Setting Forth
            Standing at the start of a new trail, I let my mind fade to neutral, trying not to anticipate what will be around the next turn. Eyes open, ears open, I also take in the scents of the air, plants and dirt particular to that location. 
            As a 21-year old just out of college, I opened my life to new experiences when I bought a plane ticket to Japan, thinking I’d stay for two years and come back with language and business skills. I stayed for five and a half, and brought back not only skills and knowledge, but also my Japanese husband.
            The freedom to undertake such a venture feels like worlds away now. As part of a family profoundly affected by autism, sometimes just getting to the grocery store feels like a big excursion.
            Special needs families are tight knit crews by necessity. Our older son has been an integral force in keeping his autistic brother’s world safe and stable along with us parents, particularly during the pandemic.
            International adventure now calls for our older son. It is his time to head to foreign shores to expand his career and see the world.
            Though our younger son won’t have his brother’s hand to reach for when we go hiking, modern technology means we’ll be able to see our son in his new environment, and maybe take a virtual walk with him as he explores the streets of London.
            This week’s HikingAutism Hike Notes from the archives is Glen Canyon Park from Above, a park with remarkable views, trails high and low, and fascinating rock formations, which also happens to be one of our older son’s favorite San Francisco 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.
 
This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives:
(Original Hike Notes 30): Glen Canyon Park from Above
 
            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

Waiting for That Special Moment
            “This shirt was expensive, but I just had to have it. I’ll save it for a special occasion.”
            “These dishes were a treasured gift from my grandma. I’m waiting for a really meaningful event to use them.”
            “This top-of-the-line power tool was a big investment. I’ll only use it for really important projects.”
            Two months, two years, even twenty years later, the shirt hangs unused in the closet, grandma’s dinner set is hidden in the back of the “special dishes” cupboard, and the expensive tool is collecting dust in the garage behind piles of clutter.
            Where does the time go? When is the special occasion, the meaningful event, the important project?
            I’ve seen poignant messages about this countless times. The older I get, the more strongly it rings true.
            Life brings surprises. We can’t know how many chances we’ll have to see people we love, when we’ll have the health or wealth to travel, or how many opportunities we’ll have to enjoy life with a sense of freedom and abandon.
            Wear those special earrings. Read that book you’ve been saving as a treat. Wear the cool sneakers you saved up for. Drink the extravagant tea or wine you’ve been saving. Wear that vintage jacket your uncle passed down to you.
            Hiking destinations with cool names become these “save it for a special day” items for me. (How cool must a place called “Pirate’s Cove” be?) Hidden Lake was on my “badass hike name” list. It waited longer on my list of hikes to post on HikingAutism than it did on my hike wish list, but here it is.
            Call that old friend you’ve been meaning to call.
            Tell a loved one that you love them.
            Keep putting one foot forward.
            This week’s Hike Notes, Hidden Lake from Lake Lagunitas, takes readers on a lovely hike from one of the treasures of the Mt. Tam Watershed through redwoods, high ridge views, and over wooden footbridges to the quiet pond that is Hidden Lake.
            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 144: Hidden Lake from Lake Lagunitas

Counting Steps
            In elementary school, my older son felt overwhelmed when he looked at a page with a hundred math problems on it. He could handle the logic of an individual math problem, but when looking at the entire page filled with numbers, his brain short-circuited and he froze up.
            Life’s struggles can feel that way. If we looked at all of the difficult things in front of us, we might not bother to get up in the morning.
            Special needs parents are hit hard by this. The prospect of just getting through one day sometimes feels like the densely inked math page. Trying to picture how to help a child with huge challenges over a lifetime can be paralyzing. If we thought that far ahead, we might feel like we can’t face the next week, month, or year.
           But we do face each day and week because we take things step by step. Step 1: Did we avoid a sensory meltdown? Step 2: Did we manage to get our child to eat something healthy? Step 3: Did we get to the day’s destination safely? Lather, rinse, repeat, using countless variables.
            I also used to feel math anxiety as a student. I shared with my son that if you block out everything but one individual problem at a time, it’s easier to digest. We can also break down each complex math problem into doable steps.
            Everyone will face overwhelming difficulties in life at some point. The ability to break tough stretches into digestible bites and move forward in steps is a crucial survival tool. Counting how far we’ve made it through our checklist of steps encourages us to keep going.
            It’s also fine to stop and rest between steps, recharging and moving again when we’re ready. May we all remember to stop and enjoy the view as we go along, and keep putting one foot forward!
            Dramatic views of Northern California lighthouses came to mind when I looked at the photo of the iconic Happisburgh Lighthouse in this week’s World Walks from England, Happisburgh Beach.
            Third in a series of World Walks contributions from the Norfolk area of England, Happisburgh Beach is famous not only for its lighthouse, but also as an amazing fossil collection site.
            This week’s HikingAutism Hike Notes from the archives is Point Reyes Lighthouse. This Point Reyes site is known for having 313 steps leading to an iconic Fresnel lens lighthouse in a stunning setting.
            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 99): Point Reyes Lighthouse
 
            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

Quirky Bird
            “He’s a bit of an odd duck,” people say about those who don’t quite fit into their idea of normal.
            For some reason, the phrase “quirky bird” comes to me more often than “odd duck.” I find myself using “quirky” as a friendly way to describe the many people I know who are a bit off track from what society considers to be typical.
            If someone else says I’m a little quirky, I embrace it with a smile. I’ve never wanted to feel like I’m marching to the same drummer as everyone else.
            When it comes to the more intense differences in behavior that pop up with someone like my younger son who is severely autistic, “a bit off track” or “a little different” doesn’t capture the extreme differences others might notice.
            Not being able to communicate easily, and sensing the world differently from most people leads to some unusual behavior. He changes shirts three times along a hiking trail (can’t bear the feeling of sweat), loudly yells requests rather than saying them quietly (due to difficulty regulating voice volume, and limited vocabulary), and moves in sudden, unexpected bursts (due to an always overflowing supply of compulsive impulses).
            Quirky as he and we may be, we enjoy views of unique, interesting scenery and creatures along the paths we take. Though he occasionally does something cringeworthy enough to have people briefly staring, our autistic son is a loving, good person who we are grateful to have the opportunity to take out in the world.
            Like the story of The Ugly Duckling, sometimes the “odd duck” has beautiful swan qualities that others can’t quite see yet.
            This week’s Hike Notes, Sausalito Stroll from the Bay Model, leads readers along the bayside streets of Sausalito, with kayaks and sailboats highlighting views of Angel Island, the East Bay hills, and the San Francisco skyline.
            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 143: Sausalito Stroll from the Bay Model

The Balance of Beauty and Danger
            By the end of summer, many of the hills in Northern California are toasted to a light gold, the parching dry summer bleaching the green hills of spring to a pale beauty.
            Set against a stark blue sky, there is something other-worldly about the hills, flaxen curves reminiscent of sand dunes or ocean waves made of grass.
            Like the deadly heat emanating from desert sand or the treacherous undertows of ocean currents, our beautiful golden hills in California belie the perils of fire. “Fire season” should not be added to our standards of spring, summer, fall and winter, but devastating wildfires have become annual phenomena.
            Nature interweaves danger with powerful beauty, but balancing this paradox is a necessity. We learn to walk through life balancing love and loss, hope and despair, joy and sadness.
            Waves of grass, rolling dunes, and constantly moving wave patterns are some of nature’s countless gifts, which we learn to appreciate even more as we walk through life’s challenges.
            The bleached-blonde hills of California came to mind when I saw the photos for this week’s World Walks from England, Sheringham Country Park.
            Second in a series of World Walks contributions from the Norfolk area of England, Sheringham Country Park features its own golden grass scenery, offering views of the sea as well as woodsy paths.
            This week’s HikingAutism Hike Notes from the archives is Loma Alta-Smith Ridge, a stellar example of the beautiful golden hills that are a visual highlight of California’s dry season.
            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 28): Loma Alta-Smith Ridge
 
            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