Maureen and I attended a four-day clinic in Novato with Chris Ellsworth to learn how to do ranch work on a horse. Besides basic horsemanship, it involved working with cattle every day as well as learning other skills. Maureen was there to do the work while riding our horse, Zim, and I was there just to watch and take photos. Maureen has been doing clinics like this for about five years now, and she is getting good at it. Zim is very good at it too since he spent his first 10 years or so on ranches in Wyoming and he was well trained by Chris before he sold him to us.
I find watching clinics by Chris very interesting, but on Saturday, the third day, I decided to take a break from it and go for a hike. I saw that the Mount Burdell Preserve was only a short distance from the Novato Horsemens arena, so I went to check it out. The map on the website shows several places to access the park. I chose the one at the end of San Carlos Way off of San Marin Drive.
It was a beautiful morning — clear skies and slightly cool. I started on the San Carlos Fire Road up a grassy hillside with scattered oaks. It was a steady climb, but not too steep. Soon views opened up to the southeast with a little of the bay shining in the distance. There were lots of other hikers and bicyclists on the trail. I passed a couple of water troughs at Two Brick Spring and turned left on Middle Burdell Fire Road which leveled off and headed west. I could have turned off on the Old Quarry Trail and climbed to the top of the mountain, but the climbing that I had already done was enough for today. I soon passed Hidden Lake, which was not a lake at all, but just a patch of flat grassland. I guess that after sufficient rain, it will become a lake again. Then I was winding down the west slope of the mountain to the San Andreas Fire Road and passed another park entrance. Then I was on the San Marin Fire Road heading east again.
Then the road appeared to be blocked ahead by fences and houses. There was a gap in the fences that led out to a street, but I didn't want to finish my hike on streets. The only alternative seemed to be to climb steeply to the left up along a fenceline to the top of a hill on a rough path that soon gave out and I had to work my way down a very steep grassy hillside and across a dry creek to rejoin the trail I had apparently missed. I saw a park entrance below that looked like the one I had started on, but none of the vehicles parked there were mine. I thought for a moment that my truck had been stolen, but then I figured out that my park entrance was a little further. I followed the trail up over another hill and finally found my way back to my starting point.
I could have done without that last part where I lost the trail, it was otherwise a very nice hike. Pretty country, nice views, and friendly people on the trail.
4 miles, 850 ft. climb
