Uphill, Downhill at Samuel P. Taylor SP (September 2)

Eleven of us met up at Samuel P. Taylor State Park to kick off the first half of the Fall 2008 "Meandering in Marin" hikes. While it was quite cool in the shade during our "Intro" session in the parking lot, it wasn't long after we started the morning hike to the Pioneer Tree that the temperature rose, layers came off, and it was clear this was going to be another hot day in Marin. Fortunately, the elevation gain wasn't that much and we were walking under the shade of Bays and Redwoods nearly all of the time. After a quick stop for several of us to step inside of the burnt-out bottom section of the Pioneer Tree, we ambled down slope to the picnic area and enjoyed a leisurely lunch in the Redwood grove next to the parking area.

Following a "history lesson" from Wendy about Samuel P. Taylor and the evolution of the property from paper mill to state park, we reluctantly got off our duffs and did another loop hike up the Ox Trail and back along with Creek Trail (trees that had fallen across the trail twice forced us to detour back to the park road). After about a mile we reached the site of Taylor's mill, marked by a plaque on a rock, and an old chimney. A little after 2 pm we made it back to the parking lot, tossed our gear into our cars, said our good-byes, and headed for home (with one of us stopping for his usual summertime post-hike ice cream indulgence at the Fairfax Scoop).

Photos from this hike can be viewed in the "mini-slideshow" window on the blog or by clicking here to access the on-line Picasa Web Album.

Next week: Tomales Point, Point Reyes National Seashore

What We Saw at Samuel P. Taylor State Park (September 2nd)

Here's Wendy's list of flora and faunt we saw during our two loop hikes at Samuel P. Taylor State Park:

Trees: redwood (including albino on Ox Trail), Doulgas fir (cones with "mouse tails"), hazel (soft leaves), California torreya (sharp, pointed needles), big leaf maple (winged seeds are samaras), tan oak (toothed leaves), buckeye (5 leaflets), Oregon ash, and alders, willow, madrone (red peely bark).

Ferns: sword fern, bracken, chain fern (AKA Woodwardia), 5 finger-fern, wood fern (and curled up dry goldback ferns)

Other plants: huckleberry, elk clover (with black berries), honeysuckle (vine with red berries), native California blackberry (sometimes called bearberry, spines less vicious than non-native Armenian berry which has leaves in 5s), trail plant (arrow-shaped leaves point in different directions), redwood sorrel (three heart-shaped “clover-like” leaves though it’s not in the pea family as clover is), wood rose (saw bright red rose hips), vinca (AKA live forever, periwinkle; an invasive non-native), poison oak (same genus as cashew, mango, and Japanese laquer tree), umbrella sedges (triangular stems), blue-green rushes (round stems with no nodes), ocean spray (flowers dried up)

Arachnids: filmy dome spiders

Insects: young box elder bug (eats leaves of big leaf maple as well as box elder, same genus)

Butterflies: CA sister, CA ringlets

Galls: Coyote brush midge galls (on buds)

Birds: American robins, dark-eyed juncos, a quick fly-by of a belted kingfisher, Stellar’s jays (named for the German naturalist George Wilhelm Steller who accompanied Vitus Bering on the voyage to discover weather Alaska and Siberia were contiguous), Townsends warbler. Remember how no one is allowed to name a bird for himself? Well, John Kirk Townsend had discovered a new warbler (he thought), when he discovered Nuttall (the guy Nuttall’s woodpecker is named for) was about to write it up and name it for him. So he gave Nuttall’s manuscript priority and “thus, although he is recorded as its describer, Townsend cannot be charged with naming a bird in his own honor, even if he worked the law of priority a bit overti me.” Townsend's warblers are most commonly seen in October and early November as they move south from breeding grounds in Washington, coastal Canada, and SE Alaska. Some will winter in Marin and others will head as far south as Panama.

(Heard: acorn woodpecker, chestnut-backed chickadee)

(Click here if you want to view and print a copy of this list. If you have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer you can print the document. Once you see the document on the "Scribd" Web site, click on the "Download" icon and then on the "PDF" icon to open the document on your computer).

"Downhill" from Dogtown to Five Brooks (August 26th)

Ten of us rendezvoused at Five Brooks, then carpooled south on Highway 1 until we reached a spot opposite from where the McCurdy Trail drops down from the Bolinas Ridge to the highway. This "Final Exam" hike proved to be no "Easy A" --- we trudged "downhill" along the San Andreas Fault for nearly six miles from Dogtown to Five Brooks to earn our spot at the table for the "end of term" luncheon.

It was a warm day and we were mostly out in the open during the the first half of the trek. We saw "Condominium" spiders (apparently not affected by the downturn in housing prices), and a few butterflies as we tromped along. This trail is popular with the "horsey set" and we passed several riders headed in the opposite direction.

About halfway to Five Brooks we met the intersection with the Randall Trail (which we'd hiked down from Bolinas Ridge earlier in August) and began a long uphill climb and then a long descent to Five Brooks. It was a warm and dusty walk, but a nice, cool breeze through the trees at Bear Valley made for a pleasant lunch and we "graduated from summer school" with full stomachs.

Photos from this hike can be viewed on the blog or by clicking here.

Soups On!

Our warm summer weather is set to continue through the week, so here are three cool soups to serve on hot days. (Just click on the link to view and print the recipe):

• Summer Gazpacho with Garlic Croutons & Cumin Creme Fraiche (served by Dick at last week's "Final Exam" hike)
• Chilled Tomatillo-Tequila Soup (Dick has made this in the past; try to put most of the Tequila in the soup, not in the cook!)
• Cumin Carrot Soup with Cilantro Cream (good hot or chilled; a variation on the soup Dick served at last winter's "Final Exam"

Chill out! Summer's not over yet (even though we are going "back to school" tomorrow).