Week 36: Bon Tempe and Alpine Lakes

After quite a long and unintentional hiking respite, Eric and I hit the trail once more over the weekend, hiking in the Marin Municipal Water District. We (along with Lina) started at Bon Tempe Lake and made a loop of the Kent, Stocking, and Rocky Ridge Trails, hiking by both the Alpine and Hidden Lakes.

The beginning and the end; the beauty of a loop.

Looking into Bon Tempe Lake, at the beginning. In the morning the lake was still as can be but by the time we returned at the end of our hike the wind had picked up substantially.

It was easy to see how low the water was in several places.

The first 3 miles of the hike (distance according to sign markers) were decently shaded with minimal grade change.

Hidden Lake, an algae-filled bog that would be easy to miss.

Redwood cluster.

Entering the chaparral, looking into the (delightful) smog.

The view from the other side of the chaparral, looking back into the trees we emerged from.

A man and his rock.

The trail was advertised as 5 miles, but according to mapmyrun we clocked in closer to 6.5 miles (of course, we forgot to start tracking at the beginning of the hike and then forgot to stop tracking until we were leaving the parking lot). The trails featured a fair amount of grade change, and considering how much time has elapsed since we last truly hiked, it was perhaps a bit ambitious. The 6+ miles took us through and along shaded redwood groves, lakefront dust trails, rocky fireroads, chaparral, and more. It was a great hike, as my feet keep reminding me. ;)