Walking On the Edge
            Some creatures walk along steep cliffs without a hint of anxiety. Nature may offer them a superb sense of balance, highly motivating reasons for roaming along bluff edges, or wings to fly if they slip.
            For us humans, walking along rocky heights is a dangerous gamble. Here on the craggy Northern California coast, overconfidence in balance and agility brings many face to face with cliff rescue teams (if they’re lucky).
            War, disease, and economic instability can make us collectively feel like we’re walking on unstable ground. Personal tragedy or insecurity also make us feel like we’re teetering high above rough waves and rocks.
            We warn loved ones to stay away from the edge when we’re walking in cliffside areas, but we don’t always have the option to avoid instability and danger.
            The best we can do at times is to tap into the instincts and techniques we’ve learned for surviving. Hopefully if we start to slip, we find our footing and stabilize.
            World circumstances have many feeling like we’re staggering at the edge of a precipice. Reach out and offer a helping hand if you see someone who needs it, and don’t be shy about calling for support if you start to slide.
            In uncertain times, find the most stable ground available, and keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s Hike Notes, Frolic Cove Walk-Mendocino, takes readers on a beautiful coastal walk that leads to the site of a historic shipwreck on the Mendocino Coast. 
            Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area (was Quick View Hike List) page. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact.
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Please feel free to share, and follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism
New this week:
Hike Notes 140: Frolic Cove Walk-Mendocino

Quiet and Enduring
            Where do we look for assurance when dark news pops up in every direction, changing the solid sense of a foundation under our feet to jello?
            We first turn inward, using skills honed through life experience to maintain calm. We focus. We breathe. We regulate our intake of information to stabilize overstimulated minds and bodies. 
            When one too many disturbances shakes our faith in humanity, and our self-support battery has run down, we reach beyond ourselves.
            Maybe it’s an older relative who always has a wise insight to share. It may be a quiet, steadfast friend who we don’t see often but share an unwavering sense of solidarity with. We know if we reach out and say, “I’m feeling overwhelmed by the world’s troubles. How about you?,” there will be a calming spirit of camaraderie in whatever words come back to us.
            Recent news cycles have relentlessly pounded the world’s collective psyche. These are the times we check in with the favorite aunt, the quiet old friend, the faithful neighbor we know we can open our heart to.
            May we all cultivate such important people in our lives, and more importantly, may each of us have the honor of being that person for someone else who needs to reach out when times are tough.
         Speaking of tapping into treasured resources, I am very thankful to share new World Walks contribution Hopedale Pond and Parklands from Marjorie Turner Hollman, steadfast friend of HikingAutism. Kindred spirit Marjorie deftly writes about matters of the heart amidst challenging times, while sharing the joys of walking in nature.
         This week’s Hike Notes are from the HikingAutism archives, China Camp Campsite to Chicken Coop Hill. The autumn colors in the Hopedale Pond and Parklands World Walks reminded me of the glowing golden light we’ve experienced on China Camp walks.
            Do you have a favorite walk? Share with readers in World Walks! Two or three sentences and photos allow other readers to share your special hike. See the World Walks link for how to submit your walk to share. It’s easy!
 
This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives:
(Original Hike Notes 49): China Camp Campsite to Chicken Coop Hill
 
            Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes and photo galleries via the main Hikes page or the Hike Search by Area (was Quick View Hike List) page. Click World Walks to see or share favorite walks from readers! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact.
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. Please feel free to share, and follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism

Recalculating
            We make plans. We ready our resources: materials, time, energy. Then we get started.
            Boom! Something throws our plan off track.
            Do we throw the whole idea by the wayside? Not if we’ve cultivated flexibility and resourcefulness.
            Being extremely rigid about expectations is a hallmark of some people on the autism spectrum, including my son. The smallest deviation from an idea can trigger aggravation. You don’t have to be on the spectrum to feel this way. In childhood, I felt like the world would never be right again when reality didn’t match my pre-imagined reality. Becoming adjustable is an ongoing process.
            Over time, many of us learn to “go with the flow” and adjust to changes more easily. The evolving nature of weather and walking conditions makes hiking a great activity for learning flexibility. Mother Nature doesn’t care about satisfying our preconceived notions.
            On a rare family trip away, we saved a special hike as the last activity before a several-hour drive home. We’d read about an “ecological staircase” hike over terraces that showcased 500,000 years of earth’s history. Totally on our must-do list.
            “The description said 2.5 miles. ‘Staircase’ implies some climbing, but a little over a mile in and a mile out can’t be too bad,” reported another family member.
            We enthusiastically set out on our brief final hike. About a mile in, we realized we’d barely put a dent in it. The trail maps were all gone at the trailhead, so we were winging it. I remembered the local hike guidebook I had stuffed in my bag.
            “Guys. It’s 2.5 miles each way. 5 miles round trip.” Aha.
            Did we give up on reaching the pygmy forest boardwalk we were aiming for? We did not. We recalculated our expectations, and kept walking forward. It was one of the best activities of our stay.
            Flash forward to my plan to visit my aging dad. Autism parenting, work projects and the pandemic had kept me away for three years. With the vaccine, things looked somewhat safe for travel.
            Clothes and gifts for the trip all packed, I suddenly became violently ill right before the trip. A stomach virus, not the fast spreading pandemic variant dominating the news, knocked me out of any travel plans.
            Heartbroken to miss visiting my dad, I stopped to recalculate. What if I had taken my virus or a worse virus to my dad? Time to regroup, reconsider, and adjust to the idea of a future trip.
            Just as our longer-than-expected hike was all the more satisfying for sticking with it, seeing my dad will be all the more special when a safe opportunity arises. May we all learn to adjust to shifting life circumstances, and keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s Hike Notes, Jug Handle Ecological Staircase-Mendocino, leads readers on a fascinating hike through geological history in one of the many beautiful natural areas on the Mendocino Coast. 
            Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area (was Quick View Hike List) page. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact.
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Please feel free to share, and follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism
New this week:
Hike Notes 139: Jug Handle Ecological Staircase-Mendocino

Home Comforts
            Leaving our comfort zone—exploring a new place, trying a new activity, tasting a new food, spending time with new people—can be both exhilarating and exhausting.
            Studies have shown that neuroplasticity—the ability for the brain to modify its connections—does not stop at a certain age, as was once believed. Want to learn a new language? It may take more conscious effort when you’re older, but you can start learning whether you’re age five or 95.
            Every new activity and concept we experience causes our brains to re-wire at least a little bit. Tried a new gym routine, yoga pose, or dance move? Our brains are as stimulated as our bodies. Hike a new trail, meet a new neighbor, take a class—any of these will cause our brains to grow.
            After a burst of new activity, though, we often experience not only mental but also physical tiredness. That’s a sign that our brains and bodies are growing and changing.
            The familiar people, places and activities we’re most comfortable with have a healing quality. An exciting trip to a new place is naturally followed by, “But it’s good to be home and sleep in my own bed!”
            I love checking out new hiking trails. After any new adventure, though, I find myself longing for a familiar walk close to home. Our nearby family walks give us a sense of home, both in terms of physical space and mental space. Time in a favorite familiar place can be just the battery recharge people need after an exciting energy drain. Keep putting one foot forward!
            ​This week’s Hike Notes are from the HikingAutism archives, Wood Line - Presidio. Wood Line is one of several captivating Andy Goldsworthy environmental art installations in San Francisco, and one of our favorite family walks.
            Do you have a favorite walk? Share with readers in World Walks! Two or three sentences and photos allow other readers to share your special hike. See the World Walks link for how to submit your walk to share. It’s easy!
 
This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives:
(Original Hike Notes 97): Wood Line - Presidio
 
            Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area (was Quick View Hike List) page. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact.
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Please feel free to share, and follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism

Long Road of Companionship
            Isolation. It’s a hidden weight on the hearts of extraordinarily challenged individuals and their caregivers. Is an autistic son’s sudden movements and loud voice bothering other people? Is an aging parent’s wheelchair slowing the pathway for normal-paced walkers? Will requesting closed captioning on a screen irritate others?
            Sometimes just the thought of potential negatives keeps people—already facing a long list of daily hurdles—from going out and joining the “normal” world.
            Our family’s autism-centric reality is so quirky and unpredictable that participating in everyday society is tough close to home, much less anywhere that requires an overnight stay.
            Despite the anxiety, with help, practice and determination, we’ve managed to go on a small number of overnight road trips.
            The isolation of our autism family life travels with us.
            Lighthouses have long been known as remote places of solitude. We decided that our eccentric family unit would fit right in at a historic lighthouse keeper’s house on the rugged Mendocino Coast.
            Tales of lonely lighthouse keepers abound. A docent at the historic lighthouse museum we visited told us that the authorities preferred their lighthouse keepers to have a family, rather than to face the overwhelming loneliness of lighthouse living alone.
            I realized that despite our partial seclusion from normal society, we are not alone. We have our hardy family unit to walk with on our off-the-beaten-path. We are companions by necessity, and find joy in it. Seeing my sons walk together always warms my heart.
            May we all stop to be thankful for the folks who have taken time to walk side by side for part of our life paths. Keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s Hike Notes, Point Cabrillo Lighthouse-Mendocino, takes readers to a historic lighthouse on the wild and scenic Mendocino Coast. 
            Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area (was Quick View Hike List) page. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact.
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Please feel free to share, and follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism
New this week:
Hike Notes 138: Point Cabrillo Lighthouse-Mendocino