INDIAN VALLEY COLLEGE OPEN SPACE HIKE - APRIL 3, 2018

This coming week we head to Novato to hike near the Indian Valley campus of the College of Marin to kick off our series of Spring hikes.

Two loops combine to make an interesting hike. Tomcat Clover, Fiddleneck and Plectritis should be in bloom this week. We'll also see other wildflowers and early butterflies.

(Click here for a recap of our 2010 hike. You can view photos from past hikes by clicking here.)

Directions to trailhead: Take Highway 101 to the Ignacio Boulevard exit. Go west and follow Ignacio Boulevard into the Indian Valley College campus.

(Click here for a Google Maps map that shows an aerial view of the parking area. Click on the words "Indian Valley Preserve" to the right of the parking lot to get driving time and directions from your location.)

Our hike starts from parking lot #6 by the athletic field. (Click here to view and print a map of the campus).  

Bring singles or quarters (credit card may work, too) to get a ticket from the parking machines ($4/day; exact change if you are paying with cash vs. credit card). 25 minutes from College of Marin.

Carpoolers can meet at Smith Ranch Park & Ride lot at 9:15 a.m.

Restrooms at trailhead.

Weather forecast:  As of Friday, March 30th, the National Weather Service forecast for the hike was mostly sunny, with a high near 73. (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike:  Two hikes in the Martin's book, Hiking Marin, cover the area that we'll traverse: "E6 Indian Valley FR - Waterfall Trail" and "E7 Schwindt - Wildcat Trails".

You can also view and print  the map for the Marin County Open Space District's Indian Valley preserve. (Click here for more information about the Indian Valley Open Space Preserve.)

Here's the route we'll take and the hike profile.



The Google Earth photo below shows this area. (Click on the photo to open a larger image in your Web browser).

SPRING 2018 HIKING SCHEDULE

Tuesday Meandering in Marin      Spring 2018

Time: 9:45 – 1:45

Instructor: Wendy Dreskin

WHAT TO BRING: Water, lunch, warm layer, hat, sunscreen. Optional equipment: hiking poles, binoculars, camera. Walks go rain or shine, so wear raingear when appropriate.

April 3 INDIAN VALLEY COLLEGE OPEN SPACE.

     Two loops combine to make an interesting hike. Tomcat Clover, Fiddleneck, and Plectritis should be in bloom this week, and if we haven't heard the first Pacific slope flycatcher yet, we often hear it at IVC.

     Take 101 to the Ignacio Blvd. exit. Go west and follow Ignacio Blvd. into the campus. Our hike starts from the athletic field near the police station. Bring quarters to get a ticket from the parking machines.

     25 minutes from College of Marin. Restrooms at trailhead.

April 10 CHIMNEY ROCK, POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE

     This is one of Marin's must-see spring wildflower displays! We'll see elephant seals at the overlook and take time to learn about their history and return from the brink of extinction. We often see Pigeon Guillomots, Eared Grebes in breeding plumage, Common Loons, and Savannah Sparrows on this hike. Bring binoculars if you have them.

     Take Sir Francis Drake Blvd. At the junction with Pierce Point Rd, stay on Sir Francis Drake. Follow signs towards the Lighthouse and Drake’s Beach. You’ll pass the turn to Drake’s Beach on your left. Keep going until you see a left turn to Chimney Rock. (SFD continues on to end at the Lighthouse parking lot.)

     1 1/2 hours from College of Marin. Outhouse at trailhead.

April 17 MOUNT BURDELL OPEN SPACE

     We may see Cream Cups, Tidy Tips, Baby Stars, and Balloon Clover as well as seven or eight species of butterflies. This is the only spot where Bitterroot, the Montana state flower, grows in Marin. Lunch at Hidden Lake (which given the lack of rain I expect will be Hidden Puddle or non-existent).            

       Take 101 north and take the San Marin Drive exit. Go west on San Marin Drive. Turn right on San Andreas Drive. The entrance to the Open Space will be on your right. If you come to the dead end of San Andreas you've only gone about half a block too far.

       No lot but plenty of curbside parking. 30 minutes from College of Marin. No restrooms on this hike.

April 24 GREEN GULCH, GGNRA   NOTE CORRECTION: NOT DEER PARK TO PHOENIX

     Today we get to see the beautiful organic vegetable garden at the Zen Center’s Green Gulch Farms on our way up to the Coyote Ridge Trail. Lunch overlooking the ocean on our way back down to Muir Beach.

     Take the Stinson Beach/Hway 1 exit off Hway 101. Go through Tam Junction, and take Shoreline Highway and follow signs to Muir Beach. Restrooms at trailhead. Time: 55 minutes from COM.

May 1 WOLFE RIDGE. GGNRA

     Wildflowers and views! "First of spring" flowers for this hike usually include Cobweb Thistle and Bee Plant, and we sometimes see the amazing fairy moth hanging out by oceanspray.

       From 101 South, take the last exit before the Golden Gate Bridge. Turn right, go under the freeway, and get in the left turn lane to go through the one way tunnel with the 5 minute traffic light. Follow the road down past the Marine Mammal Center and park at the end of the road. (The beach will be on the other side of the road.) 40 minutes from COM.

May 8 KENT PUMP ROAD

     While I know we all like loops, I was so excited about osprey nests last spring when I took this hike that I decided to add it to our itinerary. Kent Lake is the largest of the MMWD reservoirs. The first Osprey nest was found at Kent Lake in 1967 when ospreys had been so decimated by DDT it was a big deal to see one. The first bald eagle nested there in 2008. In 2017 there were about eighteen active nests. We’ll hike as far as the first few nests.

       Take the Fairfax-Bolinas Road to the Alpine Dam. Parking is limited, so carpool if possible. Park when you see the dam ahead (first choice), or cross the dam and turn around so you can park on the other side and walk back across the dam.

     Time: 35 minutes from College of Marin. No restrooms at trailhead.

May 15 FINAL EXAM ROCK SPRING, MOUNT TAMALPAIS

We could see coral roots (a native orchid), meadow rue, and golden banners on this mostly shady loop hike.

Take the Mill Valley exit, East Blithedale. Turn left on Camino Alto (left turn only lane). Turn right on Miller Ave. Turn left on Montford. (The 2AM Club is the landmark.) Turn right on Molino. There is a yellow dividing line on the road you follow, so if in doubt "follow the yellow line road." Molino becomes Edgewood which become Sequoia Valley Road. At a big intersection turn right onto Panoramic Hway. At the intersection where the Pantoll Ranger Station is, turn right on Pantoll. (In other words, keep going uphill.) You'll come to an intersection with Ridgecrest Blvd. You'll be facing a dirt parking lot. This is Rock Spring. Park here

     Bring a plate and utensils, and food to share for the Gourmet Final!

     Driving time from College of Marin 55 minutes. Outhouse at trailhead and mid-way.

A Marin IJ article - Wendy is being inducted into the Marin Hall of Fame

Marin Hall of Fame women to be honored in San Rafael ceremony

Marin Women’s Hall of Fame Class of 2018 includes, top left to right, Cyane Dandridge and Jane Kramer; bottom left to right, Trisha Garlock, Patricia Arrigoni and Wendy Dreskin. (Photos by Linda Russell; Arrigoni by Carol Visalli) 

By Colleen Bidwill, Marin Independent Journal

POSTED: 03/24/18, 3:30 PM PDT | UPDATED: 6 HRS AGO

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While their work spans from environmentalism to conservation efforts to advocating for and working with children, these five women have one thing in common: they will be inducted into the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame this week.

The honorees are Cyane Dandridge, executive director of Strategic Energy Innovations; Wendy Dreskin, who spearheaded the Junior Botanist Program and Junior Bird Watcher program; Jane Kramer, the founder and executive director of Enriching Lives through Music; Trisha Garlock, co-founder of the Mill Valley schools foundation Kiddo, and Patricia Arrigoni, co-founder of the Marine Mammal Center.

The annual induction and celebration dinner is at 5 p.m. March 29 at the Peacock Gap Golf Club in San Rafael. 

Since 1987, more than 140 women have been named to the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame — a project of the YWCA San Francisco and Marin — for their work and accomplishments that shape the life, culture and landscape of the county.

As executive director of nonprofit Strategic Energy Innovations, Dandridge works to educate the public about climate change, support environmental stewardship projects and make affordable housing more energy-efficient. In 2011, she created the Marin School of Environmental Leadership to inspire and foster the next generation of environmental leaders.

For decades, Dreskin, a lifelong naturalist, has encouraged people of all ages to connect to and learn about the environment. The IJ hiking columnist spearheaded the Junior Botanist Program and Junior Bird Watcher program, which have reached thousands of Marin elementary school students, has led the College of Marin nature/hiking class Meandering in Marin since 1998 and teaches other classes to adults and children.

Kramer wants children to “compose their own lives.” She founded and is the executive director of Enriching Lives through Music, the full scholarship, multi-year, music program in the Canal neighborhood, which provides instruments, classes and performance opportunities to children.

Since Garlock co-founded Kiddo, the Mill Valley Schools Community Foundation, in 1982, the nonprofit has raised tens of millions of dollars for students to have access to art, music, drama, poetry, dance and physical education programs, as well as technology support, teacher grants, classroom and library aides. After serving as executive director of Kiddo for 32 years, she now is president of SchoolsRule-Marin.

Arrigoni is one of the founders of the Marine Mammal Center, a nonprofit veterinary research hospital and educational center, which since 1975 has rescued, rehabilitated and released marine mammals, as well as educated the public about environmentalism. She spends her time volunteering for various conservation organizations and spearheading local conservation efforts. She’s written multiple books including one about the center, “The Marine Mammal Center, How it all Began.”

REMINDER - NO HIKE THIS TUESDAY MARCH 27, 2018

Just a quick reminder that there will be no hike this coming Tuesday, March 27, 2018.

The next scheduled Tuesday hike is April 3rd at Indian Valley College Open Space. That will be the first hike of Spring 2018.