Ride Date - 19 December, 1999Ride Date - 19 December, 1999Got to the stable around 10 am with friend Pam Kemper. We spent some time watching Kathy round pen Hallie to get her more balanced. Interesting. Then we round penned Taylor. And he was a good boy!
We left around 11:30 and headed down Canyon Trail (0.7 mi) following Virginia on her horse and Beanie with his owner. They split off at Moore Trail and we continued on. We hung a right on Concrete Pipeline Fire Road (0.1 mi) and then a left on Taylor Trail (0.5 mi). Normally, to me, Taylor is a dark, rutted trail, that I need to take to get to Sky Oaks. But today it was magnificent. The weather was warm and the warm wind blowing through the redwoods gave an incredible smell. And the mixed evergreen woods were lit up with a wonderful light. At one point we could hear a tree "singing." That's the only way I know how to describe the sound it made. I could have spent an hour doing this trail. I think I need to do it in reverse some time, like I used to hike it.
At Sky Oaks we walked down the road (0.1 mi). We stopped at the ranger station to get a map, but they were closed. We took an earlier turn past all the construction equipment and headed down BullFrog Fire Road (0.9 mi). We saw four black tailed deer who bolted when the joggers came by.
We stopped in the grass to let Taylor "de-caffinate." Then we passed through the scary wood piles. When we got clear we did a little canter in honor of Tricia. We got to the gate about 12:15. Then we went down Old Bolinas-Fairfax Road (0.1 mile) and went through the parking lot to the dam. There were a number of Turkey Vultures riding the thermals.
Just before the dam, we saw a lone Coot at the bottom of the spillway. And there were a couple of double-crested cormorants as well. There was a new float in the middle of the lake. Wonder what that's for? And to the right, Alpine Lake was really low. We got across the dam (0.3 mi) even though Taylor seemed to have agita about something.. maybe the reflection? We got over the dam, hung a right, and then a left onto Rocky Ridge Fire Road (1.8 mi) about 12:22. Heard a chestnut-backed chickadee singing, but didn't see him. We started to trot, but stopped when we saw a couple hiking. We stopped to chat, and the gal wished us Merry Christmas. We returned the greeting, then returned to trotting. There was lots of serpentine, that "oily" green rock that you see on Tam a lot.
We stopped about 10 minutes later because Taylor was breathing pretty hard and
the views were just incredible! We were able to see Mt. Diablo like it was right
across the street, along with all three peaks of Mt Tam, three lakes, Pine Mtn, just
amazing. I think this was the most beautiful view set I've ever seen on the
mounting. Clear skies, bright sun, 75 degree weather.. it doesn't get any better
than this. I sure wish that my son Ben (and his camera) had been there to
share/capture the experience. One of the cool things we saw was a female Marsh Hawk
(now called a Northern Harrier.
She was skimming across the hills looking for food. Fabulous to watch!
At 12:40 we went past Stocking Trail. I seem to remember hiking this at one
point. (Thanks much to Don Baccus for the great
photo of the Marsh Hawk!)
A few minutes later we could see a hitching post and a picnic table off to the left. A gal in a big sun hat had laid out a big lunch on the table. I had planned to eat there myself, but it didn't seem polite to intrude. In retrospect I should have stopped by and said hello. A chance missed...
Around 12:50 or so we hung a right on Rocky Springs-Lagunitas Fire Road (1.2 mi), and asked Taylor to trot. He went for a while and then walked. He was out of gas, and I didn't want to push him. We stopped at a spring-fed watering trough but, as usual, Taylor wasn't interested. A couple of minutes later we got to Rifle Camp.
At 1:10 we got to Rifle Camp Picnic Area, and picked out a picnic table. Taylor chomped on grass and I did in my tune and egg sandwich and some berry yogurt and finished it off with some raisins. Living large!
At 1:30 we went up the hill a hundred yards or so and saw the signs to Portrero Meadows. People tell me that it's really gorgeous up there. but that'll be another time. Taylor was spooked by four people hiking with "desert hats" with long tails covering the neck and what looked like ski poles. We "chatted" and he moved on. Then we turned around and headed back down the hill.
When we reached the junction with the Rocky Ridge Fire Road, we turned right and stayed on Rocky Springs-Lagunitas Fire Road. Lots of great views of the lakes, Baldy and Pilot Knob. Boy I wish I had Ben and his camera along!
It was interesting to come back to Lake Lagunitas "from the
top." It gave some interesting views. In addition to cormorants and
coots, we saw some buffleheads. Then we headed down the Sky Oaks Road (0.2 mi).
We turned on to Pumpkin Ridge Fire Trail (0.8 mi). After chatting with an
older couple, I let Taylor canter up the trail until we got to the steps. We walked
up those! Someday I'll find the rock with the message on it that's mentioned in Mt
Tam Trails. At the end of Pumpkin Ridge, we went out on Sky Oaks Road instead of
fighting the branches on Sky Oaks-Lagunitas Trail. On the road we were passed by a
gal on a bike who startled me. She said that she wanted to be quiet and not frighten
the horse.
We got to the top of the road and the entrance to the Shaver Grade (0.6 mi). The gal that had passed us, had parked her bike to take a break and talk to another gal doing the same. When I took Taylor to cross the 12" board to get to Shaver, he balked. Since he'd done this 2-3 times before with no problem, I have no clue what the problem was. The bike next to it? Anyway, I failed to "chat" him across. So I got off and did a little "wax on/wax off" with the mecate reins. He was really never very comfortable with it. (the gals suggested he has "performance anxiety" from being watched!) I got back on (with no movement!) and headed back down the trail. A few minutes later the same gal came by. I said "This is Taylor and I'm Michael." She introduced herself as Nikita, from Kentwood. She said "well, I guess I won't see you guys again this trip." I said "Don't be too sure!", and cantered off up the hill. And then walked down to Five Corners and stopped to chat. And Nikita shows up again. We pointed her to Shaver Grade as the right way back to Phoenix Lake and Ross. Nice to see that on Tam, virtually all of the bikers are nice and considerate. Unlike my experiences in the Marin Headlands. We headed down Deer Park Fire Road (0.4 mi). No birds today!
We went up Moore Trail (0.4 mi) and then Canyon Trail (0.1 mi) back to the barn.
We got back around 3, for a 3.5 hour ride. I let Taylor roll a couple of times while I put away the tack. Then I cracked a Bud longneck, mucked out the stall, and headed home, a happy camper!
