Mt Tamalpais State Park - Cataract Trail - 3/26/10

I took a drive up to Marin County to Point Reyes on 3/26/10 to check out some trails and wildflowers, and I could not have asked for a better day for it. The sun was shining, it was fairly warm and no fog was in sight. I took a short side trip to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area for a few quick pics of the bridge. I also spotted some wildflowers on my short trek up the road, including California Poppy, Lupine, Checker Mallow, Indian Paintbrush, Scarlet Pimpernel and Fiddleneck.

I took a short hike along the Cataract Trail in Mt Tamalpais State Park. I wasn't intending on stopping, since my main destination was Point Reyes, but I could not resist the opportunity to see the Calypso Orchids, which I heard were in bloom there. So I did a short hike along the trail, and sure enough, I found some right away, where the trail starts to go into the woods. There weren't many, and they were small, but the bright pink of the flowers makes it easy to spot them. They sure were pretty, and since I had never seen them before, I was excited - lol. The trail is woodsy and shaded and was a nice break from the nearly 4 hour drive I had already put in. I also found a lot of Milk Maids, Buttercups, Hound's Tongue, a few Mosquito Bills, and, of course, the ever-present Miner's Lettuce. Next time, I plan on going a lot further down the trail. I didn't leave the house til 6 am. If I had only left at 4 am like I had planned on doing in the first place, I would have had more time - lol.

After the short hike, I continued up Pan Toll Road where the road gives way to some spectacular view points of Stinson's Beach far below. A short, but fairly steep scramble up a hill revealed a beautiful view of the coast :)

I continued down Bolinas-Fairfax Road, which twists and turns, seemingly forever, but I was rewarded with a lovely view of Alpine Lake on the drive. I also pulled over to take some photos of some Hound's Tongue, but, finding no good flowers to photograph, went back to where I parked and spotted some Checker Lily hiding in the shade.

I took the road back to Fairfax and found my way to Sir Francis Drake Blvd, which takes you to Point Reyes, my next destination.

I posted some pics of the Golden Gate NRA and Mt Tamalpais below.

Links to check out:

Ntl Park Service - Golden Gate NRA
Wikipedia - Golden Gate NRA
American Southwest - Golden Gate NRA
GORP - Golden Gate NRA
Mt Tamalpais State Park
Wikipedia - Mt Tamalpais
CA State Parks - Mt Tamalpais