Samuel P Taylor - Devil's Gulch Hike

Summary: This is a nice hike with lots of gorgeous scenery in Marin's Samuel P. Taylor State Park, and we saw a bobcat.

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Story: This hike was organized by a friend and I'm grateful to have been turned on to a new place. In the first mile of the hike, there were calls from the front of the pack that they spotted a mountain lion. Halfway up the hill from us, there appeared to be a crouching cat. I've never seen a mountain lion in the wild, and I was pretty excited. It appeared to me that it might be a log, but someone in our group said that they saw it move, so... I took a few steps closer to it to get a look, still more than 100 feet away, while my friends told me I was on my own. I could clearly make out the eye markings of a bobcat. Without disturbing the cat, I returned to the fire road. After I reported my findings, it was not a log, not a mountain lion, but a bobcat, a bicyclist ran up the hill at the cat, and chased it off. Our group was very critical of the cyclist. His motive might have been to protect his small children who were with him.

We reached the end of Devils Gulch Road which ends in a barbed wire fence. Someone said the property owner is known for shooting trespassers with Rock Salt. That's good enough for me. :) For a trail map, click on the park link in the summary, then click on brochure. The trail map is in the brochure (pdf).

We took a parallel trail back to the bridge, and crossed the river. After a short way, Bill's trail branches to the falls. Half our group headed for the falls, and the rest of us headed uphill to Barnabe's Peak. This is a very nice trail with views of the hills through the trees, nice mushrooms and fungus this time of year (Winter), and mossy switchbacks. Please don't cut trails, it is not cool.

At the top of Bill's Trail is Barnabe Road. This is where our gang stopped for lunch. I hoofed it alone up the road to Barnabe Peak where there is an old fire lookout tower. It's a nice view over the other side toward Kent Lake.

We hiked on down, and back to the cars, with lots of nice views and fresh air. I would definitely recommend this easy hike.

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