JMT12: Day Off Dipsea

For today’s episode, I went out and hiked the Dipsea, the most iconic route on the mountain, with my mom for her day off. The Dipsea is famous for both being the oldest trail race in the country and one of the toughest race courses anywhere, having earned the nickname from some as the “Race from Hell.” It’s full of memorable stretches with memorable names like the Dipsea Steps, Suicide Shortcut, Dynamite, The Rainforest, Cardiac Hill - the list goes on.

Unfortunately, this year’s Dipsea was canceled for the first time since World War II because of COVID-19. I’m definitely bummed that I won’t get my chance to compete this year, but it was great to be out there today, hike or run, race or no race. Bottom line: the Dipsea is awesome.

The route is way too long and complex for me to detail entirely, but let me give you the highlights: we walked down to the Mill Valley Depot, where the race begins, and continued through town, up the indomitable Dipsea Steps, and over to the mouth of the Dipsea Trail. From there, we dropped down to Muir Woods, where we encountered a slight problem.

Each winter, the narrow footbridge used to cross the creek that runs through Muir Woods is removed until spring. With the closure of California’s parks, Muir Woods never got the chance to put the bridge back up. So instead of heading through Muir Woods on the “Dynamite” section, we walked around on the road to the start of Deer Park Fire Road, traveling the dirt path until it intersected the Dipsea Trail. All in all, it was about a mile detour.

For almost the next two miles, the Dipsea Trail and Deer Park run pretty much right next to each other, with the Dipsea crossing over at multiple points. This section very well may be the most brutal part of the historic race, as it climbs steadily towards the top of the terrifically named Cardiac Hill. Once upon a time, it was named Lone Tree Hill, but long story short, it was so tough that they had to rename it.

Reaching the top of Cardiac Hill is the best feeling. It is considered by many to be the best view on the mountain - which is saying a lot - and more importantly, it’s the high point of the route, meaning this is where the descent begins. The trail winds down into the woods, through Steep Ravine, up a short section hilariously named Insult Hill and down towards the beach town of Stinson Beach, where the race finishes in the parking lot.

Quick tangent: when we got to the beach, I expected us to be some of the only people there, with driving to parks off-limits. I was shocked to see a completely packed beach, and honestly a little sickened by it. For the past few weeks, I’ve driven no further than the top of my street to get outside in an attempt to do my part in all this, and I don’t see why others can’t do the same. Just an observation.

Anyway, today was awesome, especially making the final descent towards the beach and finally reaching our destination. Here’s a picture of me and my mom, excited to be done and enjoying some of the best trail-age Mount Tam has to offer. See you tomorrow!

👊✌️

Jonathan