Inverness Ridge
Five Brooks trailhead to Wildcat Beach
It was classically good biking weather: sunny, but cool, bordering on nippy.
The only catch was the mud since
a storm had just passed through, reinvigorating the moss and ferns beneath the rain forest canopy along
Inverness Ridge. The
Stewart Trail is the only Point Reyes biking trail that takes you all the way from Olema
Valley to the beach, although Bear Valley will get you close.
Photos
Click to expand
Riding up the Stewart trail on a nice,
cloudy Autumn day. The sun came out higher up as the canopy was
thickening, letting only specks of sunlight through to shine on the dense undergrowth.
Whoa, heads up! Must have been quite a storm. This was only the first of several trees that had
fallen across the trail.
Cool, getting close to the top of the ridge. The highest point on the trail is firtop at 1325 feet. I was
practically on the ridgeline already.
Finally over the other side, looking down toward Wildcat beach. Here can be seen the drier western side
of Inverness Ridge. Bolinas follows the same pattern, with heavier growth on the eastern side. Kind
of goes against the rainshadow effect that I learned about in school, classically seen in the Sierra
Nevada range.
Well that was a quick ride down. Hardly had a chance to snap a picture. That was pretty darn steep,
I'm not going to have to go back up that way, am I?
Well, no need to think about it for now, here's a nice little spring leading to the beach for
me to enjoy while gazing back at the Inverness.
Here's Wildcat Beach, exhibiting the remoteness of Point Reyes.
First a shot to the south facing Alamere Falls, which I could see from here but binoculars would have
been nice. The next shot is facing north from the bluff at the western edge of the campground.
I think I'll just sit around watching the sun go down...
Yep, that was a cool ride, except for the part about having to return up those
steep trails in the dark. New moon too, and the dense forest was no help either. Eek, did I hear something?
Nobody has really seen cougers around here have they? (b. November 17, 2001)
Back to top.
Back home.
Riding up the Stewart trail on a nice,
cloudy Autumn day. The sun came out higher up as the canopy was
thickening, letting only specks of sunlight through to shine on the dense undergrowth.
Whoa, heads up! Must have been quite a storm. This was only the first of several trees that had
fallen across the trail.
Cool, getting close to the top of the ridge. The highest point on the trail is firtop at 1325 feet. I was
practically on the ridgeline already.
Finally over the other side, looking down toward Wildcat beach. Here can be seen the drier western side
of Inverness Ridge. Bolinas follows the same pattern, with heavier growth on the eastern side. Kind
of goes against the rainshadow effect that I learned about in school, classically seen in the Sierra
Nevada range.
Well that was a quick ride down. Hardly had a chance to snap a picture. That was pretty darn steep,
I'm not going to have to go back up that way, am I?
Well, no need to think about it for now, here's a nice little spring leading to the beach for
me to enjoy while gazing back at the Inverness.
Here's Wildcat Beach, exhibiting the remoteness of Point Reyes.
First a shot to the south facing Alamere Falls, which I could see from here but binoculars would have
been nice. The next shot is facing north from the bluff at the western edge of the campground.
I think I'll just sit around watching the sun go down...