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Apr. 18th, 2005 04:05 pmHiking notes: Bon Tempe dam to Cataract Trail. 3.5 hours, one 10 minute break. Haven't check the map at home with mileage, but probably 6-8 miles. Windy, cool day, but sunny. Made it to the knoll in 45 minutes (took me 60 last week). I started late, and wanted to get to the Cataract Trail turn-off before turning back. I got in a 3.5 hour hike, but didn't get to the turn-off.
There are three bridges & waterfalls past the knoll, none of which are marked as the Cataract Trail. It's very beautiful past the first bridge & landslide - redwood and forest sloping gently down to the lake, which, at 4 PM, is sparkling. Soon after is the Kent Trail signpost, followed shortly by an Alice Markham/Cataract marker nailed to a tree, not the usual post in the ground. The trail starts alot of elevation gain/loss, going down to streams and cresting over hills. It goes through a long stand of manzanita, then into redwoods. It's getting near the Bolinas Ridge, formed by the collision of the Pacific and North American plates. The San Andreas fault runs next to it and created the Bolinas Ridge. Past the manazanita, it was hilly and tall-treesy enough to start losing the sun to the tips of the trees. (There weren't any birds singing, which is very creepy when you're in the woods by yourself and birds were singing before. I think there was some coyote scat on the trail. I keep thinking about meeting mountain lions when I'm out hiking by myself. Eek!) I hie'd to the top of One More Ridge to see if I could see a trail marker, didn't, and turned around.
Once you hit the knoll, it's a whole other terrain - less up and down, lots of sunshine, birds singing. That lake is huge. Next time, I'm starting earlier and going farther.
I've hit that creepy feeling in the same area, only higher up, on different hikes last year. I'm not sure if it's because it's a relatively new area to me or because there really is a mt. lion presence that I'm picking up on. I think I'm going to keep going there, because facing your fears is good, and if I get chomped? well, at least it was doing something I love to do.
There are three bridges & waterfalls past the knoll, none of which are marked as the Cataract Trail. It's very beautiful past the first bridge & landslide - redwood and forest sloping gently down to the lake, which, at 4 PM, is sparkling. Soon after is the Kent Trail signpost, followed shortly by an Alice Markham/Cataract marker nailed to a tree, not the usual post in the ground. The trail starts alot of elevation gain/loss, going down to streams and cresting over hills. It goes through a long stand of manzanita, then into redwoods. It's getting near the Bolinas Ridge, formed by the collision of the Pacific and North American plates. The San Andreas fault runs next to it and created the Bolinas Ridge. Past the manazanita, it was hilly and tall-treesy enough to start losing the sun to the tips of the trees. (There weren't any birds singing, which is very creepy when you're in the woods by yourself and birds were singing before. I think there was some coyote scat on the trail. I keep thinking about meeting mountain lions when I'm out hiking by myself. Eek!) I hie'd to the top of One More Ridge to see if I could see a trail marker, didn't, and turned around.
Once you hit the knoll, it's a whole other terrain - less up and down, lots of sunshine, birds singing. That lake is huge. Next time, I'm starting earlier and going farther.
I've hit that creepy feeling in the same area, only higher up, on different hikes last year. I'm not sure if it's because it's a relatively new area to me or because there really is a mt. lion presence that I'm picking up on. I think I'm going to keep going there, because facing your fears is good, and if I get chomped? well, at least it was doing something I love to do.