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Bill Bikes My bicycling expeditions and jaunts |
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mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful, December 2019
Off pavement along the Bay: A Photographic Log
28 December 2019, 23 miles
Late this morning I drove down to the former Hamilton Army airfield—now a pleasant residential neighborhood with old hangars transformed into tidy businesses and offices—where I've pedaled a couple times before. Having already explored some of the trails through marshes and wetlands along the Bay in that area, I wanted to revisit some of that riding and take a first look at nearby areas more or less adjacent to a couple of recent expeditions (Rush Creek Open Space and Black Point / Day Island) but separated by uncrossable Novato Creek.Although it hasn't rained in almost a week, the low-lying terrain along the Bay remained swampy in some places. That meant the Ogre variously rolled over and/or through pavement (not much of that), chunky gravel, hardpacked dirt, crushed limestone, grass, dried mud, squishy mud, deep mud, muddy puddles, and sheets of standing water.
Within a couple of miles, the surroundings also varied from streets full of expensive homes with boats, docks, and neatly groomed yards to wild marshes criss-crossed with overgrown tracks.
This pretty much completed my exploration of the west shore of the North Bay in Marin County, filling in the next to the last piece between the Petaluma River and Sausalito. One more section to go.
Looking across the tidal lagoon covering the old Hamilton Field runways.
In the distance can be seen Day Island and the high ground to its left, the hills of Tolay Lake Regional Park on the far side of the Petaluma River (which isn't visible), as well as Sonoma Mountain and the Mayacamas Mountains on the horizon.
Running south from Hamilton, the old levee, topped by a trail, protects the hayfields to the west from the marshes (laced with sloughs) and encroaching Bay on the east.
A lovely view of one of the wastewater holding ponds near the Las Gallinas water treatment facility.
The Las Gallinas facility also has several clusters of photovoltaic solar arrays.
Looking inland from the trail.
Near this spot I did a double take when I saw two young children and their parents walking a big fat hog on a leash. That's hog, not dog.
Another wastewater pond.
The sanitary facility has thoughtfully provided paths around the holding ponds and benches for birders who like to view flocks of waterfowl.
The somewhat rickety boardwalk providing access to power pylons looked like it would be an enjoyable and challenging ride on the Ogre, but apparently PG&E didn't want me out there. Not sure why not....
Photo a little light-struck by winter sun low in the sky.
Back on the levee trail.
Along here I heard coyotes yipping and calling. Perhaps they were discussing the pig on a leash.
I decided to set up the photo timer on my iPhone and see about getting some award-winning action shots for the cover of National Geographic.
Making a very sharp U-turn in order to aim my smiling face toward the camera.
Unexpectedly—I only saw two or three bicyclists all day—this rider showed up at exactly the right moment to get into the timed shots.
At least he didn't crush my iPhone.
I waved, but he ignored me.
Probably on the run from the law and didn't want to be photographed.
Who wouldn't want to stop and converse with a fellow this jovial?
Old Grumble-Face continues riding while the camera snaps away.
It looks kind of like a bloody scar on the side of my face, but it's just the shadow of the mirror clipped on my glasses.
Part of the row of old lights on the approach to the Hamilton runway. White hangars and control tower toward the left. Mount Burdell in the distance.
I had to ride through several inches of saltwater in order to get this close to the Bay, which is reclaiming the low-lying terrain.
This was a busy airfield during World War II. Recently I read a book about the squadron of B-17 bombers en route to the Philippines which took off from Hamilton on the night of 6 December 1941 and arrived over Oahu just as Pearl Harbor was being attacked.
After returning from Las Gallinas to Hamilton, I headed north along the wetlands toward Bel Marin Keys, looking for a route to Novato Creek. The creek—no way to cross it around here—separates the Black Point / Day Island area from today's localities.
The main street through Bel Marin Keys dead-ends right here.
I turned out of Bel Marin Keys onto the muddy tracks along its southern edge, which held the promise of curving up toward Novato Creek.
This collapsing barn promptly caught my eye.
At the same time Hamilton was a busy Army airbase, farms and hayfields on drained wetlands surrounded it.
This is one of the last remnants of that agricultural heritage.
The trail beyond the old barn did indeed curve toward Novato Creek, but it became progressively muddier as I pedaled closer to the edge of the Bay. Per Wikipedia, "the land is in the process of being restored back into the wetlands of Whiteside marsh, which were drained in the early 1900s for farm land."
I recognize that high ground in the distance, but this whole area has been churned up by heavy equipment (and countless deer hooves), making the route too wet and muddy to continue.
Maybe there's a trail atop the levee off to my left.
After backtracking, I managed to find a way up to the levee.
Bel Marin Keys, surrounded by levees, was built around manmade waterways connecting it to Novato Creek and the Bay. It's a very tidy residential community, and practically every home has its own private dock. I think residents are required to own a boat. Canoes, kayaks, and rowboats don't qualify.
The track atop the levee wasn't nearly as muddy as the other route (off to the right), but it soon became apparent this trail didn't get much traffic from four wheels, two wheels, or feet.
End of the line. In order to continue, I needed a machete, which I was unable to locate among all the extraneous crap accumulating in my trunk bag.
The streets all hit dead-ends. The low ground turned into bottomless mud. Weeds and reeds blocked the high ground. Looks like Novato Creek is out of reach today.
So I turned around and started back toward Hamilton Field through mud and puddles, whistling far and wee.
Great aerial view of edge of the Bay, wetlands, part of Bel Marin Keys, and the old Hamilton Field runway.
Not sure when this photo was taken, but it appears to pre-date the new Hamilton residential neighborhoods and some of the restored lagoons.
(US Army Corps of Engineers photo, public domain, via Wikipedia.)
Scene of the crime.
Summary
Date: 28 December 2019
Time: 12:00 - 4:00
Weather: 50-55° F, sunny
Route: Hamilton Field - Las Gallinas - Hamilton Field - Bel Marin Keys - Hamilton Field
Distance: 23 miles
Bike: Ogre
Riders: Solo
Comments? Questions? Suggestions? I'd like to hear from you.
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