A Hot Time at Camp Taylor

Yesterday's hike in Samuel P. Taylor State Park (aka "Camp Taylor") gave us a bit of a respite from the 90-plus temperatures throughout Marin County yesterday.

 Although it was still warm (probably well over 80 degrees) on the shaded sections of the trails, particularly after lunch, the weather was mostly tolerable for hiking.

But there was one snag: A redwood tree that had fallen across the Pioneer Tree loop trail that left no good way to continue uphill.

Our choices were: 1) Crawl under it like a snake since there wasn't enough room to do so even on hands and knees: 2) walk around the uphill root end, impossible due to steepness of the bank; 3) try to sneak around the top without falling into the dry creek bed; 4) stepping on a smaller tree downed when the redwood fell and then traversing creeping or walking up the redwood until it was possible to do a butt-slide off it and onto the trail.



(Click here if YouTube player does not display) In the end, everyone managed to use Method #4 to get past this trail hazard and finish the pre-lunch hike.

Get Meandering Blog E-mail Updates!

While the "old" way of e-mailing you updates to the Meandering blog, including the weekly hike previews, was at least temporarily busted (Dick Jordan may have gotten Google to fix it), you can take action to make sure that those updates are sent to you by e-mail.

First, go to the blog, and then scroll down the right-hand side until you see the "Follow by Email" box. Enter your e-mail address and hit the "Submit" button.

You should then get an e-mail from Blogger or Feedburner asking you to confirm your subscription.  Be sure to confirm your subscription you won't receive the updates.

Several Meanderers have subscribed using this method. If you've done so recently and have been receiving bloh updates via e-mail, you need not subscribe again.

Any update to the Meandering blog will be e-mailed to you sometime between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on the day it was posted.

However, you may receive the e-mails much later in the day, depending on how your Internet Service Provider processes in-coming e-mails, and how often you check your e-mail inbox.

Hike previews are generally posted sometime between Wednesday and Sunday of the week before the hike.

If, as happens occasionally, Dick posts to the blog more than once on a single day, you should get a single e-mail with multiple blog posts included in it.

If Google resolves the problem with the old mailing list and you start receiving the updates twice, you should be able to "Unsubscribe" from the ones you've been receiving because you subscribed by entering your e-mail in the "Follow by Email" box on the blog.

Samuel P. Taylor State Park Hike (9/8) Preview

Here's Wendy's description of this hike: "Today we explore the redwood habitat, visit the Pioneer Tree which is over 500 years old, and learn some history of the area at the mill site. We’ll also see one of Marin’s few 'ghost trees,' a white redwood. We’re doing two separate loops, so you can leave your lunch in the car. We'll have a civilized lunch today with picnic tables and restrooms!"
 
(Click here for a recap of the hike we did on September 2, 2008).

Directions to trailhead: Take Sir Francis Drake Boulevard to the main entrance of Samuel P. Taylor State Park.

Click here for a map showing the park entrance and for driving times and directions from your location. Click on #2 to get driving time and directions from your location.

Parking fee: $8 unless you have a State Park Pass (or a day pass from the California State Parks Foundation).

35 minutes from College of Marin. Carpoolers can meet at St. Rita’s at 9:20 a.m.

Restrooms at trailhead and at lunch.

Weather forecast: As of Friday, September 4th, the National Weather Service forecast for Tuesday's hike was sunny, with a high near 85., although it could be somewhat cooler in places that are under the shade of the redwood trees. (Click here for an updated weather forecast.)

More on this hike:  Hikes "D7 Creek – Ox Trails History Loop" and D8 "Pioneer Tree – Barnabe Creek Trails" in the Martins’ book, Hiking Marin, show the area where we will be hiking.  (Click here to view and download the brochure for Samuel P. Taylor State Park; the trails are shown on page 4).

Fall 1 College of Marin Forms to Sign

If you had trouble opening and printing the College of Marin Assumption of Risk and Field Trip forms that Wendy sent via e-mail, you can open and print them by clicking on these links:

• Acknowledgment & Assumption of Potential Risk Form
• Field Trip/Excursion Form and Waiver/Release Notice (Page 1)
• Field Trip/Excursion Form and Waiver/Release Notice (Page 2)

Please print and complete these forms and bring them with you to the first session of the Fall 1 hikes that you attend.