Really Big Trees: Muir Woods & Mount Tamalpais
The San Francisco Bay area is famous for its damp enveloping fogs and moderate weather. For dog oriented travelers, this dog loving area offers great experiences culturally, gastronomically and- er- arboreally. The Bay Area is home to the Giant Redwoods, the tallest trees in the world, averaging between 400 and 800 years old, but many of the largest trees are over 1000 years old. To grow as tall as they do, the Redwoods absorb moisture from the air all day. They could not survive in dryer, hotter, or cooler areas. The Bay climate is like a gigantic terrarium for these ancient evergreens.
Muir Woods is the famous “tree museum” of the north west coast, established as a national monument by Teddy Roosevelt in 1908 and named after the naturalist John Muir. Muir Woods is spectacular, but- you guessed it- dogs can’t go in Muir Woods because presumably dogs represent grave threats to 250 foot tall trees. After all, dogs were behind the attempt of water works and logging projects to decimate Muir Woods in 1900. Plus dogs are always dropping trash, setting forest fires and pocketing twigs and rocks from the park. Nothing ruins natural environments quite as fast as dogs do… or maybe it’s those careless humans the dogs bring in with them?
No matter, Mt. Tamalpais State Park backs right up to Muir Woods and it is filled with Redwoods and scenic, doggy-permitted trails. Want to show Fluffy some really, really big trees, follow the map to Mt. Tamalpais and hike all day in the forest primeval.
Raja has been hiking in the Redwoods several times and he kind of takes it in stride. To be honest, a humungous tree is quite as good as a sapling, but I think it does him good to put paw prints on the shady forest floor under the trees and to discover he can literally wander inside and through the Redwood trees. Over the centuries, fires have periodically swept through the forests, but, amazingly the forests weed out old growth opening up the floor for saplings to germinate and reach for the sun. Redwoods drop seeds and grow in clusters, so the decay of the parent tree allows the saplings to take over. Also, amazingly while many fires have gutted the old trees, creating cathedral like rooms inside, the trees continue to grow up and up around the hollow center.
For many hundreds of years, a tribal group named the Miwok have lived in the San Francisco Bay area. The first written accounts of the Miwok culture came from a crewman on Sir Francis Drake’s exhibition from 1579. Early Miwok dwellings were conical wood structures, but walking among the chambers of the Redwoods, following Raja in and out through the trees, I really did imagine living peacefully in this temperate misty forest, in the trees and among them. And perhaps that’s how the proto-Miwoks lived.
If you and your dog go hiking in the Bay Area Redwoods, be sure to take plenty of water and a snack for yourself and your dog especially. Late Summer and Early Fall are often dry and you two cannot absorb the ubiquitous mist. Plus, unless your dog is capable of catching Coho or Steelhead Salmon that run upstream in the Tamalpais and Muir area steams in early Fall, he will need something to keep him going. Do stop at the ranger station for a map. Among the trees it is very easy to get lost in this large territory. And finally, hiking shoes are a must as the forest floor is rocky, rugged and surprisingly slippery going uphill. Dog trail boots should be removed in steep areas. Your doggy will be a dust and mud ball when the day is over, but it will have been worth it for him to have an opportunity to regain his wild and wolf-like self walking among the ageless trees.
** Raja wants blog readers to know that we have a new recipe posted this week for a tasty, savory meatloaf doggies love. Please check out “Laci’s Meatloaf”- comfort food in classic 50’s style- in the recipes section. We do not advocate home cooking for pets and we are not dog nutritionists. These recipes will work as special occasion recipes for dogs. Raja eats home cooked meals all the time. Do whatever works for you. Wishing you happy travels and nice meals always… Raja and Helen **
Muir Woods is the famous “tree museum” of the north west coast, established as a national monument by Teddy Roosevelt in 1908 and named after the naturalist John Muir. Muir Woods is spectacular, but- you guessed it- dogs can’t go in Muir Woods because presumably dogs represent grave threats to 250 foot tall trees. After all, dogs were behind the attempt of water works and logging projects to decimate Muir Woods in 1900. Plus dogs are always dropping trash, setting forest fires and pocketing twigs and rocks from the park. Nothing ruins natural environments quite as fast as dogs do… or maybe it’s those careless humans the dogs bring in with them?
No matter, Mt. Tamalpais State Park backs right up to Muir Woods and it is filled with Redwoods and scenic, doggy-permitted trails. Want to show Fluffy some really, really big trees, follow the map to Mt. Tamalpais and hike all day in the forest primeval.
Raja has been hiking in the Redwoods several times and he kind of takes it in stride. To be honest, a humungous tree is quite as good as a sapling, but I think it does him good to put paw prints on the shady forest floor under the trees and to discover he can literally wander inside and through the Redwood trees. Over the centuries, fires have periodically swept through the forests, but, amazingly the forests weed out old growth opening up the floor for saplings to germinate and reach for the sun. Redwoods drop seeds and grow in clusters, so the decay of the parent tree allows the saplings to take over. Also, amazingly while many fires have gutted the old trees, creating cathedral like rooms inside, the trees continue to grow up and up around the hollow center.
For many hundreds of years, a tribal group named the Miwok have lived in the San Francisco Bay area. The first written accounts of the Miwok culture came from a crewman on Sir Francis Drake’s exhibition from 1579. Early Miwok dwellings were conical wood structures, but walking among the chambers of the Redwoods, following Raja in and out through the trees, I really did imagine living peacefully in this temperate misty forest, in the trees and among them. And perhaps that’s how the proto-Miwoks lived.
If you and your dog go hiking in the Bay Area Redwoods, be sure to take plenty of water and a snack for yourself and your dog especially. Late Summer and Early Fall are often dry and you two cannot absorb the ubiquitous mist. Plus, unless your dog is capable of catching Coho or Steelhead Salmon that run upstream in the Tamalpais and Muir area steams in early Fall, he will need something to keep him going. Do stop at the ranger station for a map. Among the trees it is very easy to get lost in this large territory. And finally, hiking shoes are a must as the forest floor is rocky, rugged and surprisingly slippery going uphill. Dog trail boots should be removed in steep areas. Your doggy will be a dust and mud ball when the day is over, but it will have been worth it for him to have an opportunity to regain his wild and wolf-like self walking among the ageless trees.
** Raja wants blog readers to know that we have a new recipe posted this week for a tasty, savory meatloaf doggies love. Please check out “Laci’s Meatloaf”- comfort food in classic 50’s style- in the recipes section. We do not advocate home cooking for pets and we are not dog nutritionists. These recipes will work as special occasion recipes for dogs. Raja eats home cooked meals all the time. Do whatever works for you. Wishing you happy travels and nice meals always… Raja and Helen **
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