Mount Burdell Open Space (4/5) Hike Preview

This week we head to the Novato area to hike on Mount Burdell.

Here's Wendy's description of the hike: "This loop takes us by Hidden Lake, which hopefully will have water from these later rains. We may see Cream Cups, Tidy Tips, Baby Stars, and Balloon Clover as well as seven or eight species of butterflies. This is the only spot where Bitterroot, the Montana state flower, grows in Marin."  (Click here for a recap of our 2009 hike. Click here for an album of photos from past hikes.)

Directions to trailhead: Take Highway 101 north and take the San Marin Drive exit. Go west on San Marin Drive. Turn right on San Andreas Drive. The entrance to the Open Space will be on your right.

If you come to the dead end of San Andreas you've only gone about half a block too far. No lot, but plenty of curbside parking.

Click here for a MapQuest map showing the trailhead location. Click on #1 to get driving time and directions from your location.

30 minutes from College of Marin.

Carpoolers can 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. Click here for a MapQuest map showing the location of the lot. Click on #1 to get driving time and directions from your location.

No restrooms on this hike, but you can use the one at the Starbuck's in the shopping center at the intersection of San Marin Drive and San Andreas Drive, just down the street from the trailhead. (Click here to get a MapQuest map and driving directions.)

Weather forecast: As of Wednesday, March 30th, the National Weather Service forecast for the day of the hike was mostly sunny, with a high near 70. (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike: Hike "E13 Old Quarry Trail to Mt. Burdell" in the Martin's book, Hiking Marin, shows the general area that we'll be hiking in, although we'll probably turn left at intersection #2 and head directly to Hidden Lake rather than climb all of the way to the summit of the mountain as shown on the Martin's map.

Click here for a Mount Burdell Open Space Preserve map from the Marin County Open Space District's Web site.

Here's the vertical profile and route for the hike.

The Google Earth image below shows where we'll be hiking. (Click on the photo to open a larger image in your Web browser).

A Picture Perfect Hike - West Ridgecrest

It was a "Goldilocks" day hiking below and along West Ridgecrest on Mount Tam today.

Not too cold.

Not too warm.

Just right.

And for Wendy, it was a "Then and Now" moment as we had our lunch in the very spot where she and Bill where married in June of 1974.

West Ridgecrest Hike (3/29) Preview

We kick off our Spring series of Meanders on this hike (not a loop) when 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!

(Click here for the recap of our 2010 hike.  Photos from past hikes are in this on-line album.)

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

1. From Central Marin: 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; carpoolers can meet at St. Rita’s at 9:00 am).
2. From Southern Marin: 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).
3. From Novato:  Take the Fairfax-Bolinas Road out of Fairfax (about 1 hour and 17 minutes), or go through Tam Valley (about 1 hour and 6 minutes), or go to Point Reyes Station and head south on Highway 1 until you reach the right-hand turn to Bolinas but turn left there instead and head uphill to the junction of Ridgecrest Boulevard and the Fairfax Bolinas Road (about 1 hour and 14 minutes).

(Click here for a MapQuest which shows the trailhead as #1 and which can provide you with driving directions and time from your location.)

Restrooms:

1. No restrooms at trailhead. 
2. If you are coming through Fairfax, take a detour left off the Bolinas-Fairfax Road before it heads uphill and use the restrooms at Deer Park School. 
3. If you are going through Tam Valley, you can use the restrooms at Bootjack or Pantoll, or the porta-porty at Rock Spring. 
4. Driving through Point Reyes Station toward Bolinas, use the public restrooms on Mesa Road in Point Reyes Station or the port-potty at Five Brooks between Olema and Bolinas.

Weather forecast: As of Thursday, March 24th, the National Weather Service forecast for the time of the hike was mostly sunny, with a high near 57. (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).



Here's the hike profile.

This Google Earth image provides a bird's eye view of the route we'll take.

MARCH 22ND - NO HIKE

Just a reminder that there is no hike on Tuesday, March 22nd.

The next hike, and the first of the Spring College of Marin session, will be on March 29th when we hike along West Ridgecrest in Mount Tamalpais State Park.

Water Over The Dam

If you're thinking March is shaping up to look a lot like January (rain, more rain, more rain yet) you'd be right.

Fortunately for us, the rain held off for our "Final Exam" potluck luncheon at the Lake Lagunitas picnic area on Tuesday.

But as we discovered while enjoying that repast, water is flowing in a torrent over the spillway of the dam on that lake.



(Click here if the YouTube player does not display)
And when we "circumnavigated" adjacent Bon Tempe Lake, we saw a steady flow over the dam and down into Alpine Lake.

Guidebooks To Day Hikes Outside of Marin

Looking to hike outside of our homebase in Marin?

Robert Stone, one of Dick Jordan's travel writing colleagues who is a member of the non-profit professional association, Bay Area Travel Writers, has just authored Day Hikes Around Sonoma County: 125 Great Hikes.

The guidebook is available in both paperback and Kindle e-book versions. 

It is just one of several such hiking guidebooks that Stone has written. Others cover day hikes in locations such as Southern California, the Central California Coast, Montana and Wyoming.

All are available from Amazon.com (which will pay Dick Jordan an itsy-bitsy commission if you purchase them, or anything else under the sun that Amazon sells, through the links on this page). You can also purchase them from independent bookstores, such as Book Passage.

Bon Tempe/Lagunitas Lakes "Final Exam" Hike (3/8) Preview

This is a lovely, level lakeside loop! We could see Ring-necked Ducks, Common Mergansers, American Widgeons, Ruddy Ducks, Buffleheads, and more. This could also be the week for our first Acmon Blue butterfly!

(Click here for a recap of our 2010 hike. There's also an album of photos taken on past hikes.)

Remember to bring your contribution to our gourmet feast, a plate, cup, and utensils.  (We'll have lunch at Wendy's home in San Anselmo if rain makes it impossible to use the group picnic area at Lake Lagunitas.)

Directions to trailhead: Take Sir Francis Drake Boulevard into Fairfax. Jog left and make an immediate right in front of the movie theater.

The first left puts you on Bolinas Avenue. Follow this until you see the sign on your left for Lake Bon Tempe and Lake Lagunitas.

(Click here for the MMWD map and directions. Or click here for a MapQuest map showing the trailhead location; click on the number "1" to get driving directions and estimated travel time from your location). 

Unless you have an MMWD pass, continue past the old toll booth, pull over at the parking area on the right and pay the day use fee, and then continue driving until you reach the end of the road.
 
The day use fee is $8.  You can use a credit card, $1, $5, or $10 bills (but not coins or $20 bills) at the automated pay station.

Annual watershed area parking passes for Marin residents are $60 ($30 for those 62 and older). You can buy them online or at the MMWD main office in Corte Madera.

Time: 30 minutes from College of Marin. Outhouse in parking lot; portables en route

Carpoolers can meet at St. Rita's Church at 9:20 a.m. (Click here for a MapQuest map showing St. Rita's and directions and estimated driving time to the trailhead.)

We’ll have lunch at the picnic area at Lake Lagunitas so you don’t need to carry the food for the potluck.

Weather forecast:  As of Tuesday, March 1st the National Weather Service forecast for the hike was a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 60. Breezy. (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike: Hike "C13 Bon Tempe Lake Trail" in the Martins' book, Hiking Marin, shows the general area where we will be hiking. However, we'll start and end at trail junction #2 on their map, rather than at Bon Tempe dam. (Click here for an MMWD map that shows this area).

This hike is a little shorter than average at about 3.7 miles, without a great deal of elevation change.

The Google Earth image below shows both lakes in a view looking back towards Fairfax. (Click on the photo to open a larger image in your Web browser).