Smiles at the Trailhead
            Hiking enthusiasts come to love walking in nature through unique journeys. Some of us want to share our love of a good trail so much that we create websites about it.
            I not only enjoy sharing hike information, but also love reading hiking and nature posts from others. Over the years of producing HikingAutism.com, I’ve made virtual friends with other hiking bloggers as we follow each other’s stories.
            It has been great fun to see what kind of trails people enjoy through their websites. The first friend to share a photo with one of our Just Get to the Trailhead T-shirts was Anusha Lee, who runs the website Taiwan Hikes, where she shares a variety of resources and information on how to make the most of hiking in Taiwan. It was such a joy to see Anusha share her photo when her T-shirt arrived in Taiwan!
            My “parallel coasts” blogger friend Marjorie Turner Hollman made me smile when she sent photos of herself in a Just Get to the Trailhead shirt while standing at a trailhead sign. That inspired me to do the same! Marjorie shares insightful information on finding easy walks for those with mobility issues and other challenges in the New England area through her posts on her website Marjorie Turner Hollman and in her Easy Walks book series.
            On a recent group hike for the Autism Society, I was happily surprised when some of our favorite hiking friends Susan and son Tyler showed up wearing their shirts! We’d worn ours to take photos that day, so had a fun surprise photo op.
            The Just Get to the Trailhead message is that when faced with extraordinary challenges, just making it to the starting point can be all we have the energy or resources for. That is still a worthy accomplishment.
            Remember to be kind to yourself during hard times. Give yourself credit for trying despite it all. Keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s HikingAutism Hike Notes from the archives is Battery Townsley, a short but steep hike from Rodeo Beach to a historic military site with amazing ocean views, and the location of some of these shirt photos.
 
This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives:
(Original Hike Notes 48): Battery Townsley
 
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page, and scroll to the bottom of each hike page to see full photo galleries.
            If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the Support/Shop 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. Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777

Bright Patches
            Death of a loved one. News filled with unimaginably horrible events. A devastating diagnosis for someone close.
            Overwhelming situations sometimes collide in a perfect storm of misfortune. The dark clouds are so heavy, it seems impossible that they will ever lift.
            But they do.
            At some point, a spot of light breaks through the darkness.
            We feel weary when yet another crisis strikes, but wisdom gained through the years assures us that the pendulum will swing back again.
            Reach out to ask for help when you need it, and offer it in turn when you’re able.
            Keep moving on your path. There will be bright spots again.
            This week’s Hike Notes, Madrone Trail to Salamander Flat-Wunderlich Park, leads readers on trails featuring contrasting light and shade through mixed forests of redwoods, oaks, madrone trees, and meadows with open views.
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page, and scroll to the bottom of each hike page to see full photo galleries.
            If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the Support/Shop 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. Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777
New this week:
Hike Notes 191: Madrone Trail to Salamander Flat-Wunderlich Park

Self-Care Right Down to Your Toes
            Parents of special needs children are often reminded to live by the airplane safety advice: “Put your oxygen mask on first so you’ll be able to help your child put theirs on.” The time, energy and resources required to help a child with exceptional needs often means there is very little time to put oneself first for self-care in any form.
            Half an hour for a nap or to watch a sitcom as a brain break would be welcome, much less a date night for parents, a dinner out with friends, or a vacation somewhere. Even the simplest of these feel out of reach.
            I’ve learned to make outdoor time with my autistic son into “me time” that restores me mentally and physically. But taking care of ourselves isn’t one-dimensional. To enjoy time outdoors with my son, I not only need time and the wherewithal to go somewhere, I also have to be healthy.
            Walking is a great basic activity that mostly requires balance, flexibility and strength. I do well on those fronts, but there can be other obstacles. For me, it’s my feet.
            Arthritis is a genetic “gift” passed down through my family, and I’ve been dealing with joint inflammation since my early thirties. I’ve managed it for many years, but in recent times, joint pain has become entrenched in my feet, which is not conducive to gathering photos and trail information for a hiking website!
            To keep taking my son out on nature trails, I have to take care of myself. That means finding time to exercise, stretch, eat right, get enough rest, and though it costs a bit of money, get the right shoes. Even buying a new pair of hiking boots has become a challenge. I chose a new pair recommended by foot problem specialists, but I’ve been worried about causing new foot pain by wearing them.
            Right in my time of need, I stumbled onto a very helpful post on the Kuhl Hiking page: How to Break In Hiking Boots: The Ultimate Guide. I am going to follow the steps listed in that article in hopes of developing a pain-free relationship with my new hiking footwear.
            Long-gone are my youthful days of dancing in stiletto heels, toughing it out in a badass pair of cowboy boots a half size too small because it was the last pair on sale, and ice skating my way to blistered feet. Just maintaining basic foot functionality has become a hard-earned goal.
            I look forward to giving my new hiking boots a workout on a steep trail once I get them broken in. In the meantime, it’s comfortable sneakers with orthotic supports for these aching feet!
            May we all remember to stop, breathe, and take care of ourselves. Self-care needn’t be justified by saying it’s so you can take care of someone else, but if that’s what allows you to do something for yourself, that’s okay, too! Keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s HikingAutism Hike Notes from the archives is Rhubarb to Miwok Trail Overlook, a Marin hike that has enough hills to put hiking boots through a bit of a workout, but pays off with beautiful views.
 
This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives:
(Original Hike Notes 52): Rhubarb to Miwok Trail Overlook
 
            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. See products with inspiring designs that support the efforts of HikingAutism under Support/Shop. 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

Love Without Limits
            Rare is the person who reaches adulthood without accumulating some emotional baggage. Psychological stress experienced by our grandparents carries through to our parents. The emotional burdens our parents lived through affect us as children. These evolve into personal stressors that we then pass on in part to our children.
            It’s easier to be objective about family emotional history as we gain wisdom with age. As the older generation of family members passes on, many of the complicated feelings dissipate, leaving simpler truths behind.
            This year I lost my beloved father in May. Five months later, my mother has passed away. At times she fit the image of a fiery redhead, angering easily, but was also generous of heart and loving. Her powerful sense of standing up for the underdog and stepping up to help those in need is a gift she passed down to children and grandchildren.
            The complicated relationship between most parents and children can become a simpler one between grandparents and grandchildren. My mom’s best self certainly shined through in that role.
            A severely autistic child like my son Sean can easily be isolated from the typical population because his behavior is unusual and unpredictable.
            Grandma didn’t care. She was as welcoming to him bouncing on her lap holding his forehead to hers while squeaking excitedly or endlessly playing with her long fingernails in fascination as she was to our older son sitting calmly next to her talking or reading books.
            She loved him without labeling him. He was her grandson, a young boy facing challenges that other kids might not. Her heart was unconditionally open to him, which allowed her to connect in a way many others couldn’t. Due to travel constraints for Sean and also for my mom, they didn’t see each other for many years, but Sean still looks at photos of her long-past visits and yells, “Grandma!”
            When a person passes on, we can let the baggage we carried in our relationship float away with the clouds. It is an opportunity to love without labels and without limits the way my mom showed love to Sean.
            May we all find the wherewithal to let people know we love them before they float off into the sunset and find peace as we process their passing.
            This week’s HikingAutism Hike Notes from the archives is South Rodeo Beach Trail, a short walk that leads to a small patch of pretty beach in the Marin Headlands.
 
This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives:
(Original Hike Notes 145): South Rodeo Beach Trail
 
            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. See products with inspiring designs that support the efforts of HikingAutism under Support/Shop. 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
 

Unexpected Paths
            Five years into producing this HikingAutism website, the majority of hike posts are about trails—popular and lesser known—in my nearby parts of San Francisco, Marin County, and San Mateo County. They are wonderful trails, but they are also easy for me to get to.
            This week marks Hike Notes #190 (almost 200!). Now I have to think a little harder and drive a little farther to find new trails to photograph and write about. I don’t always have the time or energy for a longer drive to a new trail. I skim nearby areas on maps, hoping I’ve missed a great place nearby.
            Once in a while a hidden treasure pops up. Last week I noticed an unnamed trail in the Marin Headlands showing as a thin line on online maps, but not appearing at all on my paper map. The faint line indicated a path that would lead across bluffs overlooking the Golden Gate, which connects the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay.
            A day after wildfire smoke cleared, the crystal-clear visibility made the scenery radiate. We made our way to a small parking pull-off that only showed on the satellite map. It took a minute to find the unmarked path. We started down the narrow trail, pushing past overgrown coyote brush, dodging autumn-red poison oak leaves, and stepping over coyote scat.
            We walked past a patch of trees (that protected a bench facing the water!), and our breath was taken away. Here were glorious views from angles unique to this jutting bluff. We followed the path through low scrub with yellow flowers, ice plants, and more coyote brush.
            The map was vague but logic dictated that the path would dead end on a cliff. I ventured ahead, but my husband kept our son back a good distance from cliff edges, as he tends to move in unexpected bursts.
            There’s a point at high places where a sense of gravity kicks in, even when you’re standing on flat ground. It was a powerful feeling I remember when standing next to Niagara Falls as a kid, and I feel it now when walking along trails with steep drops. I turned back up the trail after feeling the end-of-the-trail gravity feeling. 
            All of us stumble onto unplanned paths in our lives. This trail offered glorious views and unexpected delight. Yet some of the unexpected turns our lives take are difficult. It takes work to find the positive aspects of the darker trails.
            May we revel in the simple joys of the serendipitous happy sections of our journey. Gratitude makes the hard parts easier. Keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s Hike Notes, Battery Wallace-Marin Headlands View Path, a lesser-known spot offering stunning views of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Point Bonita Lighthouse.
            If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the new Support/Shop page!
            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 190: Battery Wallace-Marin Headlands View Path