Walking Together
            Having time alone can be a wonderful thing. A quiet moment away from others allows us to reflect and center ourselves.
            Isolation feels different from “alone time.” Feeling isolated can drain us emotionally, and in turn, physically.
            For those of us in the special needs world, isolation is a huge challenge. Behavior issues, health issues, sensory issues. At every turn, obstacles prevent us from participating in “normal” society. There are countless reasons a person might be cut off due to feeling “different.” Illness, disability, poverty, language and cultural differences. The list goes on. 
            Loneliness can happen not only to an individual, but to a group. Special needs families are just one example of a small unit of people floundering amidst the surrounding crowd.
            The companionship of supportive people can be more healing than any medicine or fitness program.
            Drifting away from others can become a self-propelling state. Stop and think of opportunities to connect. Friends? Family? A support group? Sometimes a sympathetic stranger who “gets” your situation is more uplifting than people we share emotional baggage with.
            Life throws plenty of curveballs. Pick yourself up and reach out. Find someone kind to walk part of your path with you.
            And when you can, offer a hand to others who need warmth and friendship.
            This week’s Hike Notes, Ecology Trail in the Presidio, introduces a quiet trail within a busy city, good for solo reflection time or for walking side by side with companions.
            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 64: Ecology Trail In the Presidio

Stopped In Our Tracks
            Occasionally, my severely autistic son stops suddenly in his tracks. Sometimes he appears to be in distress. Sometimes he’s just frozen in place.
            A neurological blip hitting a temporary off switch? A tangible memory he’s struggling to process? Stomach cramps?
            We don’t know. He has enough language to request a favorite food or person. He can yell words when he wants help spelling something for a YouTube search.
            But he can’t tell us why he abruptly freezes.
            Every life has frozen-in-the-tracks moments. An unexpected illness. Loss of a friendship, or a job, or one’s sense of self. Death of a loved one.
            My son snaps out of his frozen states eventually.
            The time-space continuum shifts into forward gear and his feet move on the trail again.
            Same for the rest of us. Despite life’s explosions that shock us into a stop-motion state, we get up and move again.
            One of our “stop-in-our-tracks” moments was when our son’s beloved “autism whisperer” passed away suddenly (see In Memory and Thanks). 
            We’re still here. We’re still walking.
            Keep putting one foot forward.
            This week’s Hike Notes, Phyllis Ellman Trail to Ring Mountain, leads up a hilly, rocky path to Ring Mountain in Tiburon. (For an outing directly to the Ring Mountain rock formation areas, see previous post, Ring Mountain-Tiburon.) 
            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 63: Phyllis Ellman Trail to Ring Mountain

A Helping Hand
            Some of us have a hard time reaching out for help, accepting help, acknowledging we need any help. The words “stubbornly independent” come to mind.
            For a person like my severely autistic son, there would be no life without constant support. We offer him help gladly, and he reaches his hand back in acceptance (most of the time).
            As a constantly worrying mom, I am grateful for others who help our son. And for people who support the rest of our family. And for those who push past my stubbornness to lift me up, knowing how moms can get bogged down in worry and never-ending challenges for our special needs family members.
            On this Mother’s Day weekend, I express gratitude to the people in the world who offer a helping hand to others. To those of us whose comfort zone is to offer help but not receive it: Remember to graciously accept offers of kindness and support. Helping hands travel on a two-way street.
            This week’s Hike Notes, Pacifica Pier from Mori Point, takes hikers on a 3-mile round trip walk along Old Mori Trail to the Coastal Trail in Pacifica. (For a more rugged hill hike in this area, see previous post, Mori Point.) 
            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 62: Pacifica Pier from Mori Point

Tree Tunnel Passages
            Many years ago, my husband’s family sent a Japanese language copy of popular animated movie “My Neighbor Totoro” from Japan. My sons (and we parents) watched it countless times.
            One young girl character has a penchant for stumbling into enticing, mysterious tree tunnels.
            “Look, a Totoro tree tunnel!” I call out to my hiking companions whenever we approach a canopied pathway.
            Tunnels have a magnetic attractive force. Visually, they draw our eyes. Physically, they pull us forward. Emotionally, they hit certain switches.
            When a tree tunnel comes into view, I stop and absorb for a moment before plunging ahead.
            A tunnel is a portal from one place to another, both in terms of tangible space and harder to define elements.
            I, too, enjoy venturing ahead into a tree tunnel, seeing where it twists and turns, sensing how it opens up to wide space again. Looking back to ponder the road we’ve walked has its benefits. Sometimes, though, I just enjoy the tunnel as I’m passing through, and let it flow behind me, feet aiming forward to the trail ahead.
            This week’s Hike Notes, Glen Canyon Park from Below, lead along the lower level paths of a favorite nature-in-the-city site, Glen Canyon Park in San Francisco. (See previous entry for the upper trails: Glen Canyon Park from Above.) 
            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 61: Glen Canyon Park from Below