Misty Morning Hike at Mt. Tampalias

This particular Mt. Tam trail starts near Mountain Theatre, in the summer the theatre hosts plays and concerts on weekends. We start our hike in the first parking past the venue, a moderate 3-hour hike with a diversity of plants and environments.

We start our hike and follow the signs to the Potrero Meadow by way of Lagunitas Rock Spring Fire Road. It’s so quiet you can hear the nearby stream and the wind blowing through the fall leaves that haven’t dropped yet. A variety of fungi and mushrooms spring up near the trail's edge as we make our way to the meadow a light fog rests on the meadow floor and leads to a quiet trail called Bernstein.

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The fog gets thicker and amplifies the greens and turns the forest into a light green color. I’m stuck inside a giant Bonsai pot with a perfectness that seems crafted by a giant human.

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Following Northside / International / Miller Old Grade Road we finally reach West Point Inn, an old Inn that provides bathrooms, and an observation deck with picnic tables that look out to the hills. Hummingbirds dart around the feeder attached to the deck as we take in the view. You can rent cabins here Tuesday-Saturday and I fantasize about staying here for a day or even a few days and taking in all the beauty of the forest. Nowhere to go and nothing to do, the slowing down of time.

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We finally head out using Rock Springs Trail as our exit, parts of it run through slippery serpentine rock and the manzanita with its shiny burgundy marbled bark sticking out in the newly sparser scenery.

There are many trails in Mt Tam that lead to West Point Inn and the Mountain Theatre, check out this map before you go. The loop we took was Mountain Theatre (second parking lot) / Lagunitas Rock Spring Fire Road/ Bernstein Trail / Northside / International / Miller Old Grade Road / Rock Springs. International Trail is off Northside, when you get to the top of the mountain where all the trails split be sure to continue on Northside you’ll see International a few yards ahead.

Caving in Utah

If you are interested in cave exploring, Utah is a great place to visit. Utah is the host of over one hundred caves with names like Indian Burial, Lucifers Liar, Silly Putty (closed) and What the Hell Cave.

We visited Mammoth Cave Lava Tubes and Bowers Lava Tubes in Dixie National Forest. The caves were fairly large and impressive. Don’t forget your flashlight, it can get really dark and muddy in the caves. Please, please check out cave safety and ethics of caving before you go. The caves are closed off in the winter for hibernating bats.

To get to the caves you need to travel off the Forest Highway 050 onto a dusty dirt side road. As a truck passed us on the road, I can see a whirlwind of dust in my mirror.

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Upon arriving at Bower Lava Tube we parked in the designated area and began our short quiet hike into the woods. In the middle of the landscape, you will find a hole in the ground where you will descend an 8-foot ladder. You can stand in the cave, but at about 100 feet you’ll need to crouch, look up and you will see a unique silver glitter residue on the ceiling.

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Mammoth Cave Lava Tube area must have had some type of Mad Max event going on while we there. Upon arriving we were immediately assaulted with the sounds of buzzing motorbikes and off-road vehicle engines, riders decked out in full motor cross gear and dust holding thick like fog in the air. As we approach the mouth of the cave, it is congested with children and adults. Once climbing down into the cave the sound disappears and you are left with cave explorers, flashlights grazing the cave walls. The Mammoth Caves can become very small at some points where you might have to crawl and squeeze your way through, we went back after the crouching halfway. There are at least three ways to enter the cave and 2100 feet of exploration.