Overlooked Treasures
            We’ve driven or walked by the white pillars reflecting across tiny Lloyd Lake in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park countless times. There’s even a small waterfall that flows into the lake right by the road.
            It took me decades to realize that there is a trail that loops around this neighborhood gem. A short stroll leads walkers past ducks, geese and other wildlife. I finally saw the “Portals of the Past” pillar structure up close. This entryway from a grand mansion that burned down in the 1906 earthquake was gifted to San Francisco as a memorial to the great challenges the city had been through.
            What a pleasure to be reminded that it is still possible to stumble onto surprises right within our own neighborhood.
            May we all open our eyes wider and find treasures we didn’t notice before. Keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s Hike Notes, Lloyd Lake-Golden Gate Park Stroll, takes readers on an easy loop stroll around a pretty lake dotted with ducks and geese against a reflection of white columns in the water.
            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. 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! Please feel free to share, and follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism
New this week:
Hike Notes 169: Lloyd Lake-Golden Gate Park Stroll

The Comfort of Patterns
            As a child, I used to find patterns in everything: marks on the worn linoleum floor in our old house, the shadow of a moving curtain on a window screen, the ever-changing reflections along the dark, shady creek I walked barefoot in. I found it calming to draw gradually evolving repeated line formations.
            My severely autistic son makes sense of the world through patterns, as we all do in some way. Though using language is challenging for him, he wants names for the repetitive forms he sees. He holds up a large pillow quilted together from a hodgepodge of fabric patches.
            “What’s this?” he asks several times each week about the same patch of fabric.
            “Zigzag. That’s a zigzag pattern,” I reply.
            “Zigzag pattern!” he says, satisfied until he needs to ask again.
            Walking in nature offers countless fascinating repetitive forms to see and hear. Rivers and creeks bend and turn in curves, fields overlap like patchwork in the distance, and leaves and branches create undulating waves of light and sound as we walk along a trail.
            I don’t know why cyclically repeated images and sounds bring comfort to some people, but they do for me, and I believe they do for my son as well.
            May you stumble onto patterns in your daily life that delight your eyes, stir memories, or perhaps bring calm.
            This week’s HikingAutism Hike Notes from the archives is Pulgas Ridge, an area offering a wide variety of trails mixing open space and shady areas.
            For those interested in disabilities awareness, I had an enlightening conversation with the wonderful hosts of the “Journeys” podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F_fOLm-M0A
 
This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives:
(Original Hike Notes 71): Pulgas 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. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links.
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. Please feel free to share, and follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism

The Shadows Beside Him
            Leaf shadows flicker on a cinnamon-colored trail on a breezy day. Bold, black lines reflect the sculptural shapes of trees on a late afternoon. Fast moving low cloud shadows skim across flowing grass for a visual kaleidoscope of nature in motion.
            I love taking photos of my son and his shadow when we’re out on a trail. Sometimes I also catch the shadows of his hiking companions: family members, autism helpers. I don’t know if he will ever be independent enough to leave the house with just his shadow to accompany him.
            In the special education world, “shadow” has been used both as a verb and noun, a “shadow teacher” being provided to “shadow” a student who needs extra help throughout the day.
            Understanding when it’s possible to hover less closely is a challenge. As I continue the ever-evolving process of learning how to best help my son, I will keep finding wonder and joy in the shadows that flicker on our paths.
            Enjoy the shadows that accompany your journey, and keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s Hike Notes, Blithedale Summit from Summit Drive, leads readers on lovely tree tunnel trails past sculptural madrone and live oak trees, with views of the bay from one angle and the East Peak of Mt. Tam from another.
            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. 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! Please feel free to share, and follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism
New this week:
Hike Notes 168: Blithedale Summit from Summit Drive

Leaves Underfoot
            The best autumns growing up in the Adirondack foothills featured brilliant crimson maple leaves bursting out from a haze of orange, but years when yellows and browns dominated because the temperature didn’t drop as sharply were still beautiful.
            The temperate climate of the San Francisco Bay Area means that our fall foliage colors are more subtle, but the smell of leaves and soil under my hiking boots still brings a wave of that magical autumn feeling.
            I wonder if the sight, smell, and sound of leaves crunching underfoot brings a wave of emotional memories to my severely autistic son with his extremely sensitive sensory system. Though he’s unable to verbalize it, his increased calm and focus tells me he finds some sort of peace out on a trail.
            May we all find things in our environment that bring comforting memories. Keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s HikingAutism Hike Notes from the archives is Tucker Trail, a forest trail on Mt. Tam filled with visual treats.
 
This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives:
(Original Hike Notes 117): Tucker Trail
 
            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. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links.
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. Please feel free to share, and follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism

One Step at a Time
            Bright patterns of green, orange and turquoise draw us upward, decorative tiles shining in the sun. A complex design reveals itself in stages as our eyes raise to the next set of steps. Something about colorful, decorative stairs makes it less of a chore to climb them.
            San Francisco is blessed with many wonderful stair walks. The appeal of some is the charming pockets of quirky homes and fanciful gardens they pass through. The charm of others is in the steps themselves, with cleverly applied color and design making magic from a functional structure.
            Not all stairways are so appealing. A difficult time in life can feel like an endless stretch of dreary stairs before us. The spirit to keep climbing may temporarily disappear.
            When tasks ahead look like a long, daunting slog, remember that it’s okay to stop and rest. Look ahead one step at a time.
            Put one foot up, then bring the other foot to rest. Sit to rest and regroup if you wish. Look back and acknowledge how far you’ve come.
            Eventually we make it up the stairs, whether the steps were adorned with cheerful colored tiles or not.
            Pat yourself on the back for getting as far as you have, and keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s Hike Notes, Lincoln Park Steps-Legion of Honor Loop, takes readers up one of San Francisco’s most colorful stairways, and leads past gorgeous views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Marin Headlands, a lovely golf course, and the grand Legion of Honor.
            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. 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! Please feel free to share, and follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism
New this week:
Hike Notes 167: Lincoln Park Steps-Legion of Honor Loop