A Glorious Day on The Coast (Muddy Hollow, December 9th)

Jack Frost visited most of our pumpkins during the week hours before this hike, and it was just above freezing as we drove from Lagunitas through Samuel P. Taylor State Park on our way out to Point Reyes. But when we reached the Muddy Hollow trailhead, the temperature was a balmy 52 degrees. Ten of us (about half who made the "Final Exam" hike --- now we now that it's not about hiking, it all about food!) showed up for this trek. After our pre-hike confab about the past week's events, we headed north under sunny skies (past the "Gnarly Tree") and up the Muddy Hollow Road for a little over two miles --- a far cry from the outset of our July 22nd hike when the fog dripped on us like a leaky faucet.

We then turned west on to the Glenbrook trail which, from the map, looks like a long haul across a broad mesa-like land formation, but in truth, just wanders toward the sea for less than a mile. Dick thinks he saw only one of the many bright yellow American Goldfinches we spotted here back in the summer, and the Wood Nymphs we'd seen fluttering by in July were long, long gone. Although the hawks, songbirds, and butterflies had fled, we saw two herds of Tule Elk along this stretch of the hike.

Shortly after noon, and after we had started off on the in-aptly named Estero Trail (which in July took us down to Limantour Beach, but now has been re-routed back to the Muddy Hollow trailhead), we took our lunch break at a spot overlooking the Limantour Estero and the ocean. The skies were so clear to the west, that we could make out both the South and North Farallone Islands.

Off-shore winds had turned the late morning into shirt-sleeve hiking weather, but the wind began to shift, and a breeze off the ocean cooled things down a bit preventing us from lapsing into a post-prandial lethargy as we turned eastward towards our starting point.

We crossed the creek feeding into the Estero, but the water level was higher than in July and we did not have the good fortune to spot either of the two Clapper Rails that he had seen here in the summer. (After we headed uphill from the creek, Dick and Neil saw a small bird with black and yellow markings, possibly a Goldfinch, and a larger, brownish speckled bird, maybe an Accipiter, sitting near each other on the top of a pine tree, but too far away to be easily identified. Click here for Wendy's list of critters and plants we saw on this hike).

The slow climb up from the creek brought us into a young, dense forest of tent-pole sized Bishop Pines creating a "tunnel" through which the path took us back to Muddy Hollow. A long, cork-screw descent eventually brought us back to our cars by about 2 pm. This turned out to be one of our longer treks --- 7.o miles exactly per the park map, and comparable in length to the Sky Trail to Bear Valley hike we did in mid-July and are scheduled to repeat on January 20, 2009.

Muddy Hollow (December 9) Hike Preview

A "rain delay" (no rain falling) has washed out our planned December 9th "salmon walk" with SPAWN naturalist, Megan Isadore; hopefully, wet weather will return during the last half of December and we can reschedule that outing for early January. (The complete list of "Winterim" hikes has now been revised and is available by clicking here or going to the blog).
So instead, Wendy will lead a hike from the Muddy Hollow Trailhead in Point Reyes National Seashore. Here's her description of the hike: "This trail has been redone and the pond removed to create more wetlands. We’ll check out the new trail which allows us to do this as a loop instead of a shuttle. Great views and, we hope, some birds! Unlike College of Marin – heavy rain cancels. In case of questionable weather, check your email after 7:30 AM. If you don’t have email I’ll phone you." (Tuition for this day hike: $17).

Directions to trailhead: Take Sir Francis Drake Boulevard west to Olema. Turn right on Route 1, then make an immediate left onto Bear Valley Road. Continue past Park Headquarters (turn in if you need a restroom) and go left on Limantour Road. When you see a paved road to the Hostel on the left, turn right on the dirt road to Muddy Hollow parking lot. 55 minutes from College of Marin. (Click here to print out the description and trailhead directions for this hike).

Weather forecast: As of Wednesday, December 3, the National Weather Service forecast for Tuesday the 9th was for sunny skies with a high of 57. (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike: The Martins' book, Hiking Marin, shows the following area between Muddy Hollow and Limantour beach. As Wendy notes, the National Park Service has made changes to the trail (click here for an NPS map of this area of the seashore which may or may not be up to date), so our route may differ from the one shown below:

Muddy Hollow to Limantour Beach Hike and Map

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(Click here to view and print out a complete description of the hike and map from Martins' book. 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).

The complete list of "Winterim" hikes has now been revised

Another Fine Day of Hiking (Lake Lagunitias, December 2nd)

Monday's dreary damp fog completely dissipated long before we reached the trailhead, and we had a glorious sunny day with temperatures in the mid-60's to hike around Lake Lagunitas in the hills above Fairfax. Although waterfowl were not as abundant as can be on the lake, the recent rain seems to have caused an explosion in both the mushroom and newt populations in this area as we saw several species of each during the walk. (Click here to view Wendy's list of flora and fauna spotted on this hike.)

The easy part came first with a stroll around the southern edge of Lake Lagunitas. After crossing the dry East Fork of Lagunitas Creek with a stop for newt spotting, we continued east, climbing steeply out of the lake basin on the Lakeview Road, took a break at the crest of the road to catch our breath and remove a layer of clothing, then headed downhill, turning north at the junction of Eldridge Grade (which ascends to the East Peak of Mount Tam) and the Filter Plant Road (aka Southern Marin Line Road). Along this section of the route we were rewarded with sweeping views to the hills around Fairfax and off to east towards the Bay.

All of this downhill moseying meant, of course, that eventually we'd be forced to climb upwards again to regain the elevation we'd lost, hike past the MMWD filter plant, and return to the parking lot so we could "take" our "Final Exam." There was enough food to feed a small army, so even with a fairly large turnout for this hike, we still didn't manage to scarf up all of the culinary goodies that we'd brought to share at our potluck luncheon.

(Pictures of this hike shot by Theresa Fisher and Dick Jordan are now on-line. You can view them in the mini-slideshow window in the "Meandering In Marin On Tuesdays" blog, or by clicking here to go directly to the Picasa Web album of photos from the latest hike).

Soup du Jour (December 2nd "Final Exam")

The soup Dick Jordan served at today's "Final Exam" was a variation on the New Your Times recipe "Pumpkin or Winter Squash Soup." (Click here to view and print the recipe). Dick made a double batch using a two-to-one combination of Sugar Pie Pumpkin and Butternut Squash, fresh sage (rosemary was used in making the croutons), vegetable stock (chicken stock would probably make a richer soup), and a little less cream than the recipe calls for. To make the flavors a bit more complex, he also added ground curry and cumin to taste. The soup can be served chilled or hot.

The croutons were made from a ciabatta-style bread cut into pieces, tossed with olive oil, chopped fresh rosemary, salt and pepper, spread in a single layer on a sheet pan and toasted at 375 degrees in the oven until slightly browned and crisped (about 15 minutes).