My Hiking Buddy
            This week I have a new story, “Clash of the Control Titans,” appearing in the Renaissance Garden Guy web site. It shows how two people with harshly clashing senses of how to control a home environment can manage to coexist. My profoundly autistic son’s need to move and organize objects is powerful, and my wish to keep books and precious objects arranged as I like them is powerful as well. I hope you’ll give it a read. I’m curious to hear from readers who may have similar compulsions to count and place objects in particular ways.
            My son and I may butt heads about how the books are lined on the bookshelves in our house, but outside, we hike together in harmony. Sean doesn’t speak as we walk, but even if it’s just him and me walking together, I chat as we go along.
            “You’re my favorite hiking buddy, Seanie,” I tell him as we walk. I’m proud that he has become an able and happy hiker, and walking together, whether in a forest, on an ocean bluff, or in a city park brings me joy.
            Being together on a trail with people you like can make being outdoors even more uplifting. I’m always surprised at seeing my smile in photos from our hikes, like in this photo from our first hike to Pirates Cove in Marin a few years ago.
            This week’s Hike Notes from the archives, Muir Beach to Pirates Cove, takes readers on a hike that connects two scenic beaches via an ocean view trail that includes a couple of fun, steep climbs.
            Do you have someone that you clash with in one setting but get along with famously in another? Try to find a peaceful medium in the conflict spots and make the most of the smooth stretches! 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, Twitter at @HikingAutism, Instagram at lisalouis777, and Bluesky @hikingautism.bsky.social
This week’s hike from the archives:
Hike Notes 4: Muir Beach to Pirates Cove

Evolving Pathways
            I started creating HikingAutism.com in March of 2018, and some of the trails I visited early on have had upgrades. One of these is Hawk Hill, a high spot above the Golden Gate Bridge in the Marin Headlands, offering 360-degree views. I’ve kept the original Hawk Hill Hike Notes in place so readers can see the original photo gallery, as I offer updated views of the site in Hawk Hill Revisited.
            Trails change on an ongoing basis in some way. Trees and plants grow and change, soil builds up or erodes, and wild creatures create burrows or paths alongside the trail.
            Seasonally, we may enjoy a brown dirt trail still muddy from spring rains in April, and then walk on the same trail covered with a waxy layer of yellow and orange maple or oak leaves in fall. A leaf skittering across one’s path with the wind changes the shadows, as does the time of day we walk.
            The pathways we walk, even our favorite ones, do not stay stagnant. Life is an art of learning how to navigate ever-evolving passageways.
            This week’s Hike Notes, Hawk Hill Revisited, brings readers back for a visit to the updated trails on Hawk Hill in the Marin Headlands (see original Hawk Hill post for photo gallery before the trail upgrade), a place where hawks and other raptors rise high. This 360-degree view peak high above the Golden Gate Bridge not only offers stunning views, but is rich with World War II history, including a once-active Nike defense system.
            Enjoy your favorite paths in life as they shift and transform over time, 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, Twitter at @HikingAutism, Instagram at lisalouis777, and Bluesky @hikingautism.bsky.social
 
New this week:
Hike Notes 229: Hawk Hill Revisited
 

Big and Bold
            Small, delicate blossoms such as of baby’s breath or forget-me-nots are lovely. Charming and understated, they may appear as background support in a bouquet.
            And then there are magnolias. It is hard to ignore the big, bold petals of a magnolia in full bloom, whether in dark pink, pale pink, purple, white, or a blend of these.
            You’d think my family and I would get tired of trudging off to the San Francisco Botanical Garden year after year when we see a notice that the magnolias are blooming, but we answer the siren call annually in late winter.
            The Botanical Garden provides a magnolia map so visitors can find the numerous examples of the dozens of species of magnolias they are home to, but we’ve been so many times that we really don’t need the map.
            Some years we wait too long and show up when many petals have fallen, though it is still visually dramatic to see the ground covered in huge colorful petals.
            This year, however, we hit the magnolias early in prime blooming season, so readers who live within visiting distance have plenty of time to see these stunning trees in full bloom.
            This week’s Hike Notes from the archives is the Magnolia Stroll – San Francisco Botanical Garden, home to more than 200 magnolias (representing 63 species), including rare and historic varieties, along with a vast collection of other fascinating plants from around the world.
            Do you have favorite flowers that you watch for year after year? Enjoy them while they’re in season! 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, Twitter at @HikingAutism, Instagram at lisalouis777, and Bluesky @hikingautism.bsky.social
 
This week’s hike from the archives:
Hike Notes 46: Magnolia Stroll – San Francisco Botanical Garden

Back On the Trail
            Ahead on the trail, I watch my husband walk alongside my two sons, my autistic son holding the arm of his big brother.
            This was a standard hike view every weekend when my older son lived in San Francisco, but he has been living in London for four years now.
            When he is home at the holidays, it feels like he’s never been gone. Autistic son Sean takes his big brother’s hand when he has a choice of walking partners.
            We enjoy walking on familiar old trails we’ve known since the boys were little. The trails evolve over time, some trees growing taller and others disappearing, pathways widening, or becoming more overgrown with brush. The essence of each trail stays the same though, reflecting its surrounding context of forest, beach, or mountain.
            People also change over the years, but as I watch my sons and husband walk ahead of me, I know that their essence is the same as well. We like revisiting our beloved old trails as much as we do trying new ones.
            Do you have favorite trails that you never get tired of? Enjoy those comfort zone walks, and keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s Hike Notes from the archives, Lands End Lookout to Mile Rock Beach, introduces readers to one of our old favorites, taking visitors from the historic Sutro Baths along the Coastal Trail to views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Mile Rock Beach.
            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, Twitter at @HikingAutism, Instagram at lisalouis777, and Bluesky @hikingautism.bsky.social
 
This week’s hike from the archives:
Hike Notes 3: Lands End Lookout to Mile Rock Beach