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Green Velvet of moss and ferns blanket the dense Redwood Forest along Cataract Falls Trail as the cascade of water creates numerous falls around nearly every bend in the trail. The steep steps rise from canyons at the far end of Alpine Lake not far from Mill Valley California. Though the trail is steep, the rewards are great. The intense green is split by the bright orange of the redwood and the gleaming white of stunning waterfalls that get more and more impressive as you climb.

This started out as a scouting trip with Mike Oria the previous day and I just had to take my wife to see the forest. We decided to start the hike up Cataract Falls Trail knowing there was no way we could see all the falls given the time of day. As the sky darkened with an incoming storm, the forest just started to pop with intense color. Each picture was better than the last. We went way farther than originally planned and I am sure sore muscles await me when I wake tomorrow but this first trip up the trail was well worth the effort. Nearly every picture a poster shot.

After all the hiking, we headed over to the coast and were treated to a great sunset with some awesome shots of Egrets feeding in Bolinas Bay. What started out as a couple of scouting trips turned in to some fantastic vistas on a day I figured would be a bust due to predictions of rain. But was does the weatherman know? :-)

I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do.

© Darvin Atkeson
LiquidMoonlight.com