This week we move south and east of Point Reyes National Seashore to take one of our hikes in the GGNRA.
Slightly longer than usual at 7.2 miles, but lots of downhill with ripe huckleberries along the way. We usually find naturalized orchid Hellebore on this hike, and in 2013 the fog drip provided some surprise chanterelles. While Wendy can't promise those, lots of ripe huckleberries and some ripe salal berries are a pretty sure bet. (
Click here for a recap of our hike in August of 2008).
CALL WENDY AT 457-3949 OR EMAIL bdreskin@comcast.net if you are coming!Directions to trailhead: We’ll meet
at 9:20
on Highway 1 at the bottom of Randall Trail which is about 3 miles north of Dogtown and about 3 miles south of Five Brooks. (The Point Reyes National Seashore says to allow 15 minutes for the drive from the Bear Valley Visitor Center, and that it is just under 6 miles from the intersection of Highway 1 and Sir Francis Drake at Olema south to the Randall trailhead.)
Carpool leaves St. Rita at 8:40.
Click here for a Google Maps map that shows the Randall Trail trailhead. Click where the Randall Trail crosses Highway 1, and then click on the teardrop icon to get directions and driving time from your location.Park in one of the large dirt pullouts on either side of the road. The Park Service notes that the sign for the Randall Trail is aligned parallel to Highway 1 on the east side of the road and can easily be missed.
From the Randall trailhead we’ll carpool up the Bolinas-Fairfax Road to Ridgecrest Boulevard and hike along Bolinas Ridge Fire Road and then down the Randall Trail to Highway 1.
No restrooms at either the Randall Trail or Bolinas Ridge trailheads. Stop at the Bear Valley Visitor Center or at Five Brooks if you need to “use the facilities.”
Driving time from the College of Marin is about 40 minutes. Carpool leaves St. Rita's at 8:40 a.m.
Weather forecast: As of Saturday, July 14th, the National Weather Service forecast for the hike was patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 74. (
Click here for an updated forecast).
More on this hike: None of Dick Jordan's hiking books describe this hike, but you can find the Fairfax-Bolinas Road, Bolinas Ridge Fire Road, and the Randall Trail in the bottom right-hand section of the Point Reyes National Seashore park map shown below.
Click here to view and print a copy of the map. Use the plus-sign button under the drop-down arrow button to enlarge the map for easier reading If you have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer you can print the document. Once you see the document on the "Google Docs" Web site, click on the "Actions" down arrow and then on "Download" to download the document to your computer).
This week we head through Inverness to hike on the ocean side of the Point Reyes National Seashore. Here's Wendy's description for this hike: "A beautiful but soggy (in places) walk timed to see the Coast Lilly blooming in its only site in Marin!