Samuel P. Taylor Hike (September 2) Preview

Here's how Wendy says we'll kick off the Fall 2008 "Meandering" hikes: "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."

Directions: Take Sir Francis Drake Blvd. to the main entrance of Samuel P. Taylor State Park. 35 minutes from COM. Restrooms at trailhead and at lunch.

Enjoy the cool weather today (Sunday). The National Weather Service is forecast more hot weather for Marin beginning on Monday (Labor Day) and continuing through Thursday. Tuesday's forecast for Forest Knolls, just east of the park, is sunny, with a high near 95, and west northwest wind between 5 and 11 mph. (Click here for a updated forecast). Hopefully, we'll have a lot of shade on these walks.

Martins' book, Hiking Marin, shows the hike to the Pioneer Tree and the trails on both sides of the park:

SP Taylor Pioneer Tree Hike and Map - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: SP Taylor Pioneer Tree Hike and Map

(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).

What We Saw on The Dogtown to Five Brooks Hike (August 26)

Here's the list of plants, birds, and bugs spotted on our hike "downhill" from Dogtown to Five Brooks on the Olema Valley trail:

FLOWERS

White: YAMPAH

Purple: giant coastal hedge nettle

Orange: poppies, Crocosmia (not native)

BUTTERFLIES:

Satyr comma (aka satyr anglewings, host plant stinging nettles), buckeye (not netted, one host plant is English plantain), California ringlets, Mylitta crescents (host plant thistles, not netted)

TREES

Bay trees have bay nuts, BOX ELDER (aka ashleaf maple) which is common in the eastern half of the US from Texas to Canada, hazel with catkins, red alder (same family at birch, different genus), English hawthorn with berries

MISC PLANTS

Native blackberry, Armenian blackberry, stinging nettles, horsetails, huckleberries, thimbleberry leaves (no berries), blue elderberry

FERNS

Chain, lady, bracken

SPIDERS

Condominium spiders (aka labyrinth spiders), one with Multi-color Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis) in web

BIRDS

Heard: wrentit, osprey

Saw: winter wren, scrub jays, CA quail, chestnut-back chickadee, song sparrow (only seen by Karen)

(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).

Olema Valley "Final Exam" Shuttle Hike (August 26) Preview

"Summer school" comes to an end Tuesday when we'll be forced to hike miles, and miles before we're allowed to have lunch. This time we'll be starting at the southern end of the Olema Valley and hiking north to Five Brooks. Here's Wendy's description of the hike and directions to the trailhead:

Meet at Five Brooks and we’ll carpool to the bottom of the McCurdy trail near Dogtown. We’ll hike 5.5 miles back to Five Brooks on the Olema Valley trail. Mostly level, less than 500’ elevation gain. SHUTTLE HIKE, so please call or email if you want to do it. Bring a snack as lunch will be on the late side. We’ll head over to Bear Valley to enjoy our gourmet feast.

Meet at St. Rita’s at 8:50 to carpool.

As of Sunday evening, the National Weather Service forecast for Olema on Tuesday is for sunny skies with a high near 71 and northwest winds between 9 and 14 mph. (However, it looks like we're in an overall warming trend this week, so don't be surprised if the temperatures are a bit higher than predicted. As usual when heading toward the coast, bring a warm top and jacket in case the fog rolls in and stays in, but expect to sweat if it doesn't! Click here for an updated forecast).

Here's how the Martin's book, Hiking Marin, describes this hike:

Olema Valley Hike and Map - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: Olema Valley Hike and Map

(Click here to view and print the hike description and 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).

Up High and Down Low on the Muir Woods Hike (August 19)

It looked like this might turn out to be a chilly day hike since the fog was low and dripping so hard that it was nearly raining during the drive from Tam Junction over the hill and down into Muir Woods. Fleece and jackets were donned during our pre-hike "confab" in the parking lot. But once we started hiking up the nearly vertical Dipsea Trail, layers were being peeled off as perspiration replaced the foggy air as a major source of dampness and the nearly 100% humidity made for a warm trek.

As we climbed towards the ridgeline, we passed first through a forest of bay trees and ferns, then into the open chaparral (with lots of large spider webs flecked with dew-drops), through Douglas firs taking over from the Coyote Bush, through darker groves of Redwoods, and back into a forest of firs. We reached the junction of the Dipsea and Ben Johnson trails after about an hour and a half and took advantage of this relatively level spot for an earlier-than-usual-when-hiking-with-Wendy lunch break.

It was all downhill after lunch as we descended switchbacks on the Ben Johnson leading steeply into Muir Woods National Monument. After about an hour we began to encounter a few tourists, then more, and then many as we reached Redwood Creek at the bottom of the trail. We covered the four miles of this route in about 3 and half hours, arriving back at our cars a little earlier than expected. While the parking lot had been nearly empty (except for our vehicles) at the beginning of the hike, it we nearly overflowing with visitors hunting for a place to park by the time we pulled out and headed for home (or for two of us, to the "Bella Ciao" gelateria in the Corte Madera Town Center).

Pictures from the hike can be viewed on the "Meandering" blog or by clicking here.

Next week: Our "summer quarter" ends with the "Final Exam" hike from Dogtown to Five Brooks on the Olema Valley trail.