Lupin, Fence / Trail (Abbotts Lagoon)

Lupin, Fence - Point Reyes  2026

Trail - Point Reyes  2026

Top: view from the trailhead parking lot.

Next: Abbotts Lagoon trail. Overgrown in some spots . . . my pants got soaked walking through wet grass.

Ranch Buildings, Lagoon, Mist (Abbotts Lagoon)

Lagoon, Ranch Buildings - Point Reyes  2026

Hemlock, Lagoon, Mist - Point Reyes  2026

Photos taken during a June hike. I was using a Nikon Z7II with a 24-200mm zoom lens.

Hemlock, Lupin / Hills (Abbotts Lagoon)

Hemlock, Lupin - Point Reyes  2026

Fence, Hills, Lupin - Point Reyes  2026

Hiking out to the ocean on the Abbotts Lagoon trail.

Loma Alta Summit Views

Fencing (Loma Alta) - Marin County  2026

Mt. Tamalpais from Loma Alta - Marin County  2026

Maybe the now-dilapidated fencing was once used for cows. 

I ate a Kirkland Protein Bar at the top, standing up (should have brought my super light backpack chair). Then the foot-pounding trek downhill.

Loma Alta Gate / Ridge

Cattle Gate (Loma Alta) - Marin County  2026

Summit Ridge (Loma Alta) - Marin County  2026

Alas, no cows, unlike my 2020 hike.

Loma Alta Views

Mt. Tamalpais from Loma Alta - Marin County  2026

Grass, Fence - Marin County  2026

"At 1592 feet, Loma Alta is one of the highest points in Marin."

My last hike to the top was in 2023, so I was thinking that it was probably time to go up again.

Marview / Twin Peaks Path

Marview & Aquavista - San Francisco  2026

Very steep hike up Marview to the new path that's been constructed from Marview up to the Twin Peaks overlook. Weather conditions were clear and warm, with a slight breeze. Below, a newly constructed trail up to the top (old version seen in foggy conditions earlier on the blog.)

New Trail (Twin Peaks) - San Francisco  2026

Fairfax Hike - 5

Oak Tree (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Labyrinth (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Photos taken during my hike high above Fairfax:

- A dramatic backlit oak tree, and

- a folk art labyrinth with Mount Tamalpais in the background.

Towards the end there was a steep descent into more familiar territory and back home. 

Yikes, 29 flights climbed!

Apple Watch (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Fairfax Hike - 4

Meditation Pergola (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Hiking along the ridge trail above Fairfax, I spotted this cool meditation site along with a depiction of Guru Rinpoche.

Guru Rinpoche (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Fairfax Hike - 3

Serpentinite, Mt. Tamalpais (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Once I managed to make it up to the ridge above the water tank the views looking south became quite nice - sunrise in the east illuminating Mt. Tamalpais to my south.

Fairfax Hike - 2

Upper Trail (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Upper Fence (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

So, the road ended at a water tank, with no obvious way to continue on. But peering up I could make out some wooden fences located high above. I resolved to make it up to the fences, which I managed to do by scrabbling through the wet grass using both feet and hands. Once at the top some trails appeared.

Fairfax Hike - 1

Mystery Road (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

Water Tank (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

 On our regular morning walks we frequently pass a road leading up into the hills leading to . . . somewhere unknown.

I recently resolved to hike up the road to see what I could find. As I had speculated, the road ended at a large water tank. But I wanted to see if I could keep on hiking . . . our friend Bob had said that there was a way to continue on up.

Ridges, Mt. Tamalpais

Ridges, Mt. Tamalpais (Fairfax) - Marin County  2026

 Taken during a recent hike I took in the Fairfax hills above our house.

Redwoods, Ferns

Redwoods - Marin County  2026

Ferns - Marin County  2026

We hiked up the Willis Evans trail recently with Shawna, Hanna and Nolan. Very scenic!

Steps (December)

Stairs, Fog - Lake Lagunitas  2025

Stairs, Oak Leaves - Lake Lagunitas  2025

These stone steps are at the beginning - or end - of the hike around Lake Lagunitas (depending on the direction you take). They remind me a little of those granite steps you frequently find on Sierra Nevada trails, but those are usually quite a bit longer.

Windchill / Trail Issues / Lost Phone

Mountain Trail - Sierra Nevada  2025

Tree Trunks, Branches - Sierra Nevada  2025

"White fingers when cold are typically caused by Raynaud's phenomenon, a condition where blood vessels in the extremities narrow in response to cold or stress. This reduces blood flow, causing the skin to turn white or blue, accompanied by numbness or tingling. When warming up, the fingers may turn red and throb as blood flow returns. To manage this, keep hands warm and avoid cold exposure."

--Google AI

Mike's fingers were turning white due to the windchill, even wearing gloves. Very difficult to adjust the daypack waist belt!

The trail was pretty straightforward in parts: easily walkable going forward or gaining elevation. Some parts had granite steps to climb: strenuous but not that difficult. Then there were the sections that consisted of large rocks being piled on top of one another. Mike's granddaughter would have no problem skipping over them! But not Mike. He studied one problematic flat granite slab and thought to himself "Hm, looks like that could lead to a buttslide." And so it proved. Luckily, he landed on his daypack, so no harm from the slide.

Mike got up and continued down the trail. It took a while for him to realize that his iPhone was missing from his jacket pocket. How annoying! Fortunately he was able to use his Apple watch to find the phone, retracing his steps and pushing the phone location button on the watch until he could hear the iPhone's signal in the distance. There it was, lying on the ground!

Mike finally had to admit that the hike was turning out to be not particularly enjoyable. Time to turn around and head back to the trailhead.

iPhone on Ground - Sierra Nevada  2025

Sierra Hike Sightems

Roots, Granite - Sierra Nevada  2025

Pine Trunk - Sierra Nevada  2025

The windchill was making it slightly difficult to concentrate. But at least I managed to remember to take some forest detail photos.

Aspens, Wind

Aspens, Granite - Sierra Nevada  2025

Aspens, South Lake, Wind - Sierra Nevada  2025

I noticed some aspens huddled against a granite wall at the trailhead . . . took a photo using my Sony RX100 (finding it very capable so far - haven't made any prints yet).

It was quite cold, which made me a little apprehensive, what with the wind chill and all. I started off anyway, looking down on the aspens lining South Lake, some leaves still hanging on and the wind rippling the surface of the water.

Sierra Hike (Windy)

Mountain - Sierra Nevada  2025

Wind, South Lake - Sierra Nevada  2025

I had tried the hike to Treasure Lakes last year (2024), but didn't make it all the way. This time I thought that I should try it again, with an earlier start and sufficient hydration in my daypack.

But . . . the wind! The temperature was in the 40s when I arrived at the trailhead, and the wind whipping across South Lake made it feel much colder.

Coast Camp Hike - Inland

Ferns - Point Reyes  2025

Alder Trunks - Point Reyes  2025

The trail took us away from the ocean, past some shady spots with ferns and alders, finally coming out into the sun for some quite lengthy stretches before our joyful return to the car.

Hanna, Coast Trail - Point Reyes  2025