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| Summer Hills of Mt. Tamalpais |
We were grateful for the cloudy sky above the fog today. It was a cool and pleasant 71 degrees when we started our hike at Rock Spring at about 9:30, but it got quite a bit warmer out along the Coast Trail, reaching a high of 87.3 before we finally descended into the shade of the Cataract Creek Trail.
The grassy hillsides were at their golden best, with the tall dry grass still fresh enough to soften the landscape with its cloak of fur. It's funny to speak of the dry grass being "fresh," but in another month it will look quite different out there. Within the forests, the little side creeks were all dried up, and bay laurel leaves perfumed the air. Thanks to the Merlin app on my phone, I learned another bird call today -- the western flycatcher -- which makes a whistle like a human trying to get your attention (check the second recording: California, 6/29/19).
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| View from the Old Mine Trail |
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| Mt. Diablo in the Distance |
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| Furry Hillsides, View Toward East Peak |
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| Gray Squirrel Munching a Nut |
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| Golden Fence Lizard |
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| He was ready to dive into the hole, but not exactly eager. There were so many hikers on the trail today that he would certainly have future opportunities. |
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| Coast Trail Above Stinson Beach |
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| As we were hiking we heard a strange sound that reminded me of the screaming of dozens of excited children that I heard the other day as I rode past the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park. But then we realized part of the noise was the siren of a rescue vehicle, with the rest of it being the wailing of numerous coyotes. A chopper soon appeared and landed on Stinson Beach, and it looked like someone on a stretcher was loaded aboard before it took off. You can see a circle of greenish cones meant to keep the landing zone clear. |
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| Layers Upon Layers |
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