I awoke shortly after 6a as night was grudgingly about to give way to day,
and started the van to warm the inside, sitting in the back to dress and eat
breakfast as I've done on countless occasions. This time, however, I wasn't out
in the Mojave Desert or a lonely stretch of a remote highway but in a San Rafael
suburban neighborhood. A car drove by slowly, turned around at the cul-de-sac
and then seemed to drive away except that I saw it park on the adjacent street
behind me. A man got out with a flashlight to note my license plate. I figured
I was dealing with a concerned neighborhood vigilante and ought to help him
chill a bit. When he walked up to the van I opened the side door and cheerily
said hello. He looked at me a little askance, lifting the corner of his shirt
to reveal a 7-sided badge and a holstered gun, "San Rafael Police." I
smiled and replied, "You don't
look like a police officer," thinking he
seemed more like a George Zimmerman-type. "No?" he asked, somewhat
incredulously. I continued, "No, you look like the guy that just got out of
that Taurus that drove by and parked around the corner." He then went on to
explain that when he saw a car running with all the lights off inside, he
wondered what a guy from San Jose was doing in the neighborhood. That he knew
where I was from tipped me off that he probably
was police material. We
had more discussion while I handed over my driver's license, all of it
cordial, and in the end he informed me that sleeping in my car is against San
Rafael City ordinance and thanked me for my cooperation.
Peak 650ft
I had been in the neighborhood to hike in the nearby Sorich Ranch Park whose
unnamed highpoint was a short 10min from off Ridgewood Dr. I was
out hiking shortly before 7a, lighting up a few minutes later
in a spectacular sunrise that faded in only a few minutes. The rest of the day
would be heavily overcast, portending of the coming rain later in the day and
diminishing summit views. In less than twenty minutes I had paid a short visit
to the large oak found at and to the TH.
There is actually a good deal more to this park on the south slopes of the peak,
but that was all I was interested in for the time being.
Mt. Tamalpais Watershed
There are three summits in the watershed north of Mt. Tamalpais itself that I
had noted some days earlier. The shortest route to them would start at the
Lake Lagunitas parking area. In looking over maps the night before, I found
another starting location at Phoenix Lake Park to the east that would allow me
to tag Bald Hill in addition to the other three in a moderately long, 13-mile
outing. It was a shorter drive to reach from San Rafael and would avoid
the $8 day use fee to park at Lake Lagunitas. Many of the trails throughout
the watershed pass through second-growth redwood forests, a pretty and often
quiet walk in the woods. Though spacious, the Phoenix Lake parking lot was
nearly full when I arrived around 7:45a, evidently quite popular with early
morning joggers out for a workout before heading to work. I started on
, going past and around the north side
of the lake, soon forking off on the Worn Spring Rd which I had intended to
take to the summit of Bald Hill, my first stop. However, I was only 100yds up
this second road when I noted the Yolanda Trail forking to the left. I
didn't have a map with me but guessed it might be a more scenic route to the top
and decided to take it and find out. It
is a nice trail, but doesn't
go to the top. After climbing an initial hill, it traverses around the hill's
, joining with other trails along the way. I followed
the trail for about a mile through lovely oak forest before noting a use trail
rising steeply to the right. This trail
did rise to the summit, climbing
up grassy slopes peppered with lichen-covered rocks that made for
before it eventually went over to join
with the Worn Spring Rd. I reached the , true to its name,
not long after 8:30a.
After taking in the muted summit views, I descended back down the use trail to
the Yolanda Trail and continued north to a 5-way junction, some of the trail
options having been visible on my descent from Bald Hill. I then took the
down and eventually to
another multi-trail
junction at Fish Gulch, west of Phoenix Lake. Two of the options, the Eldridge
Grade Rd and Fish Gulch Trail were closed due to slides, but the Fish Gulch
Rd leading up to the Lake Lagunitas parking lot was open, thankfully. Upon
reaching the parking lot I took another series of trails to of
Pilot Knob, overlooking . Like Bald Hill, Pilot Knob is
a rounded, grassy hilltop open to views throughout the Tamalpais watershed. On
my way back down I had to jump aside to keep from stepping on a small
in the trail. A created by 3rd graders I saw
later warned of such newts
on the trail during the wet season. I would see more of them during the day,
but they blend in so well with the ground and move so slowly that it is hard
to avoid them.
Back at , I headed west on Rock Springs Rd for the other
two summits. The fire road climbs about 600ft in a mile. At Rocky Ridge it forks
before climbing higher still, but I had turned right onto the
. Rocky Ridge is the long north ridge of West Peak, the
highpoint of Mt. Tamalpais and Marin County. LoJ has identified a local
highpoint lower on the ridge as "Rocky Ridge", but it hardly counts as a summit.
seems to be amongst a clump of trees at the largest of
three, similar closed contours. Not very interesting, this one. Just south of
the highpoint is a junction with the single-track which
can be followed southwest across the drainage to the
adjacent ridgeline where Serpentine Point is located. The trail goes by
, a small, swampy
thing that probably only holds water in the rainy season. Just past the lake,
the trail T-bones into the Kent Trail which runs down the ridgeline to Alpine
Lake. I turned left to follow it uphill to ,
another nebulous summit with a poor claim to the title. I discovered a shortcut
back to Rocky Ridge in the way of whose signs have been
removed but is still quite serviceable. It seems to have been replaced by the
maintained Stocking Trail I took earlier and does not show up on the park maps.
It took an hour to return from Serpentine Point to , back
by way of and . Utility
was going on near the lake, two
technicians struggling to winch a cable back up onto a tree anchor from which
it had been liberated during the recent storms.
Ross Hill
Finishing up at Phoenix Lake by 12:30p, I had time for some drive-ups
before heading home. Ross Hill is only a quarter mile from the Phoenix Lake
parking lot, but it took almost 4mi of driving to reach the summit area at
the end of Goodhill Rd. The road ends at a couple of
in this exclusive
neighborhood with no room to turn around. Just down from the gates are some
steps that you can climb to the fence around a water tank. Not quite the
highpoint (which is on the property just south of the water tank), but as good
as it gets without getting creepy or being a good friend of the folks that
live there.
Moore Hill
A mile ENE of Ross Hill, Moore Hill is a 3mi ridgeline separating Ross from
San Rafael. More upscale homes are found along the summit ridge, serviced by
Upper Toyon Rd. One could easily drive up the road and park in one of numerous
suitable spaces, but a sign at caught my attention,
suggesting it is open to foot traffic only, an easement to reach the
at the end of the road. I parked
at the junction with Makin Grade and walked the half mile distance to the
highpoint. At first glance, it appears that the top is located inside
of the pricey estate located there. There is a water
tank immediately west of the home that has a formidable fence around it. Closer
examination reveals that the highpoint is at the junction between the two
properties and the fence has its weaknesses that are less formidable. I found
my way inside and to the property boundary, unsure how I
might
respond if someone asked what the hell I was doing there. Luckily, no one did.
Bon Air Hill
Another mile to the SE, just south of Sir Francis Drake Blvd in Greenbrae, is
Bon Air Hill, occupied by a large apartment complex. One can drive to within
100ft of
under a couple of redwood trees at a wooden platform in one of the
courtyards. There is a convenient 20min parking spot to avoid parking in the
reserved spots.
Southern Heights Ridge
At the SE end of the ridge shared with Moore Hill is this questionable highpoint
located within the bounds of a pair of
found along Bret Harte
Lane. Like Ross Hill, you can't really visit the highpoint without risking a
creepy perp reputation.
It was nearly 2p when I had finished with this last one. It was time to head
home across the Richmond Bridge and south through the East Bay before rush hour
traffic picked up for the afternoon. I managed to get home by 3:15p, not bad
considering the dense traffic and many miles of urban sprawl to squeeze through.
I plan to keep Marin in mind for other short 1-2 day outings over the next few
months when I don't have the opportunity for longer desert trips...