Route Climbed: Temelpa Variant Date Climbed: 11 October 2003
I did a quick early morning trek for a first visit to Mount Tamalpais, a bay area favorite. I started at 7:18 am from the Mill Valley trailhead, tried to follow the creek beds mostly, saw the Indian Rock, saw the Great Wall of Mount Tam, climbed the Great Rock Wall of Mount Tam (I guess I got a bit off course somewhere - I don't think you're supposed to rock climb to the summit), summitted at 9:18, hung out around the fire tower, took some pictures of mountains in the distance that I couldn't identify, left the summit at 9:58 and returned to my car at 10:58 via a side trip to the Railway Plank Trail. My GPS claimed the trip up was 1.49 miles and the trip down was 2.47 miles. I read somewhere on the web that it was 1km from trailhead to peak, I don't know what route that is, but I want to take it, the GPS says trailhead to peak straight is 0.97 miles. No people on the trail on the way up, about 4 people at the summit area, about 60 people on the trail on the way down!
Met Marianne at Stinson Beach bright and early Sunday morning. We left @ 10.07, taking the Dipsea to the Steep Ravine trail.
After reaching Pantoll, we took the R & H to the Easy Grade trail, arriving at the Mountain Theater, which I'd wanted to check out for a while (seems like it would be pretty cool to check out a performance there). We took the Rock Spring trail to the W Point Inn (also pretty cool- only accessible by bike or foot [maybe horse]). From there we took the RR Grade fire road to the Fern Creek trail, which finally took us to the summit, where we arrived @ about 14.30.
It was a beautiful day, ~80 deg F, clear except for some clouds over the ocean, and views of the Bay, SF, & Mt. Diablo were abundant. I was glad that it was so nice for Marianne's first time on the summit (my first time sucked, as all I could see were clouds!). We hung out on the top for ~1/2 an hour, and did some bouldering on the rocks, earning bonus points based on a system devised by some little kid up there (I came up with the most).
We headed back down to Pantoll the same way we came, but took the Matt Davis trail to Stinson Beach, getting there right as it got dark, and arriving at that one seafood restaurant on the ocean-side of the road with the patio @ 18.45. We had a great dinner, going to the beach afterwards.
I am really glad my long-time goal of going from beach to summit of Mt. Tam' turned out so well- a great and memorable trip with a wonderful person!
got all the gear ready a few days before. began ascent early morning, reached peak around mid-day. no injuries or accidents. descent just as succesful. slept well. friends like to laugh at me about this, but i guarantee it was worth it :-)
Route Climbed: Temelpa trail (Summit Avenue) Date Climbed: 24 December 2002
Kim and I finally got around to hiking to Mount Tam's summit. We were dogsitting "Lion" and wanted to tire her out. This was a decidedly casual affair, as evidenced by my corduroy pants and wool sweater. The 1700-foot climb up the Temelpa trail was short and steep--just the way I like to ascend a mountain. Only a few cars in the parking lot on an oddly hazy Christmas Eve.
Route Climbed: Phoenix Lake Trail Date Climbed: 7/20/02
Another gorgeous sunny day in the Bay Area.. perfect day to climb mountains! We parked at the Phoenix Lake trailhead and climbed to the summit. It took us 3 hours to reach the top, and 5 hours for the round-trip. We measured round-trip trail length to be around 12 miles. Take plenty of water with you - there are no sources until the summit!
I spent one year at UC Berkeley law school and once I bked up Mt. Tamalpais which was pretty nice. All the way from SF over the Golden Gate Bridge to the top. The views of the city are quite impressive (perhaps I'll do some scans, I have the negatives somewhere).
How often do you get the summit of Mount Tam all to yourself? When there's no view and it's raining ;-) I don't remember why I was so insistent to do this but I was the only one in the parking lot that day, there was about 25 foot visibility, it was raining, and I didn't have any waterproof gear - just a nylon jacket. I made it up almost to way up to the top when I couldn't figure out where the trail went so I started crawling through the wet bushes. After making it to the top, I didn't want to get lost coming down so I crawled through the bushes out again. Interesting trip - haven't made it back yet though I've been to Muir Woods and Point Reyes several times which I like better. There's a reason why they are "Muir Woods National Monument" and "Point Reyes National Seashore" :-) I'll read the page in a bit and maybe it will inspire me to go again. I've heard Mount Tam is primarily good for mountain biking which I'll have to try out some time - of course it will be different than Utah slickrock ;-) The Slickrock Trail ... mmm ... I'll have to go back and do that again someday.
Route Climbed: Standard Date Climbed: August, 1997
Not much of a hike from where we started. I remember basically traversing from the parking lot to a crowded, hot, and built-up summit. Views weren't great that day; par for a stagnant August day. I had just moved here, and I recall that Muir Woods was FAR more inviting on this day.
However, we recently (February) explored the area north of Tamalpais, and were impressed. The lakes, though man-made, really are a nice addition. Nice forests, vegetation variations. This is a big, complex mountain.
Use to live up in San Francisco and this was always a great place to go hiking. We headed up to the east peak on a super clear, cool winter morning last feb, and got amazing views all the way down the bay! Amazing how far you can see from up there on those days when the fog stays away.
Route Climbed: can't remember Date Climbed: March, 1989
At the time I was in college at the Univ of Illinois and was visiting a buddy in Oakland on Spring Break and interviewing for jobs after graduation. We took one morning and mountain-biked to the summit and enjoyed great views of the Pacific. Saw my first banana slug on the trail too. (BTW, best college mascot EVER in my opinion).
Hack - Dec 7, 2003 9:29 pm
Route Climbed: Climbed From Fire Statiion via Fern Creek Trail Date Climbed: December 7, 2003Fun little hike, did not know that you could drive to the top though...great views of San Francisco and the bay
rgreene - Oct 11, 2003 3:17 pm
Route Climbed: Temelpa Variant Date Climbed: 11 October 2003I did a quick early morning trek for a first visit to Mount Tamalpais, a bay area favorite. I started at 7:18 am from the Mill Valley trailhead, tried to follow the creek beds mostly, saw the Indian Rock, saw the Great Wall of Mount Tam, climbed the Great Rock Wall of Mount Tam (I guess I got a bit off course somewhere - I don't think you're supposed to rock climb to the summit), summitted at 9:18, hung out around the fire tower, took some pictures of mountains in the distance that I couldn't identify, left the summit at 9:58 and returned to my car at 10:58 via a side trip to the Railway Plank Trail. My GPS claimed the trip up was 1.49 miles and the trip down was 2.47 miles. I read somewhere on the web that it was 1km from trailhead to peak, I don't know what route that is, but I want to take it, the GPS says trailhead to peak straight is 0.97 miles. No people on the trail on the way up, about 4 people at the summit area, about 60 people on the trail on the way down!
Diggler - Mar 3, 2003 9:52 am
Route Climbed: Dipsea->Steep Ravine->Rock Spring->Fern Ck. trail->summit Date Climbed: 2 March, 2003Met Marianne at Stinson Beach bright and early Sunday morning. We left @ 10.07, taking the Dipsea to the Steep Ravine trail.
After reaching Pantoll, we took the R & H to the Easy Grade trail, arriving at the Mountain Theater, which I'd wanted to check out for a while (seems like it would be pretty cool to check out a performance there). We took the Rock Spring trail to the W Point Inn (also pretty cool- only accessible by bike or foot [maybe horse]). From there we took the RR Grade fire road to the Fern Creek trail, which finally took us to the summit, where we arrived @ about 14.30.
It was a beautiful day, ~80 deg F, clear except for some clouds over the ocean, and views of the Bay, SF, & Mt. Diablo were abundant. I was glad that it was so nice for Marianne's first time on the summit (my first time sucked, as all I could see were clouds!). We hung out on the top for ~1/2 an hour, and did some bouldering on the rocks, earning bonus points based on a system devised by some little kid up there (I came up with the most).
We headed back down to Pantoll the same way we came, but took the Matt Davis trail to Stinson Beach, getting there right as it got dark, and arriving at that one seafood restaurant on the ocean-side of the road with the patio @ 18.45. We had a great dinner, going to the beach afterwards.
I am really glad my long-time goal of going from beach to summit of Mt. Tam' turned out so well- a great and memorable trip with a wonderful person!
maxedwards - Feb 9, 2003 8:00 pm
Route Climbed: west face Date Climbed: june 2002i had been training for many months.
got all the gear ready a few days before. began ascent early morning, reached peak around mid-day. no injuries or accidents. descent just as succesful. slept well. friends like to laugh at me about this, but i guarantee it was worth it :-)
mpbro - Dec 28, 2002 10:58 pm
Route Climbed: Temelpa trail (Summit Avenue) Date Climbed: 24 December 2002Kim and I finally got around to hiking to Mount Tam's summit. We were dogsitting "Lion" and wanted to tire her out. This was a decidedly casual affair, as evidenced by my corduroy pants and wool sweater. The 1700-foot climb up the Temelpa trail was short and steep--just the way I like to ascend a mountain. Only a few cars in the parking lot on an oddly hazy Christmas Eve.
Misha - Oct 27, 2002 4:00 pm
Route Climbed: Phoenix Lake Trail Date Climbed: 7/20/02Another gorgeous sunny day in the Bay Area.. perfect day to climb mountains! We parked at the Phoenix Lake trailhead and climbed to the summit. It took us 3 hours to reach the top, and 5 hours for the round-trip. We measured round-trip trail length to be around 12 miles. Take plenty of water with you - there are no sources until the summit!
Luidger - Mar 2, 2002 8:20 am
Route Climbed: Bike Date Climbed: Oct 1992I spent one year at UC Berkeley law school and once I bked up Mt. Tamalpais which was pretty nice. All the way from SF over the Golden Gate Bridge to the top. The views of the city are quite impressive (perhaps I'll do some scans, I have the negatives somewhere).
John - Feb 19, 2002 9:35 pm
Route Climbed: Standard Date Climbed: Jan 1998How often do you get the summit of Mount Tam all to yourself? When there's no view and it's raining ;-) I don't remember why I was so insistent to do this but I was the only one in the parking lot that day, there was about 25 foot visibility, it was raining, and I didn't have any waterproof gear - just a nylon jacket. I made it up almost to way up to the top when I couldn't figure out where the trail went so I started crawling through the wet bushes. After making it to the top, I didn't want to get lost coming down so I crawled through the bushes out again. Interesting trip - haven't made it back yet though I've been to Muir Woods and Point Reyes several times which I like better. There's a reason why they are "Muir Woods National Monument" and "Point Reyes National Seashore" :-) I'll read the page in a bit and maybe it will inspire me to go again. I've heard Mount Tam is primarily good for mountain biking which I'll have to try out some time - of course it will be different than Utah slickrock ;-) The Slickrock Trail ... mmm ... I'll have to go back and do that again someday.
mpbro - Feb 19, 2002 7:29 pm
Route Climbed: Standard Date Climbed: August, 1997Not much of a hike from where we started. I remember basically traversing from the parking lot to a crowded, hot, and built-up summit. Views weren't great that day; par for a stagnant August day. I had just moved here, and I recall that Muir Woods was FAR more inviting on this day.
However, we recently (February) explored the area north of Tamalpais, and were impressed. The lakes, though man-made, really are a nice addition. Nice forests, vegetation variations. This is a big, complex mountain.
kdonaldson - Feb 19, 2002 6:35 pm
Date Climbed: Feb 2001Use to live up in San Francisco and this was always a great place to go hiking. We headed up to the east peak on a super clear, cool winter morning last feb, and got amazing views all the way down the bay! Amazing how far you can see from up there on those days when the fog stays away.
Brian Jenkins - Feb 19, 2002 4:43 pm
Route Climbed: can't remember Date Climbed: March, 1989At the time I was in college at the Univ of Illinois and was visiting a buddy in Oakland on Spring Break and interviewing for jobs after graduation. We took one morning and mountain-biked to the summit and enjoyed great views of the Pacific. Saw my first banana slug on the trail too. (BTW, best college mascot EVER in my opinion).
gordonye - Feb 19, 2002 2:50 pm
Route Climbed: Many (Mill Valley, Lagunitas Lake, Muir Woods, Corte Madera) Date Climbed: ManyAbout the best views you can find on earth. Beautiful weather year-round.