On Monday, November 10, nineteen Hike-O-Raptors ventured to Bon Tempe and Lagunitas Lakes, in a quiet part of Marin tucked away to the north of Mount Tamalpais. We knew that the day was going to be good when we discovered that Marin Water had suspended parking fees for the day. Everyone arrived early, and as planned, we started off around Bon Tempe Lake. The weather was glorious, with mild temperatures and bright sunshine. The only signs of it being fall were the long shadows, fallen leaves and a proliferation of beautiful mushrooms.
At the Bon Tempe dam we looked down on the western edge of Alpine Lake, the third reservoir in this series of Marin Water reservoirs – the Hike-O-Raptors had hiked down to the other end of Alpine Lake earlier in the year on the popular Cataract Falls trail.
After making our way around Bon Tempe Lake – almost five miles – we appropriated the group picnic area and had a well-earned lunch.
A few in the group had reached their limit at that point, while others did the only significant climb of the day up to the top of the Lake Lagunitas dam. We were rewarded with some fantastic wildlife – a couple of otters, an egret eating one of the newts that we were supposed to be looking out for, and squirrels’ larders in trees – and a wonderful end to a good day out with friends.
