Taking the Extra Step
            Raising a child involves more resources—physical, emotional, financial—than many anticipate when diving into the adventure of parenthood.
            A typically developing child requires tremendous levels of love and logistical support to eventually become a functional adult who can independently maintain the basics of food, clothing and shelter.
            For those raising a child with extraordinary challenges, the need for resources expands exponentially. Both our sons went through the public school system, but for our severely autistic younger son, we also spent tens of thousands of dollars a year on private therapies for many years. Providing extra supports also uses time and emotional energy for complicated logistics.
            And how do special needs caregivers manage to earn the extra money for outside therapies? Sometimes we do it at the expense of our physical and mental health. The stress levels are a double-edged sword. Somehow the stress of burning ourselves out with five hours of sleep and no time to restore our minds and bodies feels like less of a burden than the stress of worrying that we’re not doing enough for our child. 
            The trick is for caregivers to find ways to maintain some sort of mental and physical health while still taking those extra steps to help our loved ones.
            Hiking became a saving grace for our family. As our son found his calmer self in uplifting nature environments, we parents regained some peace and positivity through time moving in nature as well. Getting to that point took a remarkable amount of work, but that determination has helped all of us.
            Sometimes on a hike we see a little side path and wonder if it’s worth the energy to see what that trail has to offer. When we push ourselves to walk that added mile, we’re usually glad that we did.
            Give yourself credit when you find the energy to walk those additional steps and discover unexpected rewards. Keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s Hike Notes, David Hansen Trail-Roy’s Redwoods, introduces a short inner loop trail off the Roy’s Redwoods Loop Trail that features more redwood trees than other parts of this nature preserve.
            Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area 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.
            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! Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777
New this week:
Hike Notes 188: David Hansen Trail-Roy’s Redwoods

End-of-Summer Sparkle
            It’s only mid-August, but yellow buses are already transporting kids to school in San Francisco. When I was a kid on the East Coast, school didn’t start until after Labor Day. The first few days of September didn’t offer the infinite promise of June, but we used those days to soak up the last drops of summer spirit.
            My parents would rally us for the last Adirondack camping trip of the summer at the end of August. My brothers and I would walk with a slightly heavier step as we gathered wood or hiked up Black Bear Mountain, talking about what the new school year might be like. When we got home, dad would store the camping gear in the garage, as if summer itself was cleared away until next year.
            Despite the golden glow of early September that hinted at soon-to-arrive autumn, even my dad wasn’t quite ready to give up on our summer adventures. The weekend after school started, we would take a Saturday day trip to our beloved Adirondack stomping grounds.
            We didn’t do a big hike. We didn’t camp overnight. We just picked a scenic spot where we could stretch our legs for our last warm weather amble among the pine trees, old rolling mountains, and sparkling lakes.
            The Bay Area where I live now has temperate weather year-round, so we can go on a rugged hike on Mt. Tam in Marin pretty much any season, unless heavy rains hit.
            Like my childhood back-to-school days, though, sometimes a far drive or a steep hike feel like too much. An easy stroll along a paved bayside path, pastel sky reflected in sparkling waves as we walk, gives us a nature boost without an overwhelming effort.
            Here’s hoping we all have places that give us that “not quite done with summer vacation” feeling. Keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s HikingAutism Hike Notes from the archives is Blackie’s Pasture, a Tiburon park in Marin that offers a calm, easy walk on paved paths along Richardson Bay.
 
This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives:
(Original Hike Notes 14): Blackie’s Pasture
 
            Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area 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.
            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! Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777

Reframing the View
            When a notoriously tough prison comes into view, minds may tend toward dark thoughts of prison life and infamous inmates from history. We imagine prisoners and guards isolated on a small, rocky island surrounded by treacherous waters.
            Yet from high on a hill, I look out over San Francisco Bay and see former federal penitentiary Alcatraz as one aesthetic element in the overall vista. Even with the prison facilities clearly in view, it is one integral part of a scene of beauty.
            How we see or feel about something can shift according to our mood, a change in circumstances, or by consciously reframing how we’re viewing that object, scene or situation.
            I recently took a short, belated memorial visit to the house I grew up in, in honor of my dad’s recent passing. I thought I might spend the entire visit feeling a powerful sense of loss and sadness.
            His funeral photo and urn sat on the mantelpiece above his empty chair, the chair he sat in for so many hours each day as his mobility waned. Watching favorite TV shows and movies became his main occupation, and that was his spot.
            My dad’s empty chair was the logical place for me to sit during my visit. Double negative logic here: I didn’t feel that he wasn’t there. I felt like I was channeling his positive, cheerful spirit as I sat in his space, watching his old favorites in companionship with others missing him.
            What might have been a time of great heartache somehow reframed itself into treasuring memories of time with my dad. Fears of overwhelming grief never came to pass.
            Maybe this was simply a serendipitous instance of positive perspective, as I wasn’t trying to avoid sadness. I realized that sad, dark things don’t necessarily manifest themselves as expected, but also that I probably could have consciously worked to embrace happy memories and gratitude if I’d needed to.
            May we all find ways to shift our perspectives and find silver linings during challenging times.
            This week’s Hike Notes, Black Point Historic Gardens-Fort Mason, leads readers on a hillside walk along historic flower gardens with a view of Alcatraz, Aquatic Park and the San Francisco Bay.
            Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area 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.
            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! Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777
New this week:
Hike Notes 187: Black Point Historic Gardens-Fort Mason

Canada Goose Time Travel
            I knew the sound of Canada geese before I knew what they looked like. Growing up in the Adirondack foothills where seasons declared themselves boldly—hot humid, bug-filled summers countered by long winters where we said, “It’s warming up!” when temperatures rose up to freezing—migratory creatures were nature’s seasonal alarm clocks.
            From earliest childhood, I remember feeling both excitement (in spring) and heart-tugging nostalgia (in autumn) when I heard Canada geese fly overhead. I don’t think I saw a Canada goose up close for many years. My visual image of Canada geese for a very long time was a distant V undulating in the sky as they flew in formation. I didn’t need to see them, though. Their iconic honking made their presence known.
            Here in the San Francisco Bay Area where temperatures are moderate year-round, many Canada geese hang out seemingly without any compulsion to fly elsewhere. My image of them here is waddling in large groups (leaving large droppings) around ponds and lakes rather than flying.
            As I sit in my attic office, I occasionally hear a flock of Canada geese flying overhead. Like when I was a child, it’s not the sight of them but rather their honking call echoing in a Doppler effect as they fly over my skylight window that tugs at my heartstrings. I am transported back to the frost-covered lawn where I tipped my head back to look up at them as a child.
            What sounds, sights and smells transport you to good memories of another time and place? Tap into those uplifting senses when the opportunity arises!
            This week’s HikingAutism Hike Notes from the archives is Frolic Cove Walk-Mendocino, a scenic coastal walk featuring a shipwreck and the occasional Canada goose.
 
This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives:
(Original Hike Notes 140): Frolic Cove Walk-Mendocino
 
            Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area 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.
            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! Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777