday, April 2 at 8pm on KCSM
• Wednesday, April 3 at 12:30pm on KCSM
• Saturday, April 13 at 4pm on KQED World
• Tuesday, April 16 at 8pm on KCSM
• Tuesday, April 30 at 10pm on KCSM

Here's the movie's trailer:

Indian Valley Open Space Hike Photos Now Online!

Photos taken by Theresa Fisher during last week's Indian Vally Open Space hike are now online!

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