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Tamalpais High, September 2018
Up and down Mt Tamalpais: A Photographic Log
28 September 2018, 9 miles

Mount Tamalpais in Marin County is one of the best-known—and most visible—peaks in the Bay Area. Anyone who has seen any of my North Bay bicycling photos knows it shows up a lot. I've hiked to the summit a couple of times, but I've never pedaled to the top. Given that the slopes of Tam are the birth place of mountain biking, that oversight seemed like something that needed to be rectified.

Jeff also confessed that despite living in the Bay Area for many years, he had never hiked or biked up to the fire lookout on the summit. With his rehabilitation from rotator cuff surgery going well, he agreed that it was about time to make the pilgrimage up the mountain.

I did some research, located some likely parking spots on the mountainside, and plotted a rocky route up the slopes. I spent some time on Thursday adjusting the Ogre's brakes in anticipation of serious screaming downhills on the way back from the summit. Finally, I loaded all the crap from my trunk bag with its fold-out panniers into a light backpack. Jeff did the same. That would enable us to lock our bikes at the summit parking lot and hoof it up the last quarter mile to the fire lookout where bikes aren't allowed.

With route, bikes, and gear ready, the only question was how our aging legs, lungs, and damaged shoulders would hold up.


We were delayed for almost an hour by traffic on Highway 101. Even so, when we finally mounted up and started pedaling, the morning marine layer still obscured most of the view from the mountainside.

Here, the Golden Gate Bridge is completely hidden beyond the hills of the Marin Headlands, which are wreathed in fog. San Francisco is just barely visible to the left of center at the bottom edge of the fog. Alcatraz is a dark spot on the water. Slightly farther left it's possible to make out Yerba Buena Island and Treasure Island. The high point at far left is Angel Island. Closer to the camera, from left to right, through the haze that's Tiburon, Strawberry, Mill Valley, and Sausalito. From all those points I've aimed my camera at Mt Tam while bicycling, so turnabout is fair play.


Typical view of the trail.

"Old Railroad Grade" really was a narrow gauge tourist railway to the top of Tam many years ago. Now it's basically a freeway for mountain bikes.


Higher up the mountain. We're climbing into more sunshine above the marine layer which continues to obscure the view down toward sea level.


After about four and a half miles of steady climbing on the rocky trail, we reached the end of the line where the trail meets the paved road at the parking lot. Restrooms, picnic tables, signs, etc by the parking lot.

By the time we arrived, we were starting to see more and more bikes. A couple of them zoomed past on the last steep stretch of rough trail so fast that I thought I must be standing still. Of course, it turned out they had electric assist, which made me feel a lot better about my slow pace.


From the parking lot, it's about a quarter mile walk to the East Summit fire tower. No bikes allowed. We put all our removable items in our packs, locked the bikes, and climbed to the top to enjoy the view while we ate lunch.


That's the fire tower. At least one ranger was there with binoculars, and the remote-controlled cameras were constantly scanning the distance for signs of wildfires.


Lunchtime view from the summit. Angel Island and Tiburon on the left, all the way around Richardson Bay (an inlet of San Francisco Bay) to Sausalito. Treasure Island, Yerba Buena Island, Alcatraz, and the edge of San Francisco barely visible under the marine layer.


Mount Diablo pokes above the fog near the bird in flight. Beneath the bird, the shoreline of Richmond in the East Bay, connected by the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge to the North Bay. Beside the near end of the bridge, that's San Quentin state prison. The near shore runs along the Corte Madera marshes toward Paradise with Tiburon hidden behind the high ground.


With the camera aiming more to the north, that's Corte Madera Creek in the foreground. The Larkspur ferry terminal is at the mouth of the creek, with San Quentin and the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge just out of the frame to the right. San Rafael fills the valley on the far side of the long green ridge, with China Camp State Park on the other side of the higher ground beyond.


Beyond the dense residential communities of Marin tucked into the trees, the hillside in the upper right is part of China Camp. Moving north we have the Marin Civic Center, Las Gallinas, the wetlands south of Hamilton Field, Hamilton Field, and the mouth of the Petaluma River. The marine layer still blocks the view beyond.


Here are your tour guides after lunch at the fire tower atop Mt Tamalpais.


Starting back down Old Railroad Grade.


Pausing for a shot to the south toward the Marin Headlands.


Is it clearing down there yet?


Jeff waits for the tardy photographer.


Still too hazy for a great shot.


Jeff rolls past. The Ogre worked well on this surface, but Jeff's touring bike wasn't exactly the best machine for the bumpy downhill conditions and his imperfect shoulder. We agreed that we would like to rent real mountain bikes with good suspension systems and try it again.


Still going down. Still trying to get a clear photo.


We saw at least a dozen or two other bicyclists, all on heavy duty mountain bikes, including at least two with electric assist.

This guy's rig definitely seemed too light to me. Narrow, relatively treadless tires. No shocks. Tight geometry. Okay on the way up, but probably a tricky ride down.


Down we go.


Jeff rests his rotator cuff from the downhill pounding.

Two bikers can be seen coming up the trail in the distance. The East Bay on the horizon across the water.


A tiny waterfall tucked into a leafy recess in a shady spot beside the trail.

The Ogre gleams in the sunlight with a fine coating of talc-like trail dust. Baby needs a bath.


The trail keeps twisting and turning through switchbacks down the mountainside—including the famous "double bow knot"—but mostly we get the same view.


Finally, lower on the trail with some of the fog burning off, we get a better view. Beyond some of the homes clinging to the shoulder of Mt Tam, beyond Pickleweed Inlet, and across the Bay we can see the skyline of San Francisco in the distance.

We made it safely to the summit and back down to the car. I think we're ready to try a more ambitious route when we have a better chance of clear weather, but we'll probably rent real mountain bikes to smooth things out a little. And maybe even go for a little e-assist.

In any event, I think we can chalk this up as another successful expedition.



Summary

Date: 28 September 2018
Time: 10:30 - 1:30
Weather: 55-65° F, sunny high and hazy/foggy low
Route: From Fern Canyon Road to summit of Mt Tamalpais and back via Old Railroad Grade
Distance: 9 miles
Bike: Surly Ogre
Riders: With Jeff




Comments? Questions? Suggestions? I'd like to hear from you.

~ 99 ~



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