Barbara and I drove out to Kanan Road to Mulholland to Decker Road to hike the Nicholas Flat Natural Preserve section of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, the largest urban national park in the US and the world. The morning was clear and we anticipated a pretty, fairly easy hike, we got a beautiful experience filled with surprises, twists, and sections with stunning views of the Pacific from the Channel Islands to Catalina. High in the Santa Monica Mountains, the unassuming trailhead for the Malibu Springs Trail at the side of Decker Road sent us across a field of brush. A bit overgrown, we wondered if this would be another "find the trail" kind of hike, but when we merged onto Nicholas Flat Trail at 0.3 miles everything changed. From that point on, the rock-lined trails were clear and simple to follow, the flora was lovely, and even the burnt-out trees from the 2018 Woolsey fire were coming back to life, some in autumn colors. At 0.7 miles we crossed a bridge then rounded S to brush-lined Nicholas Pond Trail to Nicholas Flats Pond. The spring-fed pond hosted a small flock of black Scoter ducks that entertained us by flapping their wings as they swam, bodies above the water, across the pond. Impressive. Hiking N, we reconnected with Nicholas Flat Trail and then looping S, caught our first view of the Pacific and Leo Carrillo State park below at our 1.6 mile mark. After an "awe" break, we hiked N along Nicholas Ridge Trail to the two highest points on our hike, the first at 2 miles, the second at 2.6 where we took a break. The Nicholas Ridge Trail continued, rising and dropping with occasional peeks at the ocean and islands in the distance, and constant views of the Santa Monica Mountains that surrounded us. We didn't meet or see a soul, human or animal, for the entire hike—unusual, but so utterly pretty and peaceful. We reconnected with Nicholas Ridge Trail at 3 miles and hiked along the edge of the preserve for the last mile-and-a-half-ish back to our starting point. Easy, gorgeous, this hike offered so much, and although we hiked to an elevation of 1,818 feet, the grades going up and down were easy enough. Unfortunately, no dogs allowed, but there were plenty of horse apples! Awesome hike.

   

   

   

   

   

   

The fun part about hiking Griffith Park is that there's always a new trail to explore, or a new route to a familiar destination. Today Barbara and I chose this multi-personality hike above, around, and through an old favorite via a new route linked by six different trails, each with a different perspective. We parked in the Merry-Go-Round lot off Crystal Springs Drive and walked to our starting point south of the lot. Fern Canyon Nature Trail led us up a pretty, shaded path with random railroad tie staircases, and the old amphitheater. At the top of two sets of railroad tie stairs, we turned right onto Fern Canyon Trail with its eucalyptus trees and killer views of the NE Valley, a popular trail for hikers and their dogs and riders on their horses. Upper Old Zoo Trail twists and turns up the mountainside to a stunning view of hive-shaped Bee Rock, a peak we're determined to conquer one of these days. We've been foiled twice. Mineral Wells Trail took us across the halfway(ish) mark and led us down to the Lower Zoo Trail and Zoo Trail at the site of the old Griffith Park Zoo. The Old Zoo, a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, dates back to 1912 when the first 15 animals arrived at the site of Griffith J. Griffith's defunct ostrich farm. Eventually bears, lions, monkeys, goats, elephants, reptiles, and more populated the grottos and enclosures built by County Relief and WPA workers. During the mid-1920s, motion picture pioneer William Seling donated many animals from his studios. The Old Zoo had its own celebrities in its day including Ivan the Terrible—a 900 lb. polar bear, and Topsy, a 70-year-old camel who was a soldier in the pre-Civil War US Camel Corps, a coal mine worker, a Ringling Bros. circus star, and a four-legged film star before Selig retired Topsy to the zoo. Walt Disney would send his animators to the Old Zoo to sketch animal anatomy and movement, adding realism to his animated features. Abandoned now, today the Old Zoo plays a role in Griffith Park's annual Halloween Haunted Hayride—which is how Barbara and I ended up pictured in a cage with a giant spider web behind us. Who could resist? After we toured the enclosures and picnic area, we reconnected with the Lower Old Zoo Trail for a half-mile hike back to the car. Fun hike for a warm and clear November morning. Good one.

   

   

   

AllTrails offered a new approach for Barbara's and my second visit to Paradise Falls in Wildwood Regional Park this morning. It's been seven years since we first followed Charles Fleming's Secret Walks #31 to Paradise Falls in 2016, and today's hike was equally beautiful, equally diverse. Wildwood Park offers 27 miles of hiking trails in the western Simi Hills and Conejo Valley, accessible off the 101W at Lynn Road near California Lutheran University. The Chumash occupied the area for 8 millennium until Santa Barbara Presidio soldiers Jose Polanco and Ygnacio Rodriguez received the Spanish grant that became Rancho El Conejo (Spanish for "rabbit," one of the multiple species of mammals living on the plains and in the hills). During the 1930s–1960s, Wildwood was part of the Janss Congo Ranch, another Valley ranch used for TV and film settings during Hollywood's Western film era. Today Wildwood, operated by the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency, is a wildly popular hiking and biking spot for good reason. Timeout magazine called Wildwood's trail system an "embarrassment of riches," a truth we experienced today. We picked up the Mesa Trail off the parking lot on W Avenida De Los Arboles, hiking west on the wide, well-tended trail surrounded by a sea of chaparral and California Prickly Pear cacti with the Arroyo Conejo in the distance. At 0.4 miles, we turned south (left) off Mesa onto the North Teepee trail for another 0.4 mile to a stop at the contemporary teepee built for rest, meetings, or picnics. From the teepee we hiked north on the Teepee Trail, the first leg of the 427 foot descent into the canyon at the bottom of Paradise Falls.  At the switchback we joined Wildwood Canyon Trail to the staircases leading us further down to the pool at the bottom of Paradise Falls' seventy foot cascade where we stopped for photos. As pretty as the fall is, warnings keep the curious out of the water— runoff from city streets, not Mother Nature, feeds the pour. But sunbeams lit the falling water this morning and the leaves on the aspen trees around the pool were turning, giving the hike a lovely autumn feel. Solid hike, moderately challenging (we had to climb back UP!) and heavily traveled with friendly hikers, kids, and dogs. Loved it.

   

   

   

 

   

Studio City's Betty B. Dearing Trail loop around Fryman in Wilacre Park is popular for good reason: good workout, great views, wide-trail friendly to hikers, joggers, kids, and dogs—and a convenient local immersion in Mother Nature. Seeking variety and adventure over the usual, Barbara and I discovered a new route into and around Fryman that became a wonderful alternative with the same great views but less people. We found the little known trailhead for Shady Oak Trail at the S end of Shady Oak Road off Viewcrest in Studio City, and followed the single can't-get-lost trail up a half mile through parts of Wilacre Park you can't see from the standard Fryman hike. Instead of turning east or west onto Betty B. Dearing Trail when we reached the end of Shady Oak Trail, we crossed the Dearing Trail walking S to the unmarked U Vanu Trail on our right, heading west. That's where the hike got interesting. U Vanu parallels the Dearing Trail but at a higher elevation with more rigorous (but not ridiculous) climbs than Dearing, a different view of the inside of the canyon, and yet, still the same glorious view of the SF Valley from Burbank/Universal to the west valley. We heard the hikers below us on Dearing but couldn't see them but for one quick opening about a half mile in. Our goal: the end of U Vanu and a turnaround back to Shady Oak via the Dearing Trail. Great contrast between the empty trail above and the crowded trail below—a touch of hiking serendipity to make the morning more interesting!