Sneaker Waves
When our first son was about two, we took him and a little plastic bucket and shovel down to Ocean Beach, a few blocks from our house. I grew up near lakes and creeks but not the ocean, and my husband grew up in Osaka, rarely venturing away from a Japanese urban environment. How cool for us to be able to take our toddler to play in the Pacific. We walked to where the sand met the water in a shallow, gentle roll. We all squatted down to put some water in the blue bucket. We knew the “never turn your back on the ocean” concept, had lived near the ocean for a few years, and figured we were reasonably vigilant. In the blink of an eye, a larger wave than any of the previous ones whooshed up, knocked our toddler down, and pulled the toy bucket away from shore. We picked our son up and carried him further from the water, and I managed to grab the bucket with the next incoming wave. We learned a visceral lesson in how suddenly and powerfully wave behavior can change. Fast forward twenty years. By then we figured we were much savvier about safety when visiting beaches, which were frequent hike destinations for our family now including two sons. Our younger son used hiking poles as a support in light of some posture and motor planning issues related to his autism. One beautiful autumn day, we took the valley hike to Tennessee Beach in Marin. We knew the beach from several visits in the past. We sat on low rocks a fair distance from the water line for a snack break. Son Sean leaned his hiking poles on the rocks as we sat. With no telltale sound or warning, a wave swept across the considerable distance we’d left open from the waterline. The wave not only struck us, but also carried my son’s hiking poles out to sea. There was no quick retrieval by a fast-footed mom as there had been with the plastic bucket years earlier. The poles were there one second and lost to the sea the next. That was the true embodiment of a sneaker wave, though a fairly mild one considering how many people are knocked down and pulled out to sea along our stretch of Northern California coast. We don’t need to live in fear when we visit beaches, but we do need to keep our eyes on what’s happening with the waves. Life has a way of throwing life-event sneaker waves at us, whether it’s in the form of an accident, an unexpected illness, a sudden job loss or a breakup. We can’t be vigilant all the time, but we can keep our eyes open to not be totally swept away when unexpected waves do strike. The Hike Notes from the archives this week takes readers to Tennessee Valley—a lovely place to hike to, but also a beach where visitors need to be especially aware of rogue waves. May our beach visits and life journeys include surprises as well as lessons in how to stand up again despite powerful waves. 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, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777 This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives: Hike Notes 7: Tennessee Valley
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Fancy Meeting You Here
Son Sean’s light gray shirt blended in with the flat, overcast sky that loomed above khaki-colored brush that matched the hiking shorts of our walking partner. This was the second time Sean’s outdoor activity helper brought us to Point Reyes. The year before, we hiked among the tule elk who roam Tomales Point. Walking in close range of a large herd of elk had been the highlight of that day. This time we were walking at Chimney Rock, a cliff structure that juts out at the end of the curve of land hugging Drakes Bay. The Point Reyes color palette that day was stunning in its subtlety: soft tans and grays for land and sky, with momentary hints of aquamarine mixed into the sky and sea by some magic hand, only to then shift back to gray. Sean worked his way up a dirt trail loosely holding hiking poles—a tool to keep him from stooping. His posture improved some, but he still walked gaze to the ground. He and his hiking buddy walked ahead while I trailed behind taking photos. Our helper turned back toward me and silently gestured with hands at his ears. Was he indicating antlers? He tipped his head for me to look for a creature ahead. Were we in for the treat of more tule elk? It wasn’t a place where the herd roamed. There at the edge of the bluff stood a black-tailed deer, a lovely doe with no horns. We were the only other large creatures in sight, and she didn’t seem to mind us. My husband and I joke that the wildlife always comes out for that helper, but not often when it’s just our family. Whether a bobcat, a lizard, or a banana slug, it’s always a thrill when a creature ventures into view. Do you have good luck seeing animals on your walks? Be thankful when you have the opportunity! This week’s Hike Notes from the archives is Chimney Rock-Point Reyes, a hike that brings visitors to a tip of land on the edge of Drakes Bay, and one of the phantom forms in the distance that we measure visibility by from San Francisco when we stand at the western edge of the city looking northwest. 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, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777 New this week: Hike Notes 39: Chimney Rock-Point Reyes Miss Him, We Will
Though severe autism makes navigating the “normal” world difficult for our younger son Sean, he has a unique intelligence and a strong intuitive sense. When his big brother moved to London for his job three years ago, it was very difficult to explain to Sean what was happening, despite using maps, a globe, and photos. Sean understood over weeks of absence that Alec was not just away overnight. Video chats helped Sean see that his brother was still alive and well. Alec talked as he walked us along the streets of London with video feed from his phone. When Alec arrived home for the holidays a year later, Sean didn’t believe his brother was really home at first, but was soon demanding that his brother sit with him on the couch and walk with him on our hikes. That first round of holidays ended, Alec returned to London, and the house was oddly quiet. “Alec! Alec couch!” Sean said repeatedly at dinner time. Each request was a stab in my heart. “Alec went on an airplane,” I explained repeatedly. The reality that Alec was away again finally sunk in. Sean started saying, “Alec airplane!” sometimes to confirm he was away, and after that as a way of asking for him to come home. We are just ending our third set of holidays with big brother Alec home from London. The day before his departure, an outing took us to the Yoda statue fountain in San Francisco’s Presidio, where I watched my sons walk together like they’ve never been apart. In a matter of hours I will be telling Sean that, “Alec went on an airplane,” yet again. Miss him, we will. This week’s Hike Notes from the archives, Yoda Fountain Stroll-The Presidio, introduces a lovely city walk on the manicured grounds of the Letterman Digital Arts Center/Lucasfilm area of the Presidio, highlighted by a fountain overseen by Yoda himself. 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, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777 This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives: Hike Notes 185: Yoda Fountain Stroll-The Presidio A Rose by Any Other Name
Waterfalls. The thought of hiking to a waterfall on Mt. Tam stirs my heart, but the logistics can be challenging. To get my family of four to one of the treasured waterfall spots this vacation break, I needed to find a time when all four of us were free, and it had to NOT be one of the main holidays when everyone under the sun is doing an annual hike, making for too many cars on windy Marin mountain roads and trailheads with scarce parking. As I skimmed an online map for ideas, I spotted an unfamiliar waterfall name. “Helen Markt Falls” was noted right near Cataract Falls. My autistic son and I had been there several times with a hiking buddy, and I’d always wanted to take my husband and older son there. What was this other falls? It didn’t appear on any of the three paper maps of Mt. Tam I checked. I’d already written about Cataract Falls—twice—but this made for an excuse to go and do another photo shoot, especially knowing the water levels would be up after recent rains. A hiker had posted a photo online saying she wasn’t sure if she was at Helen Markt Falls or Cataract Falls. How confusing could it be? Sure enough, we got in range of the spot marked Helen Markt Falls on the online map and heard a rush of water. Through trees and bushes, we could see the start of a fast-running waterfall, and I knew this was still a way from the main Cataract Falls I was familiar with. Was this it? It all seemed to flow into one long waterfall. We enjoyed the hike, especially getting down to the lower end of Cataract Falls proper and seeing how powerfully the water was flowing. I wasn’t sure where my photos of Helen Markt Falls ended and Cataract started, but the point was to have seen the falls in full flow for the first time in the many years I’d been visiting. Back at home, I dug around for the little bit of information available on Helen Markt Falls to find a source saying that Helen Markt Falls constitutes the first four cascades of the full Cataract Falls complex of nine cascades. Whatever the name, Cataract Trail and the falls and creek make for a satisfying hike. This week’s Hike Notes, Helen Markt Falls and Cataract Falls, take readers on the mossy, woodsy Cataract Trail along Cataract Creek with a dramatic view of one of Mt. Tam’s tallest waterfalls. 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, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777 New this week: Hike Notes 214: Helen Markt Falls and Cataract Falls |
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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