A Splash of Encouragement
            Life is a roller coaster, with ups, downs, twists and turns coming at varying speeds and intensity levels. That is true for any individual, but it can also be experienced collectively, within a family, a local community or worldwide.
            Recent years have given the world and everyone in it more roller coaster thrills than any of us could wish for. It’s hard to imagine things will take a solid turn for the better. Just when we pass a perilous curve or loop-the-loop and think we’ve hit a calm stretch, another emergency pops up.
            Nature experiences repeated trauma as well. This is the time of year when I wonder if the salmon are making their way up nearby creeks to spawn. After so many years of drought and low salmon counts, one wonders how they survive at all.
            This season, however, we’ve had some impressive rainstorms. There have been many more salmon sightings in the creeks. This is encouraging, despite knowing that next year might be tough again.
            If the salmon can keep trying, so can we humans. Blind determination to survive is a powerful force. Sometimes simple persistence and a belief in the basic goodness of the world are what get us through the day.
            My short-term goal is to hike along a creek where I might see salmon swimming upstream. My long-term goal for myself is the same goal I wish for readers, to keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s HikingAutism Hike Notes from the archives is Lagunitas Creek Walk, a shady path walk that offers views of spawning salmon if timing is lucky.
            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 45): Lagunitas Creek Walk
 
            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

The Bright Spot
            There is no such thing as a perfect world, a perfect life, or a perfect day.
            Something, somewhere along the way is going to add a dark twist or turn.
            But we keep walking. In the practice of persistently putting one foot forward, we know through experience that a dark stretch shifts to light again at some point.
            Having everyone in the world simultaneously suffer through an exceptionally difficult period is something I associate with the World Wars of the twentieth century. Yet here we are, entering the third year of a worldwide pandemic. Just when the sun tries to peek through and brighten these challenging times, dark clouds obstruct the comforting light again.
            Yet this too shall pass. In the big picture, the world as a whole will survive the pandemic. Check in with family, friends and neighbors to see who needs support, even if all you can offer is the companionship of a conversation. Accept kindness when it is offered to you.
            Most of all, keep walking forward toward the bright spot ahead, which is bound to shine brighter as the pendulum swings again.
            This week’s Hike Notes, Bay Tree Trail-Huddart Park, leads readers along one of the shorter trails in Huddart Park, a large, wooded park in Woodside, California.
            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 148: Bay Tree Trail-Huddart Park

Nature’s Golden Filter
            Vintage sepia-toned photos capture our hearts and imaginations. People we don’t know, and places we’ve never seen look nostalgically familiar when viewed through that golden-brown veil.
            Cameras and software can change focus, color and lighting to evoke all sorts of moods, softening the sharp edges of reality.
            Nature can have a buffering effect, too. When I’m stressed by life’s challenges, spending time in nature makes the world feel like a softer, kinder place. Out on a trail, I blank out the issues that were troubling me until I get back to the trailhead. At that point, the problems don’t feel quite as big anymore.
            The sunset, flickering shadows, bird songs, the sound of waves, the feeling of a breeze on your cheek and a dirt path underfoot have healing, uplifting powers.
            I like the color and lighting tricks the sun and sky play. This photo of figures on a trail emanating with a golden glow has been tinted by nature’s hand, not mine. Cameras sometimes capture nature’s visual effects that evoke that same heart-tugging, nostalgic warmth that we feel from vintage photos.
            May walking outdoors bring a warm glow to your spirits, and keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s HikingAutism Hike Notes from the archives is Julian Trail – Marin Headlands, a trail whose best features are highlighted when the sun glows just right.
            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 51): Julian Trail – Marin Headlands
 
            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

Connections
            Human relations are complicated. Even the closest bonds may be marked by conflict and confusion.
            As our older son got ready to move away to London for his job, our severely autistic younger son Sean sensed it. We didn’t subject him to repeated announcements that his brother was leaving. We knew from experience that could make stress levels skyrocket. Sean understood by osmosis. Bags being packed and a different vibe around the house meant a big change was afoot.
            On our last big family outing, a day trip to Stinson Beach, our older son walked hand in hand with his little brother as he usually does. When my husband or I reach for Sean’s hand, he pushes us away, always preferring his big brother.
            That day as they walked together on the beach, Sean stopped several times and grabbed his brother’s arm and tried to bite it. This was a flashback to long-past behavior. We learned when he was younger that Sean lashing out to bite or hit indicated physical pain or emotional distress, and the frustration of not having language to express that.
            We were surprised and disheartened, but realized that Sean might be angry and confused about his brother leaving, even without understanding it precisely. Days later, the morning of our older son’s departure to London, Sean hugged his big brother with a big smile, eyes sparkling as he engaged his brother in long gazes. This kind of intense connection over an extended time is unusual for Sean, whose autism makes it hard for him to interact in many ways.
            Though Sean didn’t explicitly understand that his brother would be gone when he came home from his special needs program that day, he was powerfully communicating in his nonverbal way how much he loves his big brother.
            I look at this photo of my sons on Stinson Beach, connected by hands in both figure and shadow, and am grateful to have them in this world, complicated and full of ups and downs as human relations may be.
            This week’s Hike Notes, Stinson Beach, brings readers to an iconic beach on the Marin County Coast with plenty of space for long walks.
            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 147: Stinson Beach
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