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Health & Fitness

Mount Tam: The Sleeping Maiden and Those who Love Her

Members of the Mount Tamalpais Interpretive Association (MTIA) met today at the California Alpine Club for their annual meeting. MTIA is a nonprofit group that supports Mount Tamalpais State Park.

The Mount Tamalpais Interpretive Association (MTIA) held its annual meeting on March 10 at the California Alpine Club. MTIA is a nonprofit organization that helps support , offering interpretive services, guided hikes, astronomy programs, and special events throughout the year. They run the Visitor Center at East Peak, as well as the Gravity Car Barn, a museum dedicated to the old Mount Tamalpais Railway. They also staff a booth at the , hold an annual picnic and finish the year off with a holiday party. A quarterly newsletter called The Mountain Log is published, both in print and PDF format.

MTIA has an extensive program of guided hikes throughout the year, including Moonlight Hikes, Wildflower Hikes and a New Year’s Day hike that attracts more than 100 people. They continue the longstanding tradition of hiking clubs on Mount Tam that goes back to the 19th Century. A few of these clubs are still around, but many of them have faded into history. Clubs like the Sightseers Club, the Down and Outers Club, the Dipsea Indians and the Cross Country Boys Club used to hold organized hikes on Mount Tam, attracting people from all over the Bay Area.

The Cross Country Boys Club was founded in 1890 by men who split off from the Sightseers Club, claiming that the female hikers were slowing them down. Famed botanist Alice Eastwood proved them wrong however, and they begrudgingly granted her membership in their exclusive club. Lincoln Fairley, in his classic book Mount Tamalpais - A History, describes this time as “the Heyday of Hiking,“ stating that the “… number of hikers on the mountain, by 1900 already very considerable and growing rapidly, swelled to a maximum during the years from 1910 to 1941, when thousands of weekend wanderers swarmed across the Bay to visit their favorite spots.” MTIA hikes may not reach that level of participation, but are still a popular way to explore the beloved mountain.

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Some of this month's meeting was organizational business, such as electing five new board members, approving a change to the bylaws, presenting financial and membership reports, and giving awards for outstanding service. Longtime volunteer Paulette Lueke was given an award for the most hours of service, as she contributed more than 400 hours of her time in 2011. Presentations were also made by State Parks District Superintendant Danita Rodriguez and Supervising Ranger Ryen Goering about the current status of state parks and the challenges they face, such as budget cutbacks, impending closures, off-leash dogs, and illegal camping.

Each year, the MTIA annual meeting features a guest speaker, who makes a presentation on topics related to Mount Tamalpais. This year the speaker was Marin Municipal Water District Chief Ranger Bill Hogan, who showed a slideshow entitled Marijuana Eradication on Mt. Tam. This was a revealing look at dealing with the increasingly common use of public land for vast unregulated marijuana plantations. It was startling to see the maps that showed the areas of planting and number of plants that have been found and eradicated on Mount Tamalpais in recent years.

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Even more disturbing are the amounts of trash left behind, the destruction of remote hillsides, and the degradation of water supplies by pesticides and fertilizer. There is a strong connection between this issue and the possible closure of state parks throughout the state, since closed parks will become more of an attractive environment for growers who want to avoid detection by the general public. This was acknowledged by Rodriguez, who talked about how the park closures may not necessarily yield the $22 million in expected savings for the state budget.

The Mount Tamalpais Interpretive Association is supported by membership dues, and anyone who loves Mount Tamalpais is encouraged to join. The Visitor Center, Gravity Car Barn, guided hikes, and special events are all staffed by volunteers, who play a critical role in the organization. This was brought into critical focus at the meeting, as a total of 7,193 hours were logged by MTIA volunteer in 2011. MTIA is always looking for additional volunteers who want to help out and show their appreciation for the mountain. Upcoming events include a special Earth Day work day on April 14, and the first of seven Astronomy Programs on April 21. More information can be found at the MTIA website.

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