Brian Smith's Photos

A loop through the Mt Tam Watershed this time — late April, right in the sweet spot for wildflowers, and this trail didn’t disappoint.

An iris and a red larkspur within the first twenty minutes, then a good long stretch of open views working up through the hills.

Broadleaf filaree, then cream cups tucked in among the grass — small flowers, but worth stopping for once you start noticing them.

A cobweb thistle, and bees nesting in a tree hollow — the kind of buzzing you can hear from twenty feet away before you even see them.

Milkmaids next, then a rusty old car half-swallowed by the hillside — always a strange, slightly melancholy find out on a trail like this.

Western blue-eyed grass rounding out the flower count for the morning, then a good stretch of open, quiet trail before the coast came into view.

Another cobweb thistle, then the trail opened right out — a proper view of San Francisco sitting out across the water, which is always a nice payoff for the climb.

A coast range fence lizard, twice over, sunning itself right on the path.

Last stretch of the loop kept the skyline in view — green serpentine rock underfoot, a last look back at San Francisco, and one more skyline shot to close it out.

A properly good trail for a spring day — flowers, lizards, and a skyline view all in one loop.