Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Old Stage Rd to West Point Inn


View from Matt Davis trail

This is not one of those hikes in Marin that no one knows about. If you are one of those people who hikes a good amount, you probably know about this one. Still, I meet many people here who do not have the faintest clue about where West Point Inn is located. Therefore, I decided to put this hike on the blog. This hike is very fickle about its terrain. For one short part, you will be in a Redwood or Douglas Fir forest and then you will find yourself in chaparral with only a few scattered Douglas Firs serving as shade. The hike is about 4 miles long and you can take the kids on it because there are no steep uphills. There is a steep downhill on Nora trail but it is short and the rest of the hike is close to level anyway. On the Old Stage Rd. though, you should be wary of bikers because although some are courteous, some just speed down the mountain without looking. If you wanted, you could go to West Point Inn on the weekend and you might be able to go inside. On some Sundays, they even have a pancake breakfast.

Terrain: a mix of chaparral, Douglas Fir and Redwoods.
Length: 4.0 miles
Best times: good on days that are not hot
Crowds: can be heavy on Old Stage Rd and at West Point Inn on weekends.
Difficulty: moderately easy with one steep downhill section but gradual uphill climb
Shade level: First and last parts are shady with mix of shade and no shade in the middle parts.

Directions:
From Highway 101, get off at the Route 1 exit. Continue on Route 1 as it goes up into the hills. On you right, you will see Panoramic Highway and go right onto it. Continue on Panoramic Highway past Mountain Home Inn and past Bootjack camp until you reach the Pantoll Ranger Station at the intersection of Panoramic Highway and Pantoll Rd. Park at the Pantoll Ranger Station and you should see Old Stage Rd across the intersection.

The hike:
After getting through this wild intersection, take Old Stage Rd as it starts to gradually ease its way up Mt. Tam. Immediately, you will see trail intersections nearby in this forest mixed with tanbark and Douglas Fir. Old Mine trail to your left climbs to the Rock Springs parking lot. Matt Davis trail to your right stays parallel to Old Stage Rd and you will be taking that route on your return trip. About 0.1 miles later, you should see Easy Grade trail (which is easier than other routes but is still pretty steep) go up to the Mountain Theater. The terrain remains similar on the Old Stage Rd and about 0.4 miles into the hike, you will reach the Bootjack trail intersection. It makes a descent first to Bootjack picnic area in 0.1 miles and then eventually makes the 2 mile trip down to Muir Woods. To your left, Bootjack climbs up to the Mountain Theater with a recently rerouted climb. Before the reroute...let's just say the climb was not very fun. To your right, you should see another road with asphalt but it goes to a ranger residence, not West Point Inn. Old Stage Rd loses its pavement as it climbs a small hill and hits a gate. You can continue, you are only leaving Mt. Tamalpais State Park and entering the MMWD (Marin Municipal Water District.) Next to the gate, there is a sign mentioning the dangers of Mountain Lions. Fortunately, I have never had a direct encounter with one. One time though, I was hiking in Santa Barbara and some animal that looked like a mountain lion raced away from me. They are more common in Santa Barbara though and I have never seen one up here.

After passing the gate, the terrain begins a slight change too. Instead of being shaded by primarily Douglas Firs, you will instead be going in and out of a mix of Douglas Firs and chaparral. Also, you should pass a few groves of Sargent Cypresses along the way. Also, views open up in a few places where you can see down to Muir Woods and San Francisco. As you get closer to West Point Inn, Old Stage Rd will see some brief shady points as it goes through the upper reaches of Spike Buck and Rattlesnake Creeks. Between them, Old Stage Rd will rise quickly but then descend as it goes into the next canyon. Also, remember to watch for bikers because many of them speed down this hill. After Old Stage Rd climbs up one more ridge and rounds a bend, you will find that you are 1.9 miles into the hike and at West Point Inn. There is a picnic area nearby and you will probably see a good amount of people because West Point Inn is a popular rest stop for hikers and bikers. If it is a weekend, you may be able to go inside West Point Inn. There are some maps there and some chairs. If you look around, you may see some small cabins where people can stay overnight. West Point Inn was once a stop on Old Railroad Grade, also known as "the Crookediest Railroad in the World" during its hayday. The Old Railroad Grade used to be a Railroad that went to the top of Mt. Tam to a tavern that unfortunately was destroyed by a fire in the 1920's.

View to Muir Woods from Old Stage Rd

To continue the loop, you should go down the Nora trail which you will find to the right of where Old Stage Rd hits Old Railroad Grade. Nora trail at first descends quickly through high chaparral with a mix of short trees. Follow the switchbacks as Nora trail begins to follow Laguna Creek which descends down to Fern Creek later. In about 0.5 miles after passing West Point Inn, you should be at the intersection of Matt Davis trail. By now, Nora trail has transformed from a trail in chaparral to a trail inside the redwoods (although the redwoods themselves are not too tall.) To continue the loop, take the Matt Davis trail to the right. To the left, Matt Davis trail goes about 1.2 miles to the Mountain Home Inn, a nice restaurant on the mountain with more trail opportunities (including the dreaded Hogback FR but that is another story.) To the right is where the hike will go though. For the next 1.3 miles until Matt Davis reaches the Bootjack trail, the terrain goes through the similar pattern as Old Stage Rd does. At creeksides, there are trees but away from the creeks, the dominant plants are chaparral. There are some places though with high chaparral instead of the scrubby plants that are not very tall. At certain places with the open chaparral, you will have some good views down into Muir Woods.

Woods on Matt Davis trail

Once you reach the point in the picture above, you will be close to the Bootjack camp which is a possible starting point for the hike but in this description, the hike will end at Pantoll. As you get close to Bootjack camp, you will be in a mix of Douglas Firs and hardwoods. In this area, I saw a King snake a long time ago. Once you pass this area and see a sign saying "Marin Municipal Water District," you will definitely be close to Bootjack camp. After passing the sign, you should see the camp near you. To get through the camp, just follow the Matt Davis trail. The trail will go near the parking lot and then go through a patch of grassland. There are some serpentine rocks here. Someone I know once said, "If serpentine were valuable, Mt. Tam would be one big mine." He is definitely correct. After passing through the grassland area, Matt Davis trail enters a Douglas Fir forest with tanbark. The trail runs close to the road so expect car noises to accompany you for the rest of the hike. The Easy Grade trail runs off to your right, going up to Old Stage Rd. very quickly. Once Matt Davis trail intersects with Old Stage Rd, the hike will have almost concluded. Retrace your steps on the Old Stage Rd. back to Pantoll where you can return to your car.