Hiking the Cataract Falls Trail, part 1
Apr. 11th, 2023 09:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerThis past Sunday we hiked a trifecta of waterfalls trails on the flanks of Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County. The busy day was made possible by staying Saturday night in Mill Valley. We were able to get to the trailhead by 10am without having to set alarms for 6am and drive 2+ hours. Even so, by 10am parking at the trailhead was pretty full. Fortunately we took our 4x4 with us, so parking on uneven dirt off the side of the narrow road wasn't too difficult.
The trail to Cataract Falls Trail starts about 10 miles west of the small town of Fairfax, CA. Winding Fairfax-Bolinas Road goes out past a country club on the edge of town then snakes around the edge of Alpine Lake. Along the way there were no fewer than three areas where the road had partially washed out. At least two were from earlier this season. Heavy rains have caused floods and mudslides, and in several places the ground under the road slid away causing part of the road to slide with it. I know at least two of the washouts are recent because when I looked at hiking this trail a few months ago, and the road was closed in multiple places. Now the damaged lane is coned off to a single lane in those places with one-way traffic.
Coming now that the rains are tapering off makes a lot less drama in getting there. It also makes for a lot more crowds. As I noted, parking was getting tight, and the trail was busy with other hikers. Fortunately most of them are folks seeking quiet communion with nature.
As a sign— literally! — of how busy this trail gets, this sign near the trailhead lists more regulations than I've seen probably anywhere else. The more people who use the trail, the more people who screw it up for the rest of us. The more people who screw it up, the more we need signs like this asking them not to be asses.
The trail starts out not seeming like much as it contours around one of the arms of Alpine Lake. Within 1/4 mile the trail leaves the lake behind and starts climbing into a canyon. That's where the waterfalls start.
This is one of the first waterfalls on the trail. There are many waterfalls here. I mentioned at the start our plan today is for a trifecta of waterfall trails. Note, trifecta of trails. I actually expect to see at least a dozen waterfalls, many of them on this trail!
To be prepared for photographing waterfalls I took my tripod on this trip. It's a noticeable extra amount of weight on my daypack, so I only bring it when I expect to use it. Even so, it's not just the weight; it's also the fussiness of setting it up to take a picture, then collapsing it to reattach it to my pack to hike again, then taking it back out for the next picture, etc. I made the picture above freehand, not wanting to fuss with the tripod. Then I figured, I'm carrying this extra weight; I might as well use it! I made the next picture with the tripod.
This is... second lower falls? And the previous one is... first lower falls? I don't know. There are so many falls on this trail they don't have individual names. That's why the whole area is called Cataract Falls. In beauty I walk.
Stay tuned for more!
The trail to Cataract Falls Trail starts about 10 miles west of the small town of Fairfax, CA. Winding Fairfax-Bolinas Road goes out past a country club on the edge of town then snakes around the edge of Alpine Lake. Along the way there were no fewer than three areas where the road had partially washed out. At least two were from earlier this season. Heavy rains have caused floods and mudslides, and in several places the ground under the road slid away causing part of the road to slide with it. I know at least two of the washouts are recent because when I looked at hiking this trail a few months ago, and the road was closed in multiple places. Now the damaged lane is coned off to a single lane in those places with one-way traffic.
Coming now that the rains are tapering off makes a lot less drama in getting there. It also makes for a lot more crowds. As I noted, parking was getting tight, and the trail was busy with other hikers. Fortunately most of them are folks seeking quiet communion with nature.
As a sign— literally! — of how busy this trail gets, this sign near the trailhead lists more regulations than I've seen probably anywhere else. The more people who use the trail, the more people who screw it up for the rest of us. The more people who screw it up, the more we need signs like this asking them not to be asses.
The trail starts out not seeming like much as it contours around one of the arms of Alpine Lake. Within 1/4 mile the trail leaves the lake behind and starts climbing into a canyon. That's where the waterfalls start.
This is one of the first waterfalls on the trail. There are many waterfalls here. I mentioned at the start our plan today is for a trifecta of waterfall trails. Note, trifecta of trails. I actually expect to see at least a dozen waterfalls, many of them on this trail!
To be prepared for photographing waterfalls I took my tripod on this trip. It's a noticeable extra amount of weight on my daypack, so I only bring it when I expect to use it. Even so, it's not just the weight; it's also the fussiness of setting it up to take a picture, then collapsing it to reattach it to my pack to hike again, then taking it back out for the next picture, etc. I made the picture above freehand, not wanting to fuss with the tripod. Then I figured, I'm carrying this extra weight; I might as well use it! I made the next picture with the tripod.
This is... second lower falls? And the previous one is... first lower falls? I don't know. There are so many falls on this trail they don't have individual names. That's why the whole area is called Cataract Falls. In beauty I walk.
Stay tuned for more!
