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| Falls Along Matt Davis Trail |
My wife had the day off, and since it seemed like the heaviest rain had passed during the night, we drove up to Mt. Tam expecting to hike from Rock Spring to Cataract Falls. The gate was closed to the upper mountain, though, and we didn't have $8 in cash to park at the Pantoll lot, so we drove back toward Bootjack to park along the side of the road for free, and from there we hiked out along the Matt Davis Trail.
In the woods it was hard to tell whether it was raining or just dripping a lot from the trees -- until a couple of real squalls let loose and left no room for doubt. We wore rain jackets but not rain pants, and neither of us brought an umbrella, so there was some question as to whether we'd even make it to our turnaround point, out where the forest opens up onto the rolling grassland, before we got too wet and cold.
We were so close by the time the second squall started, though, that we kept going, and as soon as we got out to a very foggy, cloudy "vista" point we were greeted by an excellent rumbling peel of thunder. But as the sky darkened again and let loose another boom, we felt like it was time to get back in the woods and return to the car.
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| This fresh bear's head fruiting was a nice surprise. We didn't expect to see much fungi because of the recent heavy rain, but this stuff was sheltered from the pounding deluge by the log that's supporting it. |
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| This was the moody and serene view about where the Matt Davis Trail crosses the gated road to the upper mountain. |
A little slo-mo footage of the falls.
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| Talkin' Turkey |
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| The view had cleared up nicely by the time we got back to the trail junction with Pantoll Road. This is my kind of stormy weather -- big squalls, preferably producing thunder and lightning, moving through an otherwise clear sky. |
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| Yesterday I walked over to Grandview Park to take in the storm, but it never got very wild, with wind gusts topping out at a mere 22 mph, and a consistent but light rain. |
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| Pastels in the Sunset |
Rear Window Timelapse (2/1/24)
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