A New and Improved Steep Ravine Trail

Five of us (Wendy, her friend from Otto from Austria, Judy, Arthur, and Dick) correctly guessed that yesterday's heavy rain would stop before and not resume until well after the hike.

Tip: If the weather for a hike sounds like it might be wet and windy, go to the KTUV Channel 2 Website and check out the "FutureCast" which, unlike the National Weather Service Website, predicts cloud cover and rainfall hour by hour and may indicate that we'll be "high and dry" on the trail during the hike that day.

We five who managed to reach the trailhead (albeit 45 minutes late in Dick's case) despite the big traffic snafu on Highway 101 between San Rafael and Corte Madera and along Sir Francis Drake near the Greenbrae interchange discovered that it is now a bit easier to get up the Steep Ravine Trail to Pantoll.

A new bridge has replaced an older one that was wrecked by a falling tree during last December's storms.

(Alas, the other bridges that are missing boards or rotting away haven't been replaced yet.)

 The ladder that we have to ascend next to a waterfall looks to be brand new, too.

And downed trees that nearly blocked some sections of the trail have been removed.

Except for a bit of overcast during our lunch break, and some brisk winds as we crossed the meadows along the Dipsea trail, yesterday's weather was perfect for hiking in Steep Ravine, with a lot of sunshine.