East Fork of the Carson River/Hot Springs, 05/2011

Hike:Big Basin
Length: 20ish miles
Difficulty: Medium
Hikers: James, Dempsey
Date: March

So James and I had Thursday off and we headed 60 miles down the coast to hike in Big Basin. Big Basin is a Redwood forest right off Highway 1 just after Pescadero on the Coast. When we got down there the parks campgrounds were closed. So we had to park the car on the side of the road, write a fake note about the car breaking down and how we were gonna pick it up tomorrow.

So we walked into the park and I bought a trail map from a ranger. It was kinda sketchy because our packs were larger then your normal day hikers but they didnt say anything. So we started in the woods.

The hike started with a side trail along a hillside and led down to a creek where they took out the bridge. We took off our shoes waded across and continued. This was a blessing because most people were not willing to cross it, so we only saw one person the entire day.
We hiked along the water and up to the top of a few ridges. After about 7 miles we found this great view and took a break and a quick nap. From there we headed to some waterfalls and finally a grove of redwood trees to hang our hammocks to camp. For dinner I had made spicy chicken and combined the chicken with a rice dish from Osha, we were spoiled. It got pitch black and we crashed out in the hammocks. IT WAS SO COLD!

In the morning we ate some trail mix, eggs, fruit ect. and headed back. The hike was easy for the most part being down hill most of the way. The new trail we were on was covered with fallen trees and dropped us back off at the waterfall with a different great view of the falls. From there it was a straight 6 or 7 mile shot back to the car. But then it started raining and didnt stop until after we finshed but it didnt matter, we were having a blast. At the entrances deposit box we left $10 and a note saying we got stuck in the forest and had to camp.

We get back to the car. It wasn't towed and there was no ticket. Pretty succesful trip I would have to say.

Cataract Falls

Hike:Cataract Falls
Length: 3 miles round trip minimum but you can explore more
Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Hikers: Brett, Mark, Rascal, Dempsey and some folks from the east bay
Date: February


So this little gem of a hike is pretty popular but for several very good reasons. First of all the drive to get there puts you through the nice little town of Fairfax. The town has a great little organic health food store to load up some goodies and a great cafe across the street for when you are heading back to the city after the hike.

From Fairfax the drive twists and turns up and down a few valleys before putting you along side of a reservoir and dropping you off at the trail head. The hike starts off flat along the reservoir then kicks up when you reach the base of the falls. I am going to keep this entry short because words wont do it justice. For the next mile and a half or so you walk along beautiful water falls in a lush rain forest that seems more like Costa Rica then the Bay Area. Bring your camera because you will take some pictures that are worthy of a frame Just before the big falls at the top there are some stairs leading down to a small clearing along the creek with enough room for about 6 people to eat. This is a great place for lunch and there are a couple trees near the trail for hanging your hammock.

Past the falls is a picnic area and some more trails that feed into Mount Tam. The first time we did this hike was with Brett and Mark and we found a loop starting near the bathrooms of the picnic area that lead us to a great view of the city where we encountered a coyote on the hunt.

The second hike was with Dan and Kara and Rascal from the east bay where we got a late start after enjoying a few pints at Marin Brewing company. Long story short is after we cooked dinner (Lasagna) at the waterfall spot we had to hike down by headlamp. It was a lot of fun.

Last week I took Ashley and her 3 dogs on the trail after meeting up at the Marin Brewing Company and enjoyed some amazing weather.

I mention the Marin Brewing Company alot but for good reason. If you have the time you should swing in for a beer. The patio is great when it is sunny and the beers are well made.

Thats it for now. Still trying to play catch up with all these other hikes

Carson Falls Trail

Hike:Carson Falls
Length: 4-5 miles round trip
Difficulty: Easy
Hikers: Brett, James, Jesse, Dempsey
Date: Early January

Carson falls was the first hike that we went on as a group. We(Brett, James, Jesse, Dempsey) piled into Brett's car and headed across the GG bridge. We found a quick hike in Brett's trail book and went through Fairfax to find the trail head to Carson Falls. The fog was in and extremely thick which looked amazing(pictures to be posted soon). After we missed the trail head double backed where we came up with the name Backtrackers which seemed very appropriate. The hike was only a couple of miles along a fire road with a couple of fun rocks to climb on. Then the trail breaks off onto a single track. We took the old trail that had been closed due to erosion rather then the new trail and slid down the hill. We found a little chill spot under a tree next to a creek and climbed around for a bit and played a game where we would throw nuts at a knot in a tree. This kept us busy for about a half hour. Finally James hit it and we made our way to the falls. The tiered water falls were gorgeous! They created small pools where the water would sit until it fell over the next set of falls. We hung out for a a little bit took some photos and headed back to the car. The hike was quick and easy and the falls were great. Definitely a spot to hit up after a good rain!

Start start off with an intro.

Hey People,

So this will be the ramblings of some hikers living in San Francisco and our adventures in land of Northern California. This intro is kinda assuming that you are not one of the hikers on these trips which brings up the question, How did you find this blog? Anyways we started a few weeks ago in early January and have tromped all over Mt tam so far. We have done a bunch of great quick hikes so far and we will soon go into those in further detail. This is more or a hiking journal then anything but it may provide you with good day trips or just provide great memories for us, either way here is where we stand right now.

We have been up five times in the last month and even with the weather being some-what crummy we had a great time on each trip. We will talk about different aspects of the trip, post pictures and ...... actually I don't know what we are gonna write so lets just see what happens. As for the hikes we have done so far here is a quick list:
The list has the Trail name, Park name and hikers.

1)Carson Falls, Mt. Tam (Brett, Jesse, James, Dempsey)
2) Bills Trail, Samual P. Taylor (James, Rascal, Dempsey)
3)Steep Ravine Loop, (Short), Mt Tam (Brett, Mark, Dempsey)
4)Steep Ravine Loop, (Long) Mt Tam(Jesse, Dempsey)
5)Cataract Falls, Mt Tam(Brett, Mark, Dempsey)

We will recap those hikes soon but for now that is pretty much it.
Thanks