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Point Reyes

Page history last edited by lmckeega@... 13 years, 9 months ago

Saturday, July 8, 2006, Point Reyes

 


Greetings from the

 

Red Leader,

Second Day Hike - Saturday, July 8, 2006

Our second day hike of the summer workshop was at the Point Reyes National Seashore. We hiked 10.6 miles from the Palomarin trailhead, to Five Brooks. For this hike Susan and I were joined by Jenine Wilson, Gigi and "Sticker" Henderson, Lupe Perez, her brother Carlos, and friend Jon Akre, Maria Tu, Ellen Chang, Clara Xue, and David Skove.

We met in the parking lot of the Deli Market at the intersection of Highway 1 and Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Olema. I was sure I would be late and drove briskly to get there before the 6:30 am departure time. As it was I was early, but not as early as Gigi, with a van load of Pleasant Hill hikers. Jenine and Lupe pulled in shortly and we were off to Five Brooks to leave shuttle cars. At Five Brooks we shuffled our gear into Gigi's van and my car. Then it was off, south on Highway 1, to Bolinas and the Palomarin trail head.

By 8:30, we had adjusted our compasses for the area declination and were off, up the Coast Trail. We stopped often to practice with map and compass. The hills and valleys along the coast provide an excellent place to practice map reading skills. At one point the trail has been re-routed around a slide area and we sketched in the detour on our maps. We passed Bass and Pelican Lakes, as well as several small ponds, identifying them on our maps.

 

When we reached the Alamere Falls trail we paused and discussed the advisability of "bushwhacking" down the poison oakie, un-maintained trail, to the falls. The vote was nay and we proceeded on to the junction with the Wildcat Lake loop trail, where we shucked off our packs and enjoyed a lunch break. Ellen was disappointed when she realized that we didn't serve champagne on every hike.

 



After we had eaten we continued on to the junction with the Old Out Road trail. Here we left the Coast trail and began our climb up the Inverness via the Old Out Road and Alemea trails. This is a good route to take to the ridge top. Most of the trail is in wooded terrain and the shade was welcome. At a pack break David asked us to guess the temperature. My guess was 80°. David's digital thermometer registered 72°. In another mile we crossed the Stewart Trail, short of Fir Top, and continued our climb on the Green Picker trail. We soon topped the ridge and began our descent to Five Brooks.

It was a tired and dusty group that milled about as we loaded the cars. Lupe drove Gigi and I to Palomarin to pick up our cars. We then returned to Five Brooks and headed north to Point Reyes Station, and the Station House Cafe. We had no cellular signal and so were not able to call ahead for reservations. Susan went in and asked how long a wait it would be for a party of 12. We decided that 40 minutes was more than our hungry tummies could deal with and opted for the Cafe Reyes. We had to sit at separate tables as pushing tables together was beyond the restaurant's capabilities. After dinner we said our goodbyes and headed home.

It was a lovely hike and we're sorry more of you couldn't make it.


Red Leader out

 

 

 

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