Future Dreaming
            In dark times like our current frightening pandemic, we can feel trapped in the anxiety of the moment. We forget two calming anchors: the past and the future. There were happier times before, and better times await us ahead.
            We do need to face the current challenge head on, learning how to protect ourselves from a still mysterious and dangerous disease. The guidelines for handling the crisis change as fast as the numbers of people affected by it.
            Processing the threat of this new disease is important, but we don’t have to spend every minute of every day escalating into panic mode. Absorb the important information for safety and survival, and then try to spend time on calmer, more uplifting thoughts.
            Being of help to others—calling friends and family to lift each other up, helping an elderly neighbor get groceries, giving donations for online classes by teachers now out of work—is a way to help ourselves.
            Lifting our own spirits amidst more quiet time at home is also important. Within the safe space of our homes, we can take a walk down memory lane, looking through old photos or communications from happy times with loved ones.
            We can also dream of happy, pleasant things we’d like to do in the future, knowing that unavailable activities will be allowed again one day.
            The new Hike Notes for this difficult time is a location that I associate with both the past and future. Once barely able to leave our own house (see background story on the Home page), our family has enjoyed special trips to the Monterey, Pacific Grove, and Asilomar area with our severely autistic son. Images of magic moments like walking along the water’s edge at sunset not only brings back happy memories, but gives us something to look forward to again.
            This week’s Hike Notes, Lovers Point Sunset Stroll, offers images of an iconic part of the Pacific Grove/Monterey area at a magical time of day.
            The long list of Hikes can be found on the Quick View Hike List and on the main Hikes page. All past Insights posts can also be viewed in the Insights/Hike Update News archives.
            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! Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Please feel free to share.
New this week:
Hike Notes 104: Lovers Point Sunset Stroll

Strange Dream or Reality?
            I’ve had nightmares so compelling that I shed tears of relief upon waking to find it was just a dream.
            In a dream where I was forced to help hide a dead body, the fear of being punished for someone else’s crime induced a cold sweat. The tension evaporated when I woke to my conventional, law-abiding reality.
            I worried about my autistic son not speaking from early on. I once had a dream where he spoke so articulately, the sense of reality so vivid, that I felt a huge weight lift from my heart. His lack of speech had just been a bad dream. And then I woke up. His speaking was a dream, and his barely verbal state was the harsh reality.
            The good dream/bad dream scenario can go either way. Waking up can lift a burden or bring heartache.
            But what if something that feels like a dream isn’t? What if that strange dream is our reality?
            That’s what this virus pandemic situation feels like to many.
            By odd coincidence, just as the strange new reality of social distancing rules was setting in, the weather in our area offered stunning, billowy cloud formations that we rarely see in San Francisco skies. Every cloud had a bigger-than-life, only-in-a-painting quality to it. Those dreamlike white clouds on a bright blue palette continued for days.
            Walking under these unusual skies feels like being in a Maxfield Parrish painting. Then we arrive home to shocking statistics blaring from the TV.
            We are floating through a temporary Twilight Zone reality.
            For this week’s Hike Notes, I’m sharing a hike from the archives, Milagra Ridge. The photo for this Insights post is from a walk at Milagra Ridge the day before shelter in place was implemented in San Francisco.
            The long list of Hikes can be found on the Quick View Hike List and on the main Hikes page. All past Insights posts can also be viewed in the Insights/Hike Update News archives.
            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! Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Please feel free to share.
This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives:
(Original Hike Notes 9): Milagra Ridge

Slow Motion at Lightning Speed
            The news of the world, already changing radically by the day, has now escalated to major news breaks by the hour, by the minute.
            Health and safety orders to stay home except for essential outings means days studying at home for students. Work days spent at home for some workers. A shift to being unemployed in the blink of an eye for many others. Older neighbors used to an occasional outing or visitor being more isolated.
            The world evolves by the second as the pandemic takes hold.
            And yet. Having to stay home forces a slowing of pace. How do entire households, used to being busy in several different places, occupy endless days together at home?
            Keeping a special needs family member engaged and on a schedule is not easy under the best of circumstances. I sit on our front porch with spring daffodils blooming, reading a book with my autistic son for the first time in ages.
            As a break from work projects and family care, I fill a container for neighbor kids to water front garden plants from. Time shifts to slow mode. Sun shining, big clouds overhead, one child pours a pail of water into the pail of another, the next child pouring it into a third pail before the water is poured on flowers. It is a game of unspoken rules, made up on the spot, like the games I used to play with my brothers.
            Back in the house, the TV announces more breaking news. In the hour I’ve spent outside, the world seems to have spun a mind-boggling ten revolutions’ worth of news.
            But there is still the sun, and the clouds, and the ability to get fresh air on a walk with family. We don’t have to travel far to get a dose of nature therapy.
            This week’s Hike Notes, Buena Vista Park Stroll, introduces one of many parks in San Francisco that offer a fresh air and greenery break without leaving the city
            The long list of Hikes can be found on the Quick View Hike List and on the main Hikes page. All past Insights posts can also be viewed in the Insights/Hike Update News archives.
            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! Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Please feel free to share.
New this week:
Hike Notes 103: Buena Vista Park Stroll

Once a Mom
            Moms showing affection for kids seems natural. Yet sometimes, it feels like public displays of affection are regarded as too personal or demonstrative.
            Some children on the autism spectrum have a difficult time showing affection, much less receiving it, at least some of the time. From when he was little, on the occasions when my severely autistic son is open to a hug or holding hands, I make sure to enjoy those moments.
            My son is now a young man in his early twenties. He recently started attending a special needs day program for adults. He’s taller than me and outweighs me by thirty pounds. No matter how old he gets, I’m happy to receive any smiles or affection he’s willing to share.
            Do people think it’s odd if I hold hands with my twenty-something son as we walk into his program site? Am I being too much of a mom if I help him fix a piece of clothing gone awry? Or pat him reassuringly on the shoulder? Should I keep more distance to not look like I’m babying him?
            On a recent morning as I walked my son up the long ramp from the parking area to his program, I saw another mom standing by a car with a young man. Her special needs son looked to be around thirty years old. She gently adjusted his backpack, fixed his hair, gave him a kiss on the forehead, and sent him toward the building entrance with a loving wave and a smile.
            A mom is still a mom, even if our kids get older. I no longer feel silly for walking arm in arm with my son up that ramp in the morning.
            For this week’s Hike Notes, I’m sharing a hike from the archives, Fort Mason Stairs to Hyde Street Pier. The photo for this Insights post is from aboard one of the historic ships at Hyde Street Pier.
            The long list of Hikes can be found on the Quick View Hike List and on the main Hikes page. All past Insights posts can also be viewed in the Insights/Hike Update News archives.
            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! Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Please feel free to share.
This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives:
(Original Hike Notes 58): Fort Mason Stairs to Hyde Street Pier

Change of Pace
            I love a steep, rocky trail that cuts sharply up the side of a mountain. I love hiking in places that feel remote, far from people and city issues. I love walking far enough to have tired legs when I’m done.
            But not always. Sometimes a stroll in a pretty urban park is just right.
            Many people face obstacles that prevent them from doing a rugged hike off the beaten track. Injury, arthritis, disability, decreasing mobility for all sorts of reasons. These can make a person not want to bother trying to get out. Maybe transportation to a good hiking destination isn’t easily accessible due to location, time, or financial resources.
            A boost from a breath of fresh air and a dose of nature doesn’t have to be far away. Cities offer us parks, or at the very least, flowers growing through a crack in the sidewalk. Any little flicker of nature is a benefit.
            You don’t have to walk for miles to enjoy an outdoor change of pace. For those who find it difficult to walk, if you can get to a trailhead with a view or to a bench in a park, you can still enjoy time away from your daily grind. Listen for birds. Watch the changing light in the sky. Close your eyes and take a deep breath.
            If you can’t get away from your home, find a window that lets you see the sky, some grass or flowers. Even a minute watching the sunrise or sunset can work wonders to lift us up.
            This week’s Hike Notes lead readers on a Palace of Fine Arts City Stroll. The San Francisco Bay Area is not only immersed in stunning nature areas, but also filled with unique urban spots to enjoy scenery and a walk.
            The long list of Hikes can be found on the Quick View Hike List and on the main Hikes page. All past Insights posts can also be viewed in the Insights/Hike Update News archives.
            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! Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Please feel free to share.
New this week:
Hike Notes 102: Palace of Fine Arts City Stroll

Intertwining Branches
            Thank goodness for the intertwining branches of people connections we cultivate in life. The comfort of being supported by and supporting others helps us thrive. That is especially true, and sometimes especially elusive, for people dealing with special needs and disabilities.
            A big problem for families dealing with special challenges is isolation, regardless of how many others face similar difficulties.
            With physical disabilities, isolation may stem from logistical problems in navigating the world, among other things.
            With developmental or cognitive challenges, there is a wide variety of obstacles to joining the “normal” world, examples including communication issues, inability to process incoming information, and difficulty with executive functioning, making appropriate or socially acceptable behavior feel impossible at times. There are countless stumbling blocks.
            For autistic individuals, many factors can lead to meltdowns, creating a sort of PTSD for families trying to spend time in public places.
            Our autistic son was so overwhelmed by sensory overload that he was literally trapped under a blanket to protect himself from the outside world. Getting out of the house was so hard that our whole family became virtually housebound (Home).
            The key to survival is to not give up, to continue reaching out. Finding friends, family members, school and community supports that keep specially challenged individuals and loved ones connected to the wider world is our lifeline.
            This week instead of a new hike, I’m sharing the updated list of Helpful Links on the Links page. Thank you to the various readers who have connected through HikingAutism.com and sent in helpful links supporting those affected by disabilities.
            The long list of Hikes can be found on the Quick View Hike List and on the main Hikes page. All past Insights posts can also be viewed in the Insights/Hike Update News archives.
            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! Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Please feel free to share.
This week’s featured link:
(freshly updated) Helpful Links
            And because the photo is another magnolia shot from San Francisco’s Botanical Garden, and there is still time to catch some magnificent magnolia blossoms before they all fall to the ground, once again, here is the Magnolia Stroll – San Francisco Botanical Garden link from the archives.

Teamwork by Necessity
            Parents raising children with physical or developmental disabilities.
            Children caring for aging parents with memory and mobility challenges.
            Those caring for a loved one with a degenerative disease, cancer, injuries from an accident or military service, addiction issues, or any major challenge that makes it hard for an individual to function independently.
            Being a caregiver for someone with exceptional needs is hard because we worry about our loved one’s health, safety and happiness. And sometimes we worry about our own health, safety and happiness.
            The person with the special challenge has things the hardest, much as caregivers sometimes feel stressed by relentless worry. It helps to remember that we’re all on the same team.
            When we’re tired or stressed, it helps to take a deep breath, maybe take a walk in a pretty place, and remember that we’re all in the fight together.
            This week’s Hike Notes take visitors to Pillar Point Harbor – Mavericks Beach. This is a relatively flat walk that starts along the calm protected harbor water and then opens up facing crashing waves from Mavericks Beach.
            The long list of Hikes can be found on the Quick View Hike List and on the main Hikes page. All past Insights posts can also be viewed in the Insights/Hike Update News archives.
            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! Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Please feel free to share.
New this week:
Hike Notes 101: Pillar Point Harbor – Mavericks Beach

Attention Grabbers
            Sometimes we want attention. A performer wishes to captivate an audience. We hope for a compliment on a new outfit. We anticipate our joke getting laughs. We speak earnestly and hope our voice is heard. 
            But sometimes being the focus of attention is not so great. My severely autistic son is often noticed for undesirable reasons.
            If you struggle with language and can’t regulate your voice, people will turn and stare when your unconventional attempts at communication sound like yelling.
            If you don’t have a sense of where your body is in space, and can’t control your impulses, people in your pathway will be surprised or frightened.
            If you can’t regulate your emotions or sensory responses, people will interpret your neurosensory meltdown as a bratty tantrum.
            Being “different” is not easy. Helping someone with big challenges navigate the “normal” world is not easy. But we keep putting one foot forward.
            And once in a while, a moment of courage or beauty of spirit captures attention that reflects positively on being different.
            For this week’s Hike Notes, I’m sharing a hike from the archives, Magnolia Stroll – San Francisco Botanical Garden. It’s the season when magnolia blossoms—flowers that are attention grabbers in a good way—peak in San Francisco.
            The long list of Hikes can be found on the Quick View Hike List and on the main Hikes page. All past Insights posts can also be viewed in the Insights/Hike Update News archives.
            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! Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Please feel free to share.
This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives:
(Original Hike Notes 46): Magnolia Stroll – San Francisco Botanical Garden

Going With the Flow, 100 Times and Beyond
            Water flows. Leaves fall. Wind blows.
            Like snowflakes, every moment in time and place is slightly different. Even Mother Nature is comforted by repetition and stimulated by variety.
            Almost two years ago, I created HikingAutism.com, with the desire to share hikes I’ve enjoyed with my severely autistic son, along with insights I’ve gathered as a caregiver handling the challenges of a family dealing with disabilities.
            A new Hike Notes post every week means there are now 100 hike descriptions on the site, in addition to 100 Insights posts accompanying them.
            Some readers use the site to go on the hikes. Some enjoy the scenic locations through the photos. Many tell me HikingAutism.com gives them inspiration. All of those reactions bring me joy. Yet if not another soul read the posts, I’d still write them.
            The heartbeat of this site started with a young teacher who miraculously helped our virtually housebound son get out in the world again (In Memory and Thanks). After his untimely passing, a new helper kept expanding our horizons on new trails. Other treasured helpers have become part of our family over the years.
            Thank you to the sturdy souls who help families like ours.
            In two years I’ve selfishly “saved for later” some of my most treasured hikes, with many still to come.
            For this week’s Hike Notes, I’m sharing one of my favorites in honor of hitting 100 hikes. I hope readers enjoy the special magic of Cataract Trail to Cataract Falls, a hike that packs my favorite features of Mt. Tam hikes into a relatively short stretch of trail.
            Going forward, new Hike Notes may be spaced by two weeks instead of one, with updating of existing favorites in between, or sharing a favorite photo with that week’s Insights post. Thank you to everyone who has walked along with us on HikingAutism.com so far.
            Please feel free to share. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photos! Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. 
            The list of hikes is getting long! Please check the Quick View Hike List or scroll down the main Hikes page to see the current list of hike notes.
New this week:
Hike Notes 100: Cataract Trail to Cataract Falls

Seeing Past the Confusion
            Worthy treasures can be hidden by overlapping obstacles.
            Obscured by the tangled mass of cypress branches in this photo is the silhouette of a raven. Mouth open, head tilted upward. This concealed raven carries a special meaning for me (see “Guardians” Insights post).
            Treasured destinations may also require getting past obstacles, sometimes literal road blocks. Point Reyes National Seashore as a concept is a simple, stark place of wild beauty. Logistically, though, its powerful allure brings challenges for a rustic place with limited roads and facilities. Successfully visiting Point Reyes means checking for road closure alerts, winter shuttle bus availability during whale watching season, and guessing whether suddenly wet, windy weather will derail a visit plan.
            The effort to see beyond a jumble of confusion may reveal something precious.
            This week’s Hike Notes, Point Reyes Lighthouse, introduces a historic lighthouse gem in Point Reyes, west of Drakes Bay.
            Please feel free to share. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photos! Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. 
            The list of hikes is getting long! Please check the Quick View Hike List or scroll down the main Hikes page to see the current list of hike notes.
New this week:
Hike Notes 99: Point Reyes Lighthouse