Stealth Mission
            I stay out of trouble because I’m not good at it. Kids don’t like being thought of as a “goody two-shoes,” but it was tough for me to dodge. (Okay, I’m sure I tested at least a few boundaries growing up.)
            I taught my kids to be good people for the sake of being good people. I added that we are people destined to get caught if we stray off track. At the very least, we would be tormented by anxiety and guilt, a la Crime and Punishment.
            Having said that, once in a while I like to pretend I walk on the wild side.
            Muir Woods is an extremely popular visitor spot. The parking lot logistics required to go through the front gate can be discouraging.
            The first time my son’s hiking guide/autism helper led us from a high Mt. Tam ridge down into the depths of Muir Woods, far from the park entrance crowds, I felt like we were getting away with something.
            Those trails are there to be hiked. Muir Woods is a central connection for many different hikes that crisscross the surrounding mountain ridges. There’s not one illicit thing about hiking down the ridge into Muir Woods.
            And yet, it still feels like I’m having a surreptitious adventure, sneaking in the back way.
            Add a little spark to life. Walk on the wild side a bit. You don’t have to actually break any rules to feel like you’ve lived on the edge a little.
            This week’s Hike Notes are about literally walking on the wild edges of Mt. Tam, from Mountain Home Inn down to Lost Trail and Fern Creek Trail, one of several hike options for making a steep descent down into Muir Woods.
            Please feel free to share. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photos!
            The list of hikes is getting long! Please check the Quick View Hike List or scroll down the main Hikes page to see the current list of hike notes.
New this week:
Hike Notes 17: Fern Creek Trail - Muir Woods

Hiding in Plain Sight
            On rare occasions in life, we stumble onto a sparkling treasure, right under our nose. Something somehow hidden from view.
            It could be an object, like the delightful orchid bloom that surprised me from behind a birthday card I’d left on display for months. It might be a person, like the quiet store clerk who shared a heartwarming life story when she saw I share her daughter’s name.
            It may even be an undiscovered strength or ability.
            With our severely autistic son, a mumble we’ve heard for years may suddenly reveal itself as him saying the name of a favorite person. It might be a flash of insight for us parents, transforming a perceived obstacle into a stepping stone for progress.
            Or it could be a place. A beautiful location we’ve driven past a hundred times, not realizing what was just behind some trees or a turn in the road.
            One of our son’s autism helpers is an outdoorsman who we claim knows every hiking trail in a hundred mile radius.
            One day he said he was taking us for a hike right near our house that he’d just discovered. His description of “close by,” “easy walking,” and “stunning views” had me feeling dubious. How could a place like that have eluded us up to now?
            Within a few minutes’ drive, we were at Mussel Rock Park hiking down to a dramatic little beach. We saw paragliders, pelicans, glorious views both north and south, a tunnel through a rock, and sure enough, the splash of waves glistening on rocks covered completely with dark mussels, all within a relatively short walk.
            This week’s Hike Notes are about Mussel Rock and Paragliders, a sparkling treasure just south of San Francisco at the border of Daly City and Pacifica.
            Please feel free to share. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photos!
            The list of hikes is getting long! Please check the Quick View Hike List or scroll down the main Hikes page to see the current list of hike notes.
New this week:
Hike Notes 16: Mussel Rock and Paragliders

Going in Circles
            Drivers in in search of a destination cringe when a fellow passenger snaps, “We’re going in circles!”
            Going in a loop is not always a bad thing, though.
            Getting our special needs son to willingly get out of the house and onto a hiking trail took a lot of work. Working incrementally, we discovered problem spots and motivating factors.
            With some hikes, you start from a trailhead, walk to destination X, and then return to the starting point by the same path.
            As we tried various outings for our son, we stumbled onto walks that started at Point A, circled on to Points B, C, D, and connected back to the starting point, without ever turning back along the same path. Something about those loop routes kept our son moving better.
            I enjoy either kind of path, backtracking over familiar turf, or stepping on new ground the entire way.
            When not retracing our steps on a hike is an option, though, we usually take the loop-type route. Walking around a body of water makes this an easy choice.
            This week’s Hike Notes are about walking the Lake Lagunitas Loop. It’s one of five pretty lakes in the Marin Watershed, and is a family friendly distance of under two miles for the full circle around the lake.
            Please feel free to share. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photos!
            The list of hikes is getting long! Please check the Quick View Hike List or scroll down the main Hikes page to see the current list of hike notes.
New this week:
Hike Notes 15: Lake Lagunitas Loop

Bright and Easy
            Some of us like sinking our teeth into a good challenge, just because.
            Smooth path or sharp-angled rocky trail? Take the knee-crunching steep one. Escalator or stairs? Take the stairs, two at a time. Rise early for a new project, or sleep in? Get up and rolling while everyone else is still snoring.
            I know I’m not the only workaholic who can’t stop moving and usually chooses the harder path.
            And yet. Once in a while. It is good to slow down. To take the easy path.
            I like nothing better than doing a steep five miles up and down Mt. Tam. But one day my special needs son’s hiking guide helper decided we should ride scooters. Not too far north of the Golden Gate Bridge, we turned into a parking lot, a horse statue marking our destination.
            This was not like our remote mountain trailheads. Here we had a big parking lot, bathroom facilities, a playground, a gazebo and bike routes along a smooth bayside path.
            When our family wants a bit of adventure north of the bridge, but we aren’t up for a challenging hike, we know we can stop here for a stroll along the bay, fast pace or slow.
            This week’s Hike Notes are about Blackie’s Pasture, a walk that starts near a statue of a beloved horse named Blackie. Whether doing an easy walk, a fast roll on a scooter, or a workout circuit and run, the sun reflecting off Richardson Bay will brighten your day.
            Please feel free to share. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photos!
            The list of hikes is getting long! Please check the Quick View Hike List or scroll down the main Hikes page to see the current list of hike notes.
New this week:
Hike Notes 14: Blackie’s Pasture