1326. Corte Madera Ridge (10/05/24)

Hikers (0):
Distance: 9 miles
Rating: 2 difficulty, 9 beauty
Park info: Blithedale Summit Preserve in Corte Madera

Write-up by Steve

The goal of the day was the highest point along Corte Madera Ridge. That point has 382 ft of prominence, which is an indication that it might have a good view from the summit. It is one of 71 peaks in Marin County with more than 300 ft of prominence. I've been on a prominence kick since we closed INCH and have all sorts of routes planned around the Bay Area to reach these thrilling locations.

The route I designed for this peak covered all new trails (for me) and started from a parking lot near a brewery. Figured it would be good for Occasional, although it's short. But with plenty of non-Occasional hikes to pick from, I have been sitting on it for a long time.

When it looked like the temperature was going to be well over 100 °F in San Jose, I decided a short hike like this would be a good choice. The notice was sent late on a Thursday night. While it was still going to be hot in Corte Madera, we'd be done relatively early and we could cool off with beer.

Was surprised to get so many people signing up at the last minute, but then again, the rest of the hiking groups were probably wisely following the advisories to stay indoors. The hike had a lot of zigs and zags, but everyone managed to mostly stay on route as we looped through two open space preserves, lots of residential streets, and one small city park. Most of the elevation came at the start heading up "Hill Path" to the top of Corte Madera Ridge.

View coming back from highest point on Corte Madera Ridge

I'd noticed references on the maps to "Christmas Tree Hill". Nohemi said that it looks like a Christmas Tree at night. Indeed, the neighborhood on the slope is called Christmas Tree Hill. So I guess we bagged two peaks in one.

Nice house at the bottom of Maytag Trail -- only $5.5M

All in all, the views were good, it wasn't all that hot, and the trails were nicer than expected. We had an unusually high post-party participation at Fieldwork Brewing, too.

Tainter Steps on the way back to Corte Madera

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