On Saturday 1/20 a strong group of hikers took on the wet, but manageable trails of Mt. Tamalpais and made it to the top accomplishing the first summit of the Bay Area 6 Pack of Peaks Challenge! The group started out at 8am sharp from the Cataract Trailhead at Alpine Lake hiking over 14 miles and gaining 3179 in elevation.
The morning started out dry but moist as we headed up the Cataract Trail taking in all the falls that were flowing strongly. The weather was overcast and for the moment there was no rain as we went up the trail. Many pictures were taken, and good times enjoyed. We also had to watch our step because the salamanders were out on the trails and well camouflaged.
After making it past all the falls we took a left on the Mickey O’Brian trail to Barth’s Retreat picnic area. We pressed on taking Laurel Dell Fire Road to Potrero Camp where finally the rain began to pick up.
We then took the Rifle Camp to the North Side trail. We did get a little disoriented at times because the trail markers were confusing or not marked well but we got back on track with a little trail blazing and using our GPS.
We summited at about 1115am and took a few quick pictures. It was cold, wet, and windy. The group came down and took what shelter we could around the restrooms and ate lunch.
We hit the trail back with the rain still going at about 12pm. We doubled back on the North Side trail and took a right on the Lower North Side trail connecting us with the CC Boy Scout, Kent, and Helen Markt trails to get us back to the Cataract Falls Trail.
The rain subsided for the most part when we connected with the Lower North Side trail and the sun threatened to peak out but did not. The majority of the hikers were in agreement that the last 5 miles of the hike were tiring. Over the last 5 miles the group also spread out more along the trail.
It was a good day and totally worth it to hike Mt. Tamalpais taking the Cataract Falls trail to the summit. We defied the rain and wind and had an excellent hike. Thanks to all who joined me to conquer the first peak of the 6 peak challenge. I have posted all the pictures and videos of the hike to this page. Also, there is a link to the All-Trails route we took. If you would like to ask more questions about my hikes, please feel free to message me and I will share all my info. If you are interested in my hikes, you can follow me on my Facebook page Jason’s Hiking Adventures, Bay Are Hikers, Instagram @jasonshikingadventures, Social Hiker, and All Trails. Thanks for reading!
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