A Hike For All Seasons (Bolinas Ridge 1/13/09)

When we last hiked along the Bolinas Ridge and down the Randall Trail, there was no doubt it was summer. The calendar said August 12th, and the thermometer registered in the 90's. Although this time around (in January) we might expect rainy, stormy weather, instead we got a dose of all four seasons.

Finding the meeting place (at the hike's end) for this trek is always challenging since it isn't well marked. Four of us rode over the hill from Fairfax together in a single car and when the scheduled meet time had come and gone, hopes of doing this shuttle hike began to wane and thoughts of a "Plan B" hike started to rattle around in our brains. But patience paid off, and one by one, seven more of our group arrived, delayed by a forced detour around road construction south near Bolinas, and a little confusion about where we were to rendezvous.

After sorting out the transportation logistics, eleven of us piled into three cars and set off on the twenty-minute drive south to Bolinas and then uphill to the crest of the Bolinas Ridge. While it had been comfortably warm down in the Olema Valley at 9:30 a.m., cold wind gusts at the trailhead prompted us to don more layers of clothing and to curtail our usual pre-hike "roundtable" discussion of the last week's activities so we could high-tail it down the trail, get our muscles working, and warm up.

In August, the many redwoods lining the Bolinas Ridge Fire Road shielded us from the blazingly hot sun; this time, the big trees blocked the strong easterly breeze that made for real "Winter" weather at the start of the hike. In the summer, we walked quickly on the exposed sections of the trail that winds through manzanita and other chaparral plants; this time we lingered on these stretches, soaking up the warmth of the sun. These treeless spots and clear skies gave us sweeping views to Bolinas and The Farralone Islands to the west, and San Francisco Bay and Mount Diablo to the east.

About an hour or so into the walk, Spring had sprung. Red Admiral Butterflies flitted and honeybees buzzed along the route and the temperature had climbed into the low 60's. By about twelve-thirty we'd hiked 3.4 miles, reaching the shady spot under the redwood trees where we'd enjoyed a leisurely lunch during our August hike, and the junction of the Bolinas Ridge road with the McCurdy Trail leading down to Dogtown. This time we decided to postpone our mid-day repast for a bit and continue on for another mile or so to where we'd eventually turn west and descend to the Olema Valley on the Randall Trail.

By the time we sat down to lunch a little after 1 pm, the wind had died out and we were having a "summer" picnic in the woods. A half hour later, we reluctantly packed up our gear and began the steep-at-times mile and a half stroll downhill to where we'd left some of our cars a few hours earlier.

In August, cows were "hiking" uphill past us as we neared the valley floor, but we didn't encounter any "bovine buddies" this time. About 2:15 pm we reached Highway 1 and the end of the hike. Some of us drove back to the trailhead to retrieve the cars we'd left there at the beginning of the trek, but four of us found a shady spot along the road and spent the next 45 minutes chatting, napping, and relaxing until our drivers returned from the trailhead to give us a lift home. By that time, temperatures were in the 70's, but the sun was sitting lower in the sky than in summer, casting longer shadows, and giving a "Fall" feeling to the scene.

All four seasons in a little over four hours. Not bad for a "Winter" outing.

Bolinas Ridge to Randall Trail Shutte Hike (January 13 Preview)

Note the early start time for this shuttle hike. Here's Wendy's description:

"We loved how green this was in the summer and there will be new things to see doing this as a winter hike. We’ll look for mushrooms and early wildflowers. Waterproof your hiking boots for the soggy sections! Slightly longer than usual at 5.3 miles, but lots of downhill. (Click here for a recap of our August 12th hike).

Directions to meeting place: We’ll meet on Route One at the bottom of Randall Trail which is about 3 miles north of Dogtown and about 3 miles south of Five Brooks at 9:20 am. Then we’ll carpool up the Bolinas-Fairfax Road to Ridgecrest Boulevard, hike along Bolinas Ridge Fire Road. and come down Randall Trail.

We’ll need some people who can go back to Fairfax via the Fairfax-Bolinas Road to drop people at their cars.

Weather forecast: The National Weather Service forecast for Tuesday at Olema is sunny, with a high near 64. (Click here for an updated forecast).

None of Dick Jordan's hiking books describe this hike, but you can find the Fairfax-Bolinas Road, Bolinas Ridge Fireroad, and the Randall Trail in the bottom right-hand section of the park map shown below in this post on the "Meandering" blog. (Use the plus-sign button under the drop-down arrow button to enlarge the map for easier reading):

Point Reyes Park Map - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: Point Reyes Park Map

(Click here to view and print a copy of the map. 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).

Starting Off The New Year On (The Right) Foot - Pine Mt. to Elliot Preserve Hike (January 6)

Weather-wise, we started off 2009 about the same as we ended 2008 --- on a cool, damp day, with temperatures well below 50 degrees at the outset with clouds and fog hanging over our heads during most of the hike. Six of us rendezvoused near the end of Cascade Canyon in Fairfax, left three cars behind, and drove up the Bolinas-Fairfax Road past the Meadowclub to where the road crests before diving down to Alpine Lake. There we met up with two more hardy souls and set off to the west up the Pine Mountain Road just before 10 am.

One advantage to the dense fog and limited visibility --- not being able to see very far ahead on the trail meant weren't faced (except by past experience) with the discouraging view of the fire road climbing rather steeply for a mile until it hits the junction with the Oat Hill Road coursing to the south. Unfortunately, this also meant that the sweeping panorama from White's Hill to Bolinas Ridge to Mt. Tam and back towards San Francisco Bay was non-existent.

After this first uphill slog, we took a little side trip and turned left on to Oat Hill and wandered about a mile down a muddy trail for a look at Little Carson Falls --- a nifty waterfall in a rocky cleft in the hillside. We retraced our steps back to Pine Mountain Road, then headed west again for another four-tenths of a mile before veering off to the northwest on the San Geronimo Ridge Road. About twenty minutes later we reached the junction with the Repack Road (called the Cascade Fire Road on the map in the Martins' book, Hiking Marin) and picked out some handy rocks to serve as "chairs" during our lunch break.

Up to this point, we'd been hiking mostly on fire roads that were more akin to creek beds --- lots of rocks to step around and over. But the Repack Road was smoothly graded and not too muddy, descending steeply here and there, but also running in long, flat stretches from hill to hill. A couple of hours after we began our descent into Cascade Canyon, we crossed the confluence of Cascade Creek and San Anselmo Creek. We then alternated between the wide path that crossed the dry bed of San Anselmo Creek in places, and the appropriately named "High Water Trail" that skirts the edge of the stream valley (allowing you to keep your feet dry when the creek is full of water). About a half hour earlier than expected we made it back to the end of Cascade Drive where we'd left our cars in the morning and stomped our boots on the pavement to knock off the accumulated mud, bringing a successful end to the first hike of 2009. (Click here to view and print Wendy's list of flora and fauna spotted on this hike).

(Pictures of this hike 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).

Winter College of Marin "Meandering" Sign-Up

Although Wendy will continue her "Winterim" hikes every Tuesday through January 20th, "Meandering in Marin" hikes run through the College of Marin program will begin again on Tuesday, January 27th (Sky Trail to "Z" Ranch hike in Point Reyes National Seashore) and continue every Tuesday through March 10th. (Monday hikes run January 26th through March 16th with no class on Presidents' Day, February 16th).

Click here to enroll on-line. To hike on Tuesday, sign up for course #15061 EC. (Monday's class is course #15060 EC). Cost for the series is $115.00. (Click here for the complete list of Tuesday hikes; if you want the list of Monday hikes, click here instead).