Hidden Treasure
            Sometimes life’s troubles hit so hard and fast, or become so relentlessly embedded, it’s hard to imagine happy bright spots appearing again.
            Relentlessly embedded challenge for our family: Helping our son with severe neurodevelopmental difficulties.
            Challenge that hit hard and fast: The sudden loss of the young teacher who’d been working miracles with us.
            And yet the human spirit finds a way. To wake up and get out of bed again. To put another foot forward. To ask for new help.
            Special needs helpers are often patient and intuitive. They are not typically swashbucklers. Yet as a fortunate twist to our misfortune, we met a new helper with a taste for adventure.
              The next turn of a winding trail might reveal danger or treasure. We don’t know until we turn the corner, and we learn from both.
            If ever there was a swashbuckler’s destination within a name, it would be Pirates Cove. I doubted that I’d get my son to hike there, but with help, we made it.
            Today’s Hike Notes entry, Muir Beach to Pirates Cove, is about a hike that is somewhat challenging for distance and steep rocky spots, but it features two beaches, and the starting point, with parking and bathroom facilities, is easily found on a map.
            Please feel free to share. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photos!
Hike Notes 1: Marin Headlands Visitor Center to Rodeo Beach
Hike Notes 2: Fitzgerald Marine Reserve
Hike Notes 3: Lands End Lookout to Mile Rock Beach
Hike Notes 4: Muir Beach to Pirates Cove

Trails versus Paths
            My childhood was spent wandering the fields and forests of Upstate New York. Now I hike rugged trails in the Bay Area. As I joked to a hiking buddy:
            “You know the difference between the trails here and the trails where I grew up?”
            “What?”
            “Where I grew up we didn’t have trails!” We had field clearings, creek edges, worn grass at the spot for crossing a barbed wire fence, and railroad tracks to follow through deep, silent forests. Now I have maps and trail signs to guide me.
            Life tosses out challenges we aren’t prepared for: us with our severely autistic son, others dealing with Alzheimer’s, devastating illness or injury, mental illness, addiction problems, unexpected loss. Whatever life has thrown at you.
            Yet we find a way to keep putting one foot forward.
            I love following a clear trail, but the unmarked paths we are forced to find by instinct help us the next time we hit a place in life with no trail markers.
            Today’s Hike Notes are about a formerly rough, untamed trail I used to think of as my quiet backyard walk, but is now a well-paved, much more heavily traveled set of trails at the westernmost edge of the San Francisco: Lands End Lookout to Mile Rock Beach.
            The hikingautism.com Hikes list starts with easier locations that offer options for short walks and views, and have bathroom facilities and parking. More challenging hike info is in the pipeline!
            Please feel free to share. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photos!
Hike Notes 1: Marin Headlands Visitor Center to Rodeo Beach
Hike Notes 2: Fitzgerald Marine Reserve
Hike Notes 3: Lands End Lookout to Mile Rock Beach
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            Goals are great. Aiming for the moon from day one, though, can keep us from taking that first step. (New Year’s resolutions abandoned by February…)
            Our son overcomes sensory panic in increments. It took years of work for Sean to willingly walk through a dentist office door, much less sit for a checkup—and it’s still a work in progress. First step: Exiting the car near the dentist office. Next step: Walking up to the dentist office door. After that: Walking into the waiting room. Dozens of tries for each step. Determined small steps lead to bigger steps.
            “Wow, I really want to go to that place,” you think, looking at photos of a hiking site, then sigh, “But I’m not a hiker.” You don’t have to be. Buy a map, get directions online. Get to a trailhead and enjoy the scenery. Next time, maybe you’ll walk part of a trail and back. Doing the scenic drive to a trailhead and taking a calm breath in the open air are goals unto themselves.
            This Hikes list starts with locations that have easier options for short walks or views, have bathroom facilities and parking. More challenging hike info is in the pipeline! Today’s hike notes are about Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, a place of tidepools, harbor seals, and an intriguing forest.
            New entries appear in the Hikes and Insights sections every week or two.
            Please feel free to share. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photos!
Hike Notes 1: Marin Headlands Visitor Center to Rodeo Beach
Hike Notes 2: Fitzgerald Marine Reserve

            Six years ago, our family was virtually housebound. Our younger son could barely tolerate leaving his own bedroom. His version of autism was a mysterious, multi-layered sensory trap, and we were caught in it with him.
            Destiny brought a gifted young teacher who helped our son—and us— get out in the world. Our “autism whisperer” worked miracles from day one. Several months of happy progress later, an undetected heart problem stole our beloved helper from this earth.
            Sharing uplifting moments as we walked through our grief helped us keep going. Other wonderful helpers stepped in to keep us moving forward. My heart is lifted when people tell me they are inspired by my photos of hikes with our autistic son. This hikingautism.com site allows me to fulfill the many requests I’ve had for specific information on hiking destinations, as well as to share some insights on challenges we may share with others.
            New entries will appear in the Hikes and Insights sections every week or two. Insights may touch not strictly on hiking and autism, but also include the benefits of getting out in nature, the challenges of being a caregiver, or whatever comes up at the time.
            Please feel free to share. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photos!
Hike Notes 1: Marin Headlands Visitor Center to Rodeo Beach