East Peak Mt. Tam Hike (11/5) Preview

This week we hike in Mount Tamalpais State Park.

This lovely loop takes up be California torreya trees with their nutmeg-like nuts, past scenic Inspiration Point, to beautiful Colier Spring where we lunch under the redwoods. We'll take Northside Trail to International Trail after lunch.

Directions to trailhead:  Take the Stinson Beach/Highway 1 exit off Highway 101. Go west through Tam Valley and up onto the ridge.

Turn right onto Panoramic Highway and follow signs to Mt. Tamalpais. Keep going up the mountain, and when you get to Pantoll at the crest of Panoramic Highway (beyond Bootjack, where our hike to the Mountain Theater began), turn to the right and head uphill.

When you top out on this road, turn right and keep going until the road ends at the East Peak parking lot. (Parking costs $8/day unless you have a park pass). (Click here for a map of Mt. Tam that you can view and print out).

1 hour from College of Marin.  Carpoolers can meet at the Greenbrae Parking & Ride lot at 8:55 am. Restrooms at trailhead.

Weather forecast: As of Thursday, October 31, the National Weather forecast for the hike was sunny, with a high near 71. (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike:  Hike "B21 Northside - Colier – Lakeview Trails" in the Martins’ book, Hiking Marin, shows the trails we’ll be taking.  You can also view and the trails on page five of the Mount Tamalpais State Park brochure.

REVISED C.O.M. FALL 2 HIKE SCHEDULE

In case you didn't get Wendy's e-mail and haven't been hiking with us lately, the locations of our last Fall 1 ("Final Exam") hike and our first Fall 2 hike were switched, due to the federal government shutdown which prevented us from hiking at Tennessee Valley in the GGNRA on October 15th as originally scheduled.

So instead of doing our first Fall 2 hike at Devil's Gulch in Samuel P. Taylor State Park on October 29th, we'll be hiking in Tennessee Valley.

You can view and print out a revised list of the C.O.M. Fall 2 Hikes that reflects this change.

Tennessee Valley Hike (10/29) Preview

Because of the federal government shutdown, on October 15th we hiked at Devil's Gulch in Samuel P. Taylor State Park instead Tennessee Valley in the GGNRA.

Now that the U.S. National Parks have all re-opened, we'll head into the Marin Headlands and take "a loop [around Tennessee Valley which] features panoramic views of the Bay. We often see raptors here including Northern Harriers, American Kestrels, White-Tailed Kites, Red-Shouldered Hawks and Red-Tailed Hawks. When we're lucky we see bobcats!"

(Click here for a recap of our October 2008 hike. Here's an album of photos from past hikes in this area.).

Directions to trailhead: Take the Stinson Beach exit from Highway 101. Follow signs to Stinson Beach and Muir Woods, then turn left on Tennessee Valley Road and take it to the parking lot at the end.

40 minutes from College of Marin. Carpoolers can meet at the Greenbrae Park & Ride lot 9:15 am. Portable toilets at the trailhead.

Weather forecast: As of Friday, October 25, the National Weather Service forecast for the hike was partly sunny, with a high near 68.  (Click here for an updated forecast).

More information on this hike: Hike A8 Miwok – Coyote Ridge – Coastal Trails in the Martin's book, Hiking Marin, shows our route from Tennessee Valley towards Mill Valley, westward to ocean views, then back east to the parking lot.

Devil's Gulch Hike (10/15) Photos Now Online!

Photos taken by Theresa Fisher during last week's hike at Devil's Gulch in Samuel P. Taylor State Park are now online!

View them on the Meandering blog or click here for the on-line album.