Hidden Gems
A spider web bejeweled with dewdrops. A daffodil popping up unexpectedly through the snow. A sudden parting of dark clouds to reveal a glowing orange sunset. Sometimes we stumble onto small things that bring great joy. Nature’s stealth mission is to surprise us with these heart lifting revelations. Hidden gems appear of their own accord, if we keep our eyes open to see them. This week’s Hike Notes, Lily Pond – Golden Gate Park, introduces a little treasure we stumbled onto after long years of walking right past the entry path in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Please feel free to share. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photos! Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. 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 98: Lily Pond – Golden Gate Park
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Long and Winding Road
If we’re lucky, we’ll live long enough to face big challenges. That’s what I remind myself when I hit rough bumps on the path of life. It’s usually when things are going remarkably well—that moment when I say to myself, “Gee, I haven’t had to deal with any major problems lately, how weird is that?”—when the next landmine blows up. Smooth stretches inevitably hit curves. One turn in our trail reveals unexpected trouble. Another leads to a happy surprise. Over time, we learn how to navigate the curves. Connect with loved ones, step outside for a breath of fresh air, look at the sunset. Simple things can smooth even the roughest bumps on the trail. This week’s Hike Notes, Wood Line - Presidio, take readers along the mesmerizing twists and turns of Wood Line, a curving line of trees through a wooded stretch of the Presidio in San Francisco created by renowned environmental artist Andy Goldsworthy. Please feel free to share. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photos! Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. 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 97: Wood Line - Presidio Unmarked Trails
Some of the best trails have no official name. A nameless line indicating a trail might appear on one map and not another. Lesser known trails don’t show up on any map. A favorite exchange about the contrast between outdoor time in Northern California where I reside now, and in New York State’s rural Mohawk Valley where I grew up (which has surely appeared in a previous hikingautism.com Insights post): “What’s the difference between the trails we hike in California and the trails where I grew up?” “Where I grew up, we didn’t have trails!” There were of course named trails with signs indicating distances and directions in established wilderness areas like the Adirondacks. In the woodsy area where I grew up, however, we did not have marked trails. We had faded paths through fields and forests, created by animals, weather patterns, ourselves, or ancient peoples long gone. We also had our instincts—for where best to cross a creek, how not get lost in the woods, or which farm field to cross to find a road leading home. The San Francisco Bay Area has an abundance of beautiful named trails, but we also have anonymous trails. Those require a bit of bushwhacking skill to keep a sense of direction, and hopefully stay out of poison oak and avoid ticks. That’s what adds extra spice to a hike. When given the option to stay on a main trail or wander off trail a bit, I usually choose the latter. Often in daily life we stick to the easy routine path, our “named trails.” Go ahead and wander off the main trail once in a while. Trying something unfamiliar is good exercise for our heads and hearts. This week’s Hike Notes, Oakwood Valley - Alta Trail, introduce the Oakwood Meadow Trail leading up to the Alta Trail, which offers great views. In the end, this hike leads back to the start along an unnamed trail that has its own charm and challenges. Please feel free to share. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photos! Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. 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 96: Oakwood Valley-Alta Trail Your Own Shangri-La
Shangri-La… mystical, earthly paradise, hidden from the known world. An iconic fictional destination. What if there really is a Shangri-La? A place of stunning beauty and harmony, where the rest of the world’s troubles feel non-existent? We all have the power to find a personal sanctuary of tranquility. Though I’ve been in many fitness classes that guide students to “be in the moment,” I am not an expert on meditation or mindfulness. Having spent much of my life feeling hyper, edgy and impatient, I do not find peace of mind easily. And yet, I have discovered my Shangri-La. Make that plural: Shangri-Las. From early childhood, no matter what storms were brewing on whatever front, a walk through the woods, along the creek, or through the fields near my house transported me away from emotional turmoil. Heart-gripping, sob-inducing troubles dissipated as I put one foot in front of the other, pushing through dense brush, climbing through fences, following barely visible ancient paths. Every hiking site noted in HikingAutism.com has offered me some level of calm and focus. Shangri-La, the elusive place of beauty and harmony, exists at any given moment in the place we happen to be standing. It is a state of mind and perception. I am grateful to live in a place where every direction holds the potential for a Shangri-La mental break. Step outside to look at the sunrise, the sunset, flowers near your home. The uplifting benefits of “living in the moment” with nature in view are simultaneously priceless and free of charge. This week’s Hike Notes take us to a place that offers plenty of Shangri-La caliber views, Fort Funston Upper Trails. Leash-free status makes it a hot spot for walking dogs, but plenty of us enjoy walks there without owning a dog. Please feel free to share. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photos! Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. 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 95: Fort Funston Upper Trails |
Lisa LouisSharing insights and hiking highlights (Hikes, Hike Search by Area) from the special needs caregiver front in San Francisco. Archives
February 2025
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