Happy Halloween!!!

My traditional pumpkin
Originally uploaded by bondgurl

Avast, 'tis my favorite holiday. Ye all have a merry halloween, yarrr!

California Indian Pink (Silene californica)

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Originally uploaded by bondgurl

Yay! I figured out what flower this is. It's California Indian Pink (Silene californica). Today, since the rain caused a traffic freak-out and the bridge was absolutely horrible, I decided to exit the madness and stroll around S.F.s REI (my only shopping addiction). To kill time, I spent an hour browsing their book section. At one point I decided to search the wildflower guides to see if I could find it. I found one that looked similar but didn't have the yellow stamins. After I got home, it was U.C. Berkeley's Calphotos to the rescue! I looked up "indian pink" and VIOLA!

I love calphotos.berkeley.edu

Rain!!!

Today we've received the first real rainstorm of the season, YAY! It's supposed to rain throughout the weekend which means a nice, stormy Halloween and a wet hike for me on Sunday...I look forward to it. I've noticed that the leaves of all the trees and bushes, urban and forest alike, are covered in a think layer of dust, soot, and grime giving them a dull gray appearance (whether they be green, gold, or brown leaves). Hopefully it will poor down hard enough to make them sparkle again (and my car too...it needs a bath).

(Also of note: I placed a module for the Oakland, CA weather report in the left hand sidebar of this page that includes sun/moon rise and set...I'm such a nerd.)

You call 911, get an AED and come back!

So I want to lead backpacking trips. And one day I hope to get PAID to lead backpacking trips. One of the requirements for doing such is advanced CPR. After last night I'm not only officially certified in Wilderness First Aid but also "BLS for Healthcare Providers" (i.e. Basic Life Support). However the need for CPR in the wilderness is dubious at best because where most people go backpacking it is miles and hours away from relief and an AED machine. Also due the the miles and hours, I don't think I will be saying as we were instructed: "You call 911, get an AED and come back." "Sorry lady no cell reception" and 5 hours later, that person that needed the AED machine is probably toast. Also of note (as I was instructed in Wilderness First Aid) is that one of the few scenarios that CPR in the wilderness would be beneficial is if someone is unresponsive after being struck by lightning.
So please DON'T get struck by lightning because I hope to never have to use my training...

Sarah's Pumpkin Carving Party

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Originally uploaded by bondgurl

On Saturday afternoon we gathered in Oaktown to carve pumpkins in Sarah's backyard and munch on very tasty food and guzzle strong libations. I'm always very stunned and impressed by the pumpkin carving novices that show up at her carving parties. A.) It fascinates me when I find out that not everybody grew up religiously carving pumpkins for Halloween since birth, because, you know, Halloween has to be celebrated by everbody... and B.) These people with no or very little experience do some really amazing pumpkin carvings. View my complete flickr photo album here.

(The Garfield at right is my handy work)

Day Hike: Muir Woods Mt. Tam Loop

I remember seeing big leaf maple trees turning yellow in Muir Woods National Monument last year, so in my quest for Bay Area fall color, I thought this would make a nice destination for a hike. (Plus, I also remembered that my National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass would cover the admission fee. Excellent!) HIKE STATS: Trailhead: Muir Woods National Monument Length: 6 mile lollipop loop hike Elevation change: 1500 feet gain/loss Trails: Muir Woods Main Trail, Bootjack, TCC, Stapleveldt, Ben Johnson, back to Muir Woods Main. Terrain: Main Trail is mostly paved and wheelchair accessible; the rest is well maintained single track with some roots and wood stairs. Trip date: October 19, 2008 My photo album at flickr (click here).
	Entrance to Muir Woods National Monument
Muir Woods in the Morning I arrived at the parking lot shortly after 9 am wanting to get there early because I knew that Muir Woods can be a people zoo usually consisting of San Francisco tourists that want to whiz through to catch a quick glimpse at big redwood trees. (Personally, I prefer the redwoods of Big Basin and Henry Cowell as far as local old-growth giant specimens are concerned, but I wasn't here just for the redwoods.) Unfortunately about half a dozen cars pulled up at the same time as me. Luckily most were also the quiet types looking for peace in the woods. There was also my desire for "good" light. I wanted to try and get some decent photos of the trees, particularly the maples, with nice, canopy-filtered, morning light.
	Maple leaf in Muir Woods on the main trail
The Secret Life of Ladybugs Along the trail I saw bunches of sleeping ladybugs. (I also saw this the week before in Mt. Diablo S.P.) Ladybugs go dormant during the cold months hanging out en masse on objects such as a nice log or sometimes a house returning to the same spot yearly - bet you didn't know that! Also, when threatened, they literally bleed a toxin out of their exoskeleton joints that apparently tastes bad and smells bad too (At Henry Cowell S.P. I had to dress up in a lady bug costume and tell little kids to smell a box full of live ones. "Here, smell this. It stinks!").
	Cluster of sleeping ladybugs
	Thousands of ladybugs on branches
Bootjack and the Maples Big leaf maples are deciduous and live along the Pacific West Coast mostly from the Bay Area to southwest parts of Alaska, but can be found in Southern California and the Western Slopes of the Sierras. Maple syrup can be made from its sap but has a different flavor than the sugar maple and isn't widely used. Bootjack trail out of Muir Woods is a nice place to see big leaf maples. It follows Redwood Creek, a perennial stream, up to Van Wyck Meadow and eventually to Bootjack picnic area in Mt. Tamalpais State Park. Even though it is all up hill from Muir Woods, the lightly running creek with it's trickling cascades and the yellow foliage of the maples interspersed in the mixed evergreen forest make it a really pleasant fall-season trail.
	Big leaf maple on Bootjack Trail
Van Wyck Meadow At the junction of several trails, the meadow is a fairly unspectacular small flat with a few big boulders strewn about to sit on and eat a trail snack and listen to birds. It's also a good place to listen to the huffing and puffing of passing hikers.
	Van Wyck Meadow
TCC and Stapleveldt Trails TCC is a nearly level trail that laterals the contours of several small ridges, that weave in and out of the watershed above Muir Woods on Mt. Tam S.P. property. In the shady deep folds of TCC there are some nice fern grottos, and on the dryer ridges, young oak and bay laurel trees. Eventually I came to a confusing trail junction, but after consulting my topo map, I turned southeast/left after the bridge taking the "low road" and in about 50 feet found the sign for Stapleveldt trail to Ben Johnson trail. Stapleveldt trail is a steep yet well designed and graded set of switchbacks that drop you quickly into the small canyon to eventually join Ben Johnson Trail.
	Wildflower near Van Wyck Meadow (haven’t figured out what it is yet…if you know please share!) UPDATE: California Indian Pink (Silene californica)
Ben Johnson Trail This trail a consistent decline, but not too much of a toe-jammer. It seemed to be more populated with people coming up from Muir Woods than the other trails. Ben Johnson trail descends amongst redwood forest with a couple big leaf maples here and there but in my opinion not as pretty as Bootjack. The unnamed creek that it follows was dry, but it may make this trail much prettier when it is flowing in the spring. It joins up with Muir Woods main trail and Hillside Trail at Bridge 4. Since I had taken Hillside Trail on a previous hike and found it to be crowded and no more "scenic" than the main trail, I took Muir Woods Main Trail back to the trailhead.
	Burnt-out old-growth redwood (with abandoned toilet paper thrown on the ground behind it—not pictured.)
Struggling like a spawning salmon through throngs of tourists with loud children and bulky strollers on the main trail, I had to suppress the urge to lecture them about the evils of abandoning bundles of toilet paper behind rocks and trees and underneath bushes. For their part, they must have thought I was some sort of nutjob with my trekking poles, backpacking boots, nylon cargo pants, GPS, two cameras, and a nalgene hanging off of my backpack for what they assumed was just a stroll on the (mostly paved) main trail. Eventually I made it through the hoards and back to the entrance unscathed and without screaming or lecturing anyone about the vices of tissue.
(click on the map for a larger version.)
If you'd like to go, check out these links: Muir Woods National Monument Mt. Tamalpais State Park