June, 23, 2021

 June 21, 2021

Coastal Trail, Lagoon Trail Loop to Rodeo Beach

Golden Gate National Recreation Area

hikers:  Mark and Lecia

distance:  a mile and a half loop, easy.

There is actually parking at Rodeo beach but we wanted a little walk so we parked in the parking lot for the Marin Headlands Visitor Center, which was closed unfortunately.  We took the Coastal Trail to Rodeo Beach.

That strip of sand out there is the beach 

and the water on this side of it is Rodeo Lagoon.

There's the ocean and what looks like a pile of rocks.

Only it wasn't a pile of rocks!  It was a beached whale.  A baby whale I guess 

but then I don't know a lot about whales.  It has been there for a while 

and if you are on the side away from the ocean the breeze blows your way 

and it has quite a stench!  

It was actually really cool.  Not every day you see a beached whale.  

First time ever for me!

You can see it's size compared to me.

Here is the ocean

And on the other side of the beach is the lagoon.

The white building you see on the other side of the lagoon is the visitors center, where we parked.  We walked back on the other side of the lagoon, 

the Lagoon Trail Loop.  

The coastal trail was the nicer trail because the loop trail goes along the road, but we were able to walk all the way around the lagoon on those trails.  

Monday, June 21, 2021

 Lam Watah Historic Trail at Lake Tahoe

hikers:  Mark and Lecia

length:  2.8 miles

We drove by Lake Tahoe on our way to California and saw this little trail so we tried it out.  It was a walk, not a hike, but it took us to a sandy beach, Nevada Beach, where we dipped our toes in the water and watched parasailers.  

It also had signage to tell us about the Native Americans that lived there and the  planned casino development that was halted by the Nature Conservancy. 

June 19, 2021

Pine Creek Nature Trail 

at Wasatch Mountain State Park

length: 2.5 miles, maybe shorter since we started in the campground.

hikers: the parentals, who are now Grandpa and Nana, first born son and his wife and happy little daughter, son #5 and his wife, and son #6 without his wife since he doesn't have one yet.

 

We camped overnight at the Oak Hollow loop of Wasatch Stake Park and after breakfast and packing up we went on a nearby nature trail.  It started just up the road from where we were camping.  

                                The trail started across the road from this campground.

Apparently dogs are allowed on this trail.  At the top of the post you see the sign pointing to the trail.  It starts out in the open and after going up a little ways we came to this nice bench.

We continued on the trail and there were pretty wildflowers, including this one.  It appears to be a sego lily!  I don't think I've ever seen our state flower in the wild and there were a lot! 

Once we got going up the trail it was quite shady and followed a creek bed.  We walked through the gambel oak and eventually got into maple and aspen.  

  It is an easy hike, going uphill but never steep.  There were a couple of bridges.  Some of our crew turned around at the second bridge and for those who continued on we came to a glacial outwash, which was a very large boulder field.

Geology lesson on glaciers!

Going back to the trail from the glacial outwash.

The rest of the group left us this cairn so we would know they crossed the bridge.  

Hiking back down the trail.

 I think this would be a good hike for kids.  2 year old Rosie was on shoulders most of the time.  

There weren't any hikers on the trail until we were on our way back down.  If you are camping here you should definitely do this hike.  If you're not camping you would need to pay the state park fee to do the hike.

Hike along Kayenta Gulch, May 22, 2021

                   Kayenta Gulch
                   near St. George

Hikers: Mark and Lecia

Easy, until you get to the boulders with a chain and steps cut into the stone.  At that point it is more difficult.

We were in St. George and before coming home on Saturday we went on a hike my brother recommended.  I haven't found this trail online and I don't know the name of it but we followed his directions and found the trailhead.  In Ivins we pulled off on the north side of Kwavasa Drive on a dirt road on the east side of Kayenta gulch. We parked there near a water tower for construction trucks, and headed down the dirt road which turned into a trail.

The first part of the trail is mostly flat.

It runs along the empty wash bed and has lots of trees and vegetation so you don't always see the wash, but eventually you walk in the wash.  

There is some interesting rock along the trail.

Then you come to a fence that forms kind of a gate.

Here's a peek at the empty wash.  

Lots of different vegetation.

I was watching for rattlesnakes when a bird flew out from under the shade of a rock and really startled me!  Better a bird than a rattlesnake!

There were ups and down in the trail, including these stone stairs.

 

At this point there was a little water in the wash.

And lots of red sand on the trail, and some in my shoes.

After going underneath some pipes that run up high up at ground level there are  some rocks you get to hike up.  Steps are cut into the rocks and there is a chain to hang onto.

After that the trail forks.  We chose left.  It gets very rocky and there were a few obstacles. There were a couple of pools with water.  There were lots of guppies of tadpoles swimming around in the shallower one.  We had to go around the larger pool on a sandstone ledge.  It was kind of tricky and made me wonder if we were on the right trail.  Maybe we should have gone right at the fork.

Right after that we came to some large rocks we had to climb up.  That is where I decided it might be a good idea to turn around.  After all, we had to come back the same way and I was feeling like it was enough for me.  Mark went up the rocks to scout it out but we decided stop there and turn around.  Which meant we had to go on the sandstone ledge again to get past the pool of water. We went back the same way we came and since it wasn't a really hot day for St. George it was a pleasant hike even though we were hiking in the afternoon.  We didn't see a soul the entire time!

This hike started out very easy. But eventually it became more difficult as we ran into boulders and obstacles.  My brother hikes it with his family, which includes grandchildren, and they go one way and leave a car on the road at the other end.  We did it out and back and since we didn't go all the way to the road we may have take a different fork than they do!

March 20, 2021 Little Cottonwood Trail

 Little Cottonwood Trail

winter version 

hikers:  Mark, Lecia, Seth

Distance: a mile plus up and the same distance back

weather: snow in the air and on the trail but no need for snow shoes at this end of the trail

     The parking lot for the little cottonwood trail and Temple Quarry trail was closed for the season so we parked across the road in the Alta/Snowbird park and ride. 

     Yesterday was spring but today was winter.  The first part of the trail was slushy but then we were in a few inches of snow for the rest of the hike.  Nothing we needed snowshoes for but I was glad to have my boots.  I always love a reason to wear my snow boots. 

     

Where we came from.

Where we were going.  Notice there are no footprints.  We didn't see anyone until we were on our way back, about a half mile from the trailhead!

We crossed the first bridge.  There is not a lot of water in the creek this time of year.  We kept going and went past the where there used to be a graffitied pavilion.  But surprise!  It is no longer there and they are revegetating that area.  I guess it has been a while since we have been on this trail.  A ways further and we turned around.  

Winter wonderland.  In March!

This is about where we decided we had hiked far enough and turned around.

This was a great trail for a spring winter/hike. The trees were loaded with snow and it was beautiful.

 

Saturday, January 16, 2021 Antelope Island!

Antelope Island:

Buffalo Point

Lakeside Trail

hikers:  Mark and Lecia

Distance:  1 + 4.8 = 5.8 miles

elevation gain: not much

Mark and I headed to Antelope Island today.  I was really hoping to see the ice that forms near the island and even though that wasn't to be we did get to do a couple of hikes.  It was cold, but not bitter cold, and it turned out to be great hiking weather.  Especially at Antelope Island where there is no shade in the summer months.  I seriously never knew there were such good hiking options in January.   We weren't the only ones there either, but the parking lots weren't completely full.

We arrived at the toll booth and there were a few cars ahead of us.  Just so you know, 

There is a $15 charge per car!

There were also some bikes.

This is a simple map of the island.  We decided to start at the Buffalo Point trail.  

This is an out-and-back trail about a mile long. You do go uphill to get to the point, about 200 feet elevation gain, but it is an easy hike.  One that is great for kids.  

This time of year there was some snow and ice.  That was really slick but we made it. 

At the top you have a 360 view and there are all kinds of rocks to climb and hide in if that's your thing, meaning kids would love it here.  

The views are amazing.  After we took it all in, we drove a short way to the Lakeside Trailhead.

The Lakeside trail is a loop that goes along the lake and it also goes around the other side of Buffalo point.  You could just go along the lake for a short way, but we just kept going and were rewarded on the other side of Buffalo Point.  This trail is mostly, but not completely flat.  There were bikes and even a couple of unicycles on it.

You get relatively close to the lake but there was always what looked like marshy or boggy area before the lake.

Here we are.  I put on a hat when we first started hiking and it warmed up enough I didn't need it, but once you put a hat on you may as well leave it on.  You can see the sun was bright.

We found many of these.  All over.  Some fresh and others in various states of decomposition.  This is the home where the buffalo roam!  I don't know if that looks big or not, but buffalo pies are definitely bigger than cow pies.  The horse poop on the trail was nothing compared to these.  

We eventually encountered actual buffalo or bison.  The trail went pretty close to where they were grazing.  That was our reward for doing the whole loop

By this time we had had enough hiking so even though we wanted to do Dooly Knob we had to save it for another day.  

Antelope Island is a good place for hiking.  For kids good hikes are the ladyfinger point trail, Buffalo Point, and a short distance on the lakeside loop.  That would be fun on bikes too. 

I haven't done any other trails but next time I would like to do Dooly Knob and the South Island trail.  This time we spent all our time in the Buffalo Point area.

We stopped on our way and got sandwiches which was a good thing to do, or take your own food and water also.  

January is a great time to visit.  I would like to go back when you can see the ice formations but you have to have specific winter conditions for that.