Into the Woods
            Crashing waves, long open stretches of sand, pelicans flying overhead. Living at the coast means the opportunity to take glorious walks along beaches and coastal bluffs. Watching the sun set on the Pacific horizon is a priceless treasure.
            But sometimes I just feel like a walk in the woods. I grew up tromping through fields and forests in the Adirondack foothills with my brothers and beagles. Few things feel so comforting as a dirt path through a wooded area.
            Back east, I grew up with the magical colors of maple trees, and the scented silence of deep pine forests. Trails I walk in Northern California feature redwoods, oaks, and manzanita. I love them all.
            The narrow paths through tree tunnels of the Rhubarb Trail in Marin came to mind when I saw the photos for this week’s World Walks from England, Pigneys Wood.
            Fourth in a series of World Walks contributions from the Norfolk area of England, Pigneys Wood offers quiet walks along trails in a 52-acre nature reserve, featuring old oak trees and a carpet of bluebells in spring.
            This week’s HikingAutism Hike Notes from the archives is Rhubarb Trail to Haypress Camp, a walk that starts on woodsy trails and then opens up to a wider path under open skies.
            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 26): Rhubarb Trail to Haypress Camp
 
            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

Rising Above
            Car horns honking, jackhammers pounding, sirens wailing. Buildings so tall they block the sun, jammed intersections, the grayness of sidewalks and building facades. These are some of the less appealing sounds and sights in a city.
            Our mental interiors sometimes feel like downtown on a busy day. A cacophony of thoughts and images can cluster all at once to make us feel anxious and overwhelmed.
            Being told to, “Be less stressed!” can make us feel even more stressed.
            We can’t always choose the circumstances that are handed to us, but we can make choices about how to deal with them.
            The world is not a perfect Eden, trouble-free and filled with beauty, no matter how much we may wish it so. Being able to find a peaceful oasis, in our physical surroundings or within our minds, is an important survival tool.
            In the densely urban area of San Francisco that houses the Transit Center, a park that runs the length of almost four city blocks rises four stories above street level. 
            The harsher city sights fade out of view as visitors walk above the fray past various botanical garden designs. It was designed to be a place both quiet and refreshing.
            When our minds are in a state of tumult, filled with the noise of our worries of the day, we can also find a quiet place, clear the clutter, and spend a moment creating a calm state within our hearts, regardless of what’s happening around us. Our minds can be a place of peace wherever we happen to be physically, with a bit of practice.
            Finding a spot with a bit of greenery, and stopping to focus on one interesting plant until the tangle of noisy thoughts fades to low volume is a good start. It’s a skill that can be honed.
            This week’s Hike Notes, Salesforce Park-San Francisco City Walk, introduces readers to a scenic garden escape in an intense urban environment, a park created to provide city dwellers with a calm space.
            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 146: Salesforce Park-San Francisco City Walk

Finding the Way
            In previous Insights post “Moving by Instinct,” I reflected on my severely autistic son being able to find his way to a hidden back trail, even though the path was overgrown by bushes, and even though he hadn’t been there in a couple of years. Like our friends in the animal world, humans have powerful instincts not only about things like directions and sense of place, but also about emotions and personal interconnections.
            Last weekend, barely a week before my older son’s move to London, we decided to take a walk in Pacifica that we hadn’t been on a while, the same one my autistic son was able to find the hidden path for.
            We spotted a set of trails that we hadn’t explored before. A hiker had recently died in a tragic fall from the cliffs just over the ridge we were climbing, but we decided to climb carefully and see what new path would take us to Rockaway Beach, without walking the extremely dangerous cliffs.
            Our older son, about to embark on a huge life adventure far from familiar turf, led the way. I’m usually the one taking trails the rest of the entourage feels iffy about, but found myself in the opposite role.
            “That looks like a straight drop, watch out!” “That’s the cliff someone fell from recently. Stay away!”
            He steered away from the most dangerous spot, but we still maneuvered through sharp drops, slippery gravel, and a narrow rock crevice. Intuition told us how much risk an exciting hike was worth without putting ourselves in true danger.
            On the human connection side, autistic son Sean senses a big change coming. He alternates between being angry at his brother for no apparent reason, and spending long stretches sitting next to him. Though he doesn’t have an easy grasp of language to question and express things, Sean has developed powerful emotional sensors. The trick is finding tools to help him process deep and sometimes confusing emotions.
            The instincts we use to explore new hiking trails are intertwined with the instincts we need for new adventures in life. As our older son forges a new path for his life in London, we’ll be creating a new way of walking through our days with one less member of our family around.
            This week’s HikingAutism Hike Notes making an encore appearance from the archives is Rockaway Beach via Calera Creek Path, a fairly flat walk on a smooth path past memorial gardens to Pacifica’s Rockaway Beach.
            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 44): Rockaway Beach via Calera Creek Path
 
            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

Short and Sweet
            “Take a look at the map so I’m not the only one who knows our route,” I tell my older son and husband when we’re off for a longer, more challenging hike with our severely autistic son.
            “Does everybody have water, snacks and a jacket just in case?”
            An hour’s drive later, we’re at the trailhead for a destination hike that’s been on our wish list for ages. Everyone had better be revved up for the long hike at this point.
            Steep inclines, slippery rock sections, lots of gorgeous scenery, and several miles later, we’re feeling a combination of gratification, tiredness, and remembering it’s an hour drive to get home again.
            Finishing a long, challenging hike is satisfying, but sometimes, we just want a quick and easy outing.
            Short trails can pack plenty of stunning scenery. Having the trailhead close to home is another plus. An easy walk means we don’t have to put a lot of effort into preparation.
            Short and sweet doesn’t always mean totally easy, though. On a recent outing to check out the short South Rodeo Beach Trail in the Marin Headlands, we found that the 0.2 miles downhill to reach the beach was a whole lot easier than the 0.2 miles uphill return.
            When time and/or energy are limited, a short, simple excursion can be as wonderful as a more challenging one. The same goes for other aspects of life. A hot cup of tea in a quiet moment looking out a back window can be just as reenergizing as an elaborate meal at a restaurant. The flower we discover along the sidewalk on a neighborhood walk can be just as breathtaking as an ornate display at a formal garden.
            May we all enjoy simple moments as well as big iconic events, and keep putting one foot forward.
            This week’s Hike Notes, South Rodeo Beach Trail, takes readers on a very short but satisfying walk in the Marin Headlands.
            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 145: South Rodeo Beach Trail