A Different World
            Orange and red ice plants meld into a background of pale, medium and dark greens like hot lava oozing out of a plant covered landscape. Hills rise in a mixture of jagged edges and soft curves. It feels like another planet, or at least another continent, but this alien scene is only eight miles from my home.
            Varied geological formations and microclimates within a relatively small area can create vastly different landscapes within a short distance from each other. That is one of the things I love about living where I do. I can be on a steep mountain, in a deep forest, a grassy meadow, chapparal terrain, or on a beach with crashing waves all within a half hour drive.
            Do you have varied landscapes where you live, or are the differences more subtle? Make the most of the landscapes near home, and keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s Hike Notes from the archives, Avalon Canyon, introduces a stunning walk that features a fascinating color palette on canyon walls on the trail leading down to the beach.
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page, and scroll to the bottom of each hike page to see full photo galleries.
            If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the Support/Shop page! Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links. Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, Twitter at @HikingAutism, Instagram at lisalouis777, and Bluesky @hikingautism.bsky.social
This week’s hike from the archives:
Hike Notes 118: Avalon Canyon

I Spy
            For long drives to my grandmother’s house or on our way to camp in the Adirondacks, we kids in the back of the station wagon would stave off boredom by playing a guessing game for things we saw out the window.
            “I spy with my little eye, something that starts with the letter ___.”
            It was usually a cow, or a horse, or a barn, not that hidden from view. The challenge was probably more the fact that the car was moving in relation to what we were looking for.
            In the photo for this Insights post, my puzzle for readers is to see if they can spot the Golden Gate Bridge.
            Not only is the bridge somewhat hidden yet still iconic in this view, but the viewpoint itself is not that easy to find. I like to explore as many trails as possible, and years ago I saw the name Fort Miley noted as a scenic spot in my neighborhood. Every time I was in the vicinity I would look around for it, but could not see anything but the parking lot near Lands End. I felt like I was in some sort of magic disappearing spot.
            It turned out that this site is really a patch of land perched on a hill where entry trails or roads are not easily visible. Once I finally found it, I discovered that it was a hidden treasure with its own wonderful views, including the peek-past-the-trees view of the Golden Gate Bridge.
            This week’s Hike Notes from the archives, Fort Miley at Lands End, takes readers to a named site that feels like it’s hidden in plain sight.
            Do you have any hidden treasures near you? Enjoy discovering new places, and keep putting one foot forward!
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page, and scroll to the bottom of each hike page to see full photo galleries.
            If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the Support/Shop page! Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links. Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, Twitter at @HikingAutism, Instagram at lisalouis777, and Bluesky @hikingautism.bsky.social
This week’s hike from the archives:
Hike Notes 124: Fort Miley at Lands End

Short Distance, Big Views
            No matter what else is happening in our lives, when a Saturday, Sunday or holiday arrives and our autistic son does not have his program to go to during the day, we are out walking somewhere, rain or shine.
            We’ve hiked thousands of miles by this point, and have covered a wide variety of terrain in the San Francisco Bay Area. I love all the places we hike, but Marin County has always had a special place in my heart.
            When we’re tired or overwhelmed with too many other obligations, we choose someplace close to home. One day when I was quietly chiding myself for taking an easy option for our walk, I realized that the place we were visiting was a stunning spot with a big payoff in views for minimal walking. Somehow I’d set this location in my head as not meriting its own hike description for HikingAutism.com, but that day it struck me that it’s a wonderful place to visit for anyone needing an easy outing.
            My respect for this spot rose again when we went back to take proper photos, because I was paying more attention and realized I hadn’t fully appreciated how much it has to offer visually.
            Feeling a bit fatigued and overscheduled doesn’t keep us from getting out, and our son’s life and ours has been all the better for it. The effort we make to get up and out has kept all of us on a positive trajectory that we didn’t always feel was possible.
            This week’s Hike Notes, Battery Mendell-Marin Headlands, takes readers to a low-effort-high-reward spot in rolling hills of the Marin Headlands, offering views of the Golden Gate Bridge from one side and vistas of the vast Pacific from the other. The interesting visuals at the aging structure led me to give it a larger than usual photo gallery.
            Find an easy walk location to visit when your energy is low, and keep putting one foot forward!
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page, and scroll to the bottom of each hike page to see full photo galleries.
            If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the Support/Shop page! Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links. Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, Twitter at @HikingAutism, Instagram at lisalouis777, and Bluesky @hikingautism.bsky.social
New this week:
Hike Notes 231: Battery Mendell-Marin Headlands

Wild Irises
            I love the name “wild iris.” It sounds like a flower making merry on the party scene. 
            I’ve enjoyed seeing irises that are safely ensconced in flowerpots and backyards in recent days. These stunning flowers grown from store-bought bulbs brought memories of the wild irises I’ve seen over the years hiking in Marin County. For some reason, I especially remember seeing bewitchingly beautiful irises when walking around Lake Lagunitas. 
            I didn’t take my best iris photos there, but I decided that if my memory kept coming back to the irises of Lake Lagunitas, that’s where this week’s archive hike should be.
            As a kid growing up in farm country in the Adirondack Foothills, there weren’t many occasions for me to see commercially grown roses. What I do remember are the wild roses that grew along the old stone fence at the edge of our backyard. I knew the flowers by sight but not by name when I was little. When someone said, “Those are wild roses,” it added an exciting new dimension. Having the name “wild” in front gives a flower an appealing flair.
            Do you have a type of flower that you know both commercially cultivated varieties and wild varieties for? Do you like one or the other better?
            This week’s Hike Notes from the archives takes readers around the Lake Lagunitas Loop, a hike on one of five pretty lakes in the Marin Watershed that is a family friendly distance of under two miles for the full circle around the lake.
            When you’re out on a trail, keep an eye out for wild blossoms, which sometimes peek out from under surrounding plants. Keep putting one foot forward!
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page, and scroll to the bottom of each hike page to see full photo galleries.
            If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the Support/Shop page! Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links. Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, Twitter at @HikingAutism, Instagram at lisalouis777, and Bluesky @hikingautism.bsky.social
This week’s hike from the archives:
Hike Notes 15: Lake Lagunitas Loop