Friendly Ghosts

Friendly Ghosts
            A leaf scuffling quirkily ahead on your path.
            A bird commenting insistently toward you. 
            A curtain blowing in a peculiar, persistent way.
            A light tap on the shoulder when no one is there.
            A thickness in the air. Not a smell, not a sound—an indefinable feeling of a presence.
            Like the nostalgic feeling that whooshes in with the smell of pumpkin pie (or whatever your favorite childhood food was), memories of lost loved ones can be triggered by an image, a sound or a fragrance. 
            The occasional, unexpected “visit” of memories and a sense of treasured people (or pets) we’ve lost can be a welcome surprise.
            Places we visited with our son’s “autism whisperer,” who we lost years ago (In Memory and Thanks), sometimes bring a tangible sense of his essence.
            Memories of loved ones, no matter how long ago they left this earth, are treasures to be embraced. If there is such a thing as ghosts, these are the friendly ones.
            This week’s Hike Notes introduce a walk on the inner loop and hill at Stow Lake: Strawberry Hill and Stow Lake Pagoda. Search online for various versions of Stow Lake and Strawberry Hill’s own ghost story of the “White Lady,” a story first mentioned in print in the San Francisco Chronicle in 1908. A stroll around this classic San Francisco treasure is best enjoyed in daylight hours!
            Please feel free to share. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photos!
            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 60: Strawberry Hill and Stow Lake Pagoda