Friendly Ghosts
            A leaf scuffling quirkily ahead on your path.
            A bird commenting insistently toward you. 
            A curtain blowing in a peculiar, persistent way.
            A light tap on the shoulder when no one is there.
            A thickness in the air. Not a smell, not a sound—an indefinable feeling of a presence.
            Like the nostalgic feeling that whooshes in with the smell of pumpkin pie (or whatever your favorite childhood food was), memories of lost loved ones can be triggered by an image, a sound or a fragrance. 
            The occasional, unexpected “visit” of memories and a sense of treasured people (or pets) we’ve lost can be a welcome surprise.
            Places we visited with our son’s “autism whisperer,” who we lost years ago (In Memory and Thanks), sometimes bring a tangible sense of his essence.
            Memories of loved ones, no matter how long ago they left this earth, are treasures to be embraced. If there is such a thing as ghosts, these are the friendly ones.
            This week’s Hike Notes introduce a walk on the inner loop and hill at Stow Lake: Strawberry Hill and Stow Lake Pagoda. Search online for various versions of Stow Lake and Strawberry Hill’s own ghost story of the “White Lady,” a story first mentioned in print in the San Francisco Chronicle in 1908. A stroll around this classic San Francisco treasure is best enjoyed in daylight hours!
            Please feel free to share. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photos!
            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 60: Strawberry Hill and Stow Lake Pagoda

The Accidental Steep Trail
            “Want to go to Hidden Lake?” my son’s autism helper/hiking buddy tossed out cavalierly one chilly afternoon. Badass destination names like “Pirates Cove” and “Hidden Lake” make my heart flutter. A wish-list destination hadn’t been on my radar that day, but why not?
            “If you think we’ll have enough daylight, sounds great,” I said. A midafternoon start meant a race to beat the January sunset.
            Lake Lagunitas shimmered with a grayish-green winter pallor. After a short jaunt along the lake, we turned up a trail featuring wooden footbridges and a stretch of redwood trees.
            “Wrong trail for Hidden Lake, sorry,” said the hiking buddy, checking a trail map. Daylight hourglass running, we persisted with our accidental trail.
            Rocks and fallen tree debris indicated infrequent use. 
            We climbed. Twisted rocky turns moved us upward but not far forward.
            “Maybe this is a good break spot,” our hiking buddy said. My son was dragging after all the steep climbing, and light was fading.
            “The trail junction only looks like another quarter mile or so,” I said wistfully.
            “Go ahead, I have him here.”
            I’m pretty fit for strength, but not for cardio. The encroaching dark had me running, but the trail junction was elusive.
            I’ve only felt spooked on a trail a handful of times. Something about the dirt path and scattered leaves reminded me of a short story about a couple who were entranced by birds in an isolated forest, only to vanish.
            I finally reached a faded, vague jumble of crossing paths. I hadn’t made it to the crest I sensed by the light through the trees, but at least I’d hit some sort of junction point.
            I jog-walked down the trail to find the rocky snack break spot empty. They must have started back down. My heart raced as I pushed to catch up.
            “Not doing that one again,” our hiking buddy said as we descended back to the lake.
            “Those steep stretches were a son of a gun,” I agreed, “but it was good.”
            Any trail is worth walking once. Even if it’s steep. Even if it’s dark. Even if it’s hard.
            We don’t always have a choice. Keep putting one foot forward.
            This week’s Hike Notes lead along the Colier Spring Trail from Lake Lagunitas (just “Colier Trail” on some maps), a steep, sometimes rugged trail with some old growth redwoods that makes for a great cardio workout, even if you don’t go all the way to the top.
            Please feel free to share. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photos!
            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 59: Colier Spring Trail from Lake Lagunitas

Embracing the Good Things
            Everyone faces challenges, which for our family includes severe neurodevelopmental issues for our younger son.
            Eating, sleeping, communicating, bathing, toilet, behavioral issues, sensory processing troubles. We face difficulties on all of these fronts. Yet the level of struggle we see other families face makes our lives look easy.
            So on the rare easier day or carefree moment, I almost feel guilty. Like I’m not allowed to enjoy those happier times because it’s unfair to others who are struggling.
            Or maybe it’s because being in a PTSD minefield 24/7 makes letting your guard down even for a minute feel risky.
            But life is here to enjoy when we can. So I will say that I am grateful to live in a place where there is beautiful nature at every turn, even within the city itself. I am grateful to have good people who make life a little easier and a lot more fun. I am grateful to be here.
            May we all find it in ourselves to drop our guard, let go of what holds us back from enjoying life, and embrace the good things around us.
            This week’s Hike Notes introduce a walk from Fort Mason Stairs to Hyde Street Pier, one of many stairway walks in San Francisco that offer a cardio workout along with spectacular views.
            Please feel free to share. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photos!
            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 58: Fort Mason Stairs to Hyde Street Pier

A Moment Alone
            Though challenging, we’ve managed a few cabin overnights with my severely autistic son. When not busy with camp chores, we explore nearby trails.
            I rarely get to hike on my own. On one cabin-stay hike, my son, husband and hiking buddy/helper lagged behind. 
            I looked back to see if they were catching up. They weren’t. The peak we’d eyed on the trail map was ahead of me and I wasn’t giving up.
            I tried texting. Cell connections went in and out.
            They knew I’d go to the peak, come hell or high water, and I knew my son was in safe hands.
            I eagerly chugged uphill so as not to strand them for long. At every turn of the trail, I realized the peak was farther away than it looked five minutes earlier. There was not a soul other than our crew on almost two miles of trail.
            A wooded tree tunnel offered a shady break from the sunny open fire road. There was an eerie silence as I approached the dark woodsy path. Evidence of a predator’s meal, bits of fluffy fur clinging to bones, stuck out from some leaves.
            Feeling spooked, I forced myself to plunge through the dark patch. I had to push through one last uphill grind to get to the top.
            The peak was isolated and stunning. 
            I took a rare breath alone, looking out at the world from above 1400 feet. The moving patterns formed by sun and breezy shadows were mesmerizing. 
            That short time away from life’s cares was a treasure money can’t buy. For some of us, even a few minutes of respite time is hard to come by. All of us should give ourselves the gift of stopping our world from turning, if only for a moment.
            This week’s Hike Notes introduce a hike to Barnabe Peak from Madrone Camp in Samuel P. Taylor State 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!
            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 57: Barnabe Peak from Madrone Camp