Reawakening in Technicolor
The blooming of flowers each year, even after the harshest winters, is one of nature’s kindest reassurances that things will be alright, that life will go on. Daffodils poking through the snow at Easter were my proof that spring might finally arrive during my snow country childhood in Upstate New York. Lilacs then filled the air with the heavenly smell of late spring. Apple blossoms meant we were going to see apples in late summer. Every year in San Francisco as winter marches toward spring, I watch for big, bold blossoms in pink, white, and shades in between. Rivaling plum blossoms, the other winter stunners, magnolia trees dazzle the eyes with their showy, giant petals. We see them on city streets and at random spots around Golden Gate Park. San Francisco’s Botanical Garden, though, offers a huge variety of magnolias for visitors to marvel at, even providing visitors with a map showing where specific magnolias are located around the garden grounds. I can’t resist highlighting the magnolias every year. There is a comfort in knowing that the short-lived beauty of these annual blossoms will show up again despite rain, drought, or personal or political turmoil. It’s peak magnolia season now, so check out this week’s archive hike Magnolia Stroll – San Francisco Botanical Garden. Other spring blooms that capture my heart but have not started blooming yet are cherry blossoms. This week my new essay about loss and renewal, “The Cherry Tree,” appears on The Renaissance Garden Guy website. Thanks to John Stamos, the Renaissance Garden Guy himself, for the invitation to contribute pieces to his site. “The Cherry Tree” is a piece that had me in tears as I wrote it and each time I went in to edit, so I didn’t give it as many edit passes as I should have, but I hope readers will give it a read and see if it strikes a heartstring about people and things they’ve loved and lost, and how we sometimes fill empty spaces. Feel the positive force of those annually re-emerging blossoms, and keep putting one foot forward! 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 46: Magnolia Stroll – San Francisco Botanical Garden
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Reflections
Overcast or sunny, rippled or mirror-smooth, there is something magical about reflections on water. A favorite reflection spot near my house is the fly fishing pond in Golden Gate Park. Looking across the pools, images of a charming wooden lodge and trees shimmer on the water. My heart swells. It’s a good place to sit quietly and think, or chat, or listen to the wind as red-tailed hawks cry overhead. The grounds around the lodge building have a woodsy, Hansel and Gretel feeling. I recently had the opportunity to reflect on things I’ve learned through years as a caregiver for an interview in Authority Magazine: “Lisa Louis of HikingAutism.com on Lessons Learned as a Care-Giver.” By chance, the main photo for the article was taken at the fly fishing pond! Many of us will experience an intense caregiving stage at some point in life, whether of children, aging parents, friends or neighbors. Caregivers face the silent expectation that things will somehow be taken care of, that we’ll have the energy and resources to make sure a person under our care will be okay. It’s not that easy. Fellow caregivers, you are not alone! May we all find selfcare moments each day to restore our energy! This week’s Hike Notes from the archives, Bison, Fly Fishing and Horses – Golden Gate Park, introduces a charming spot in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park that features rippling reflections in the casting pools. 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 This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives: Hike Notes 80: Bison, Fly Fishing and Horses – Golden Gate Park A Special Glow
I arrive at a trailhead on Mt. Tam, and my eyes are drawn to the outline of mountain ridges in one direction and the ocean horizon in the other. I walk in San Francisco and wonder at the blend of stunning nature with urban elements. I look out from any shoreline on San Pablo Bay, and am struck by the entrancing pastel glow of the sky. I’ve seen otherworldly lavender and coral-colored skies looking at San Pablo Bay from San Rafael. I recently visited Point Pinole—across San Pablo Bay from San Rafael—for the first time. Looking at the silhouette of the distant tree line, my heart was stirred by a creamy yellow light tinged with a hint of orange, radiating below blue-gray clouds. Photos don’t accurately capture that ethereal glow. This week I lost a beloved neighborhood friend. I don’t know all of what happens when a person transitions out of this life, but I like to imagine she experienced some sort of peaceful, comforting glimmer of light as she passed, and that her spirit could feel the squeeze of my hand and hear me say, “I love you.” May we all appreciate the magical glows that appear for us, in this world or the next. Keep putting one foot forward. This week’s Hike Notes, Point Pinole Pier Walk, introduces readers to an East Bay Regional Park that is popular for its bayside trails and fishing pier. 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 215: Point Pinole Pier Walk Sneaker Waves
When our first son was about two, we took him and a little plastic bucket and shovel down to Ocean Beach, a few blocks from our house. I grew up near lakes and creeks but not the ocean, and my husband grew up in Osaka, rarely venturing away from a Japanese urban environment. How cool for us to be able to take our toddler to play in the Pacific. We walked to where the sand met the water in a shallow, gentle roll. We all squatted down to put some water in the blue bucket. We knew the “never turn your back on the ocean” concept, had lived near the ocean for a few years, and figured we were reasonably vigilant. In the blink of an eye, a larger wave than any of the previous ones whooshed up, knocked our toddler down, and pulled the toy bucket away from shore. We picked our son up and carried him further from the water, and I managed to grab the bucket with the next incoming wave. We learned a visceral lesson in how suddenly and powerfully wave behavior can change. Fast forward twenty years. By then we figured we were much savvier about safety when visiting beaches, which were frequent hike destinations for our family now including two sons. Our younger son used hiking poles as a support in light of some posture and motor planning issues related to his autism. One beautiful autumn day, we took the valley hike to Tennessee Beach in Marin. We knew the beach from several visits in the past. We sat on low rocks a fair distance from the water line for a snack break. Son Sean leaned his hiking poles on the rocks as we sat. With no telltale sound or warning, a wave swept across the considerable distance we’d left open from the waterline. The wave not only struck us, but also carried my son’s hiking poles out to sea. There was no quick retrieval by a fast-footed mom as there had been with the plastic bucket years earlier. The poles were there one second and lost to the sea the next. That was the true embodiment of a sneaker wave, though a fairly mild one considering how many people are knocked down and pulled out to sea along our stretch of Northern California coast. We don’t need to live in fear when we visit beaches, but we do need to keep our eyes on what’s happening with the waves. Life has a way of throwing life-event sneaker waves at us, whether it’s in the form of an accident, an unexpected illness, a sudden job loss or a breakup. We can’t be vigilant all the time, but we can keep our eyes open to not be totally swept away when unexpected waves do strike. The Hike Notes from the archives this week takes readers to Tennessee Valley—a lovely place to hike to, but also a beach where visitors need to be especially aware of rogue waves. May our beach visits and life journeys include surprises as well as lessons in how to stand up again despite powerful waves. Keep putting one foot forward! 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 This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives: Hike Notes 7: Tennessee Valley Fancy Meeting You Here
Son Sean’s light gray shirt blended in with the flat, overcast sky that loomed above khaki-colored brush that matched the hiking shorts of our walking partner. This was the second time Sean’s outdoor activity helper brought us to Point Reyes. The year before, we hiked among the tule elk who roam Tomales Point. Walking in close range of a large herd of elk had been the highlight of that day. This time we were walking at Chimney Rock, a cliff structure that juts out at the end of the curve of land hugging Drakes Bay. The Point Reyes color palette that day was stunning in its subtlety: soft tans and grays for land and sky, with momentary hints of aquamarine mixed into the sky and sea by some magic hand, only to then shift back to gray. Sean worked his way up a dirt trail loosely holding hiking poles—a tool to keep him from stooping. His posture improved some, but he still walked gaze to the ground. He and his hiking buddy walked ahead while I trailed behind taking photos. Our helper turned back toward me and silently gestured with hands at his ears. Was he indicating antlers? He tipped his head for me to look for a creature ahead. Were we in for the treat of more tule elk? It wasn’t a place where the herd roamed. There at the edge of the bluff stood a black-tailed deer, a lovely doe with no horns. We were the only other large creatures in sight, and she didn’t seem to mind us. My husband and I joke that the wildlife always comes out for that helper, but not often when it’s just our family. Whether a bobcat, a lizard, or a banana slug, it’s always a thrill when a creature ventures into view. Do you have good luck seeing animals on your walks? Be thankful when you have the opportunity! This week’s Hike Notes from the archives is Chimney Rock-Point Reyes, a hike that brings visitors to a tip of land on the edge of Drakes Bay, and one of the phantom forms in the distance that we measure visibility by from San Francisco when we stand at the western edge of the city looking northwest. 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 39: Chimney Rock-Point Reyes Miss Him, We Will
Though severe autism makes navigating the “normal” world difficult for our younger son Sean, he has a unique intelligence and a strong intuitive sense. When his big brother moved to London for his job three years ago, it was very difficult to explain to Sean what was happening, despite using maps, a globe, and photos. Sean understood over weeks of absence that Alec was not just away overnight. Video chats helped Sean see that his brother was still alive and well. Alec talked as he walked us along the streets of London with video feed from his phone. When Alec arrived home for the holidays a year later, Sean didn’t believe his brother was really home at first, but was soon demanding that his brother sit with him on the couch and walk with him on our hikes. That first round of holidays ended, Alec returned to London, and the house was oddly quiet. “Alec! Alec couch!” Sean said repeatedly at dinner time. Each request was a stab in my heart. “Alec went on an airplane,” I explained repeatedly. The reality that Alec was away again finally sunk in. Sean started saying, “Alec airplane!” sometimes to confirm he was away, and after that as a way of asking for him to come home. We are just ending our third set of holidays with big brother Alec home from London. The day before his departure, an outing took us to the Yoda statue fountain in San Francisco’s Presidio, where I watched my sons walk together like they’ve never been apart. In a matter of hours I will be telling Sean that, “Alec went on an airplane,” yet again. Miss him, we will. This week’s Hike Notes from the archives, Yoda Fountain Stroll-The Presidio, introduces a lovely city walk on the manicured grounds of the Letterman Digital Arts Center/Lucasfilm area of the Presidio, highlighted by a fountain overseen by Yoda himself. 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 This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives: Hike Notes 185: Yoda Fountain Stroll-The Presidio A Rose by Any Other Name
Waterfalls. The thought of hiking to a waterfall on Mt. Tam stirs my heart, but the logistics can be challenging. To get my family of four to one of the treasured waterfall spots this vacation break, I needed to find a time when all four of us were free, and it had to NOT be one of the main holidays when everyone under the sun is doing an annual hike, making for too many cars on windy Marin mountain roads and trailheads with scarce parking. As I skimmed an online map for ideas, I spotted an unfamiliar waterfall name. “Helen Markt Falls” was noted right near Cataract Falls. My autistic son and I had been there several times with a hiking buddy, and I’d always wanted to take my husband and older son there. What was this other falls? It didn’t appear on any of the three paper maps of Mt. Tam I checked. I’d already written about Cataract Falls—twice—but this made for an excuse to go and do another photo shoot, especially knowing the water levels would be up after recent rains. A hiker had posted a photo online saying she wasn’t sure if she was at Helen Markt Falls or Cataract Falls. How confusing could it be? Sure enough, we got in range of the spot marked Helen Markt Falls on the online map and heard a rush of water. Through trees and bushes, we could see the start of a fast-running waterfall, and I knew this was still a way from the main Cataract Falls I was familiar with. Was this it? It all seemed to flow into one long waterfall. We enjoyed the hike, especially getting down to the lower end of Cataract Falls proper and seeing how powerfully the water was flowing. I wasn’t sure where my photos of Helen Markt Falls ended and Cataract started, but the point was to have seen the falls in full flow for the first time in the many years I’d been visiting. Back at home, I dug around for the little bit of information available on Helen Markt Falls to find a source saying that Helen Markt Falls constitutes the first four cascades of the full Cataract Falls complex of nine cascades. Whatever the name, Cataract Trail and the falls and creek make for a satisfying hike. This week’s Hike Notes, Helen Markt Falls and Cataract Falls, take readers on the mossy, woodsy Cataract Trail along Cataract Creek with a dramatic view of one of Mt. Tam’s tallest waterfalls. 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 214: Helen Markt Falls and Cataract Falls Comforting Favorites
Having our older son home for the holidays offered a good opportunity to take a long scenic drive for a special family Christmas hike. With luck, we’d have good weather, and I’d shoot photos for a new Hikes post. I’d been to the East Peak of Mt. Tam before, but hadn’t covered it on the HikingAutism site. Christmas Day was open for us to go on a long outing, and on Christmas Eve, I pictured the drive to the East Peak in my head. Doing a special hike this holiday was a mini obsession. As I got into bed on Christmas Eve, I checked the weather. The forecast didn’t look promising. I lay awake in a mixture of disappointment and determination. We would save the East Peak hike for another day, but I was determined to do something out of our regular walk routine. We could drive an hour to Lagunitas Creek for the treat of seeing salmon swimming to spawn. I’d already covered that for HikingAutism, so I wouldn’t get a new post out of it, but if recent reports were correct, we might see a significant number of salmon. As dawn approached, I pictured waking my family of late sleepers to drive to the salmon viewing area, take a walk, and get back to open Christmas gifts in late afternoon. The thought of making them tired made me tired. I still wanted our Christmas Day hike to be out of the ordinary. The previous year we visited a small nearby beach in Marin for a memorial event for a family member. Revisiting that place could transform the easy drive and walk into something meaningful. The guys slept late, and we left the house at noon. The drive across the Golden Gate Bridge to the Marin Headlands—following windy roads to the trailhead for the South Rodeo Beach Trail—is an old familiar favorite. We’re used to chilly, overcast days in the Marin Headlands, so the gray ambiance of our Christmas Day felt like home. We found an unnamed side trail down to the beach for a dash of adventure. Going on a long drive to a big-name hiking destination was not so important. The comfort of visiting beloved familiar turf and paying our respects to a lost loved one gave our Christmas Day hike a warm glow. May we all find something magical in our everyday comforts! Keep putting one foot forward! 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 This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives: Hike Notes 145: South Rodeo Beach Trail The People We Meet
Years ago, making friends and forming meaningful professional connections was something that primarily happened face to face. We became friends with kids who lived nearby. We found new business associates through introductions at the office or conferences. The opportunity for people to get together in the same physical space decreases each year as we connect to the world by an ever-larger percentage through the internet, whether on social media, texting or some other cyberspace connection. Much as I worry about people—especially younger generations—coping with escalating levels of loneliness as in-person interactions decrease, the modern phenomenon of connecting electronically also has many positives. Modern technology allows us to communicate with people anywhere in the world. The constraints of the pandemic catapulted online meeting technology that allows group interactions at a level previously impossible due to time and space constraints. We might cultivate deep friendships and important professional relationships online without ever meeting the other person face to face. I am grateful for the many interesting, creative people I have met through my work creating HikingAutism.com. That is the theme in a guest essay just published on The Renaissance Garden Guy, a web site featuring an eclectic range of topics, created by John Stamos, one of the positive, uplifting connections I’ve made through the online world. Please check out “The Paths We Cross” featured on The Renaissance Garden Guy to read my first guest feature for the site. Check out the wide range of other topics and information on John’s site while you’re there! The highlight photo of me giving a supportive hug to Sean as he tries to overcome sensory blocks to start hiking was taken at the site of this week’s featured hike, Mussel Rock and Paragliders, a hike that features ocean views, a cool keyhole rock structure, and the chance to see paragliders on a lucky day. 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 16: Mussel Rock and Paragliders A Gift from the Rain
Northern Californians were surprised by an alarming tsunami alert recently. My phone range a short while later. My autistic son’s program facility is in the tsunami zone, and his director called. They had to evacuate to higher ground, and Sean was refusing to leave. “Hold hands and go together, Seanie! You have to go!” He got moving, and more fortunately, the tsunami never came. This weekend we were jolted awake by an early morning tornado emergency alert. That’s something we don’t expect here in earthquake country. It was hard to sleep as we listened to the wind and noticed the power temporarily go out, but we dodged a major hit again. There was already a severe weather warning in place for an incoming “atmospheric river.” I had to cancel a group hike for the local autism community. Much as I hate to miss the opportunity for these uplifting hikes due to stormy weather, the clouds do have a silver lining. For many of the years I’ve been taking my autistic son out hiking, we have had drought conditions. In the last couple of years, heavier rain brought to life waterfalls in the region. Hiking to a waterfall site has always been a magical highlight for me, and every year I hope to get to one of the great waterfall sites in Marin County when the water is really flowing. For the moment, I’ll put my rainboots on to clear out the storm drain, but soon I’ll be choosing which waterfall to visit. In the meantime, I’ll think back on one of my favorite hikes, Cataract Trail to Cataract Falls, a trail that includes many of my favorite Mt. Tam hike features in a relatively short distance. Stay safe in the storms, and get ready for the next chance to hit the trail! This week the featured hike from the archives is Cataract Trail to Cataract Falls, a hike featuring the iconic best traits of Marin hiking. 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 This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives: Hike Notes 100: Cataract Trail to Cataract Falls |
Lisa LouisSharing insights and hiking highlights (Hikes, Hike Search by Area) from the special needs caregiver front in San Francisco. Archives
February 2025
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