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Muir Woods National Monument, California 2024

The goal

With less than 14 lbs in our backpacks we wanted to hike through a gorgeous woodland, walking from inn to inn where we’d find  a comfy place to eat and sleep each night. Call it glamping.

The setting

Most of the northern California coast is dotted with an almost continuous succession of federal and state parks and reserves. At least to my eye it appears that way on the map. In terms of plant and wild life, these areas are certainly a national treasure. Sadly, as a Midwesterner I know little about them or the wonders they contain. But beginning in 2022 and again this year we were able to visit Muir Wood National Monument, located in Marin County, a few miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco.

Route to the redwoods

We chose Muir Woods after reading an article about the park in the travel section of a publication (I've now forgotten which publication). The article described how one could fly into San Francisco, take a ferry (or bus) across the Bay to the city of Sausalito in Marin County. From there, one takes a public bus up to Muir Woods to spend the first night in the Mountain Home Inn. The next day one hikes through the Muir Woods Monument to the small village of Muir Beach to spend the night in an old country inn which in the 1970s had been transported and rebuilt - lock, stock, and barrel - from England  (Pelican Inn). Finally, from Muir Beach one hikes back to Sausalito for the night, then on to San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge, on foot, and finally back to the airport where we spent the night at an airport hotel.

No car rental is required. Every bit of the visit could be accomplished by public transportation or on foot. The whole loop takes 5 days at a leisurely pace of about 4 hours of walking per day. We chose to extend the trip to 7 days to enjoy extra time hiking through the redwoods and along the coastal hills with their wildflowers in full bloom.

Redwood trees stand watch over San Francisco Bay and the city of Sausalito

Walking in Muir Woods National Monument

Since Muir Woods is a part of the national park system, it is pretty well equipped to absorb a lot of people. I estimated there were several hundred people milling around the visitor center, on a weekend day, when the weather was glorious. But there are many trails which wind through the park. It is predictable that the trails were busier toward the parking lot and visitor center; fewer people venture out to the peripheral trails. But, I'm grateful so many of us appreciate being out in nature. The park's popularity makes it easier for the preservation of wild places politically.

All that said, here are a few memorable scenes from the park:

Magnificent California redwoods, Sequoia sempervirens

Redwood, with hollowed out core (often referred to as a "goose pen" because of its size), often the result of wild fires finding a weak spot in the tree bark

A fallen redwood, highlighting our insignificant size in comparison

Another redwood having fallen across the trail, in a dynamic changing forest. I've read over a hundred different species of critters live on a dead log, nature's condominium.

A common scene along the trail - maintenance!

A tidbit about redwoods

Redwood trees are part of a small subfamily of three: redwoods, dawn redwoods, and giant sequoias. Genetic studies have shown the common California redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) to be a genetic hybrid of two other trees: the dawn redwood and the giant sequoia. The dawn redwood, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, is a deciduous tree native to a small area in northern China. The giant sequoia trees (Sequoiadendron gigantum) are now limited to a small area in the high mountains of central California, far from the coast. It seems clear that in the distant past all three tree types co-existed, extending from China, and across to North America. Only the redwoods now persist in any significant numbers.

Native wild flowers

This year we had the distinct pleasure of hiking along with all the blooming wildflowers and new green growth on the trees. I don't think there is anything greener than spring. It is delightful to learn about the native wildflowers and plants that were so common along the trails. But of course, along with the native plants there were plenty of other plants that have been inadvertently introduced from other parts of the world. They are beautiful too, but my appreciation them is tempered  because they threaten to crowd out the native plants.

Red clintonia - Clintonia andrewsiana - a California native

Clintonia andrewsiana, red clintonia or Andrews clintonia

California sword fern, Polystichum californicum

Another California native: Iris fernaldii


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