Familiar Paths

Familiar Paths
            Walking along a trail for the first time, I’m sometimes struck with an uncanny sense that I’ve been along that path before. The way the path curves, the feeling of the trees lining the way, the steepness of an incline, the way old roots have risen into the footpath. Each trail has its own undefinable essence, but that essence sometimes reverberates in other trails.
            A path in Point Reyes reminds me of a trail in the Marin Headlands which reminds me of a favorite walk in San Francisco, which then again reminds me of a trail in Pacifica. Feeling you know some essential part of a new trail just by its ambience is reassuring.
            The crossover doesn’t stop with the trails I love in Northern California. Sometimes I get this instinctive feeling about a trail from my childhood in the Adirondack foothills. The precariously leaning barn at previous Hike Notes Burleigh Murray Ranch Trail reminded me of the fallen down barns in the farmland behind my childhood home, where my brothers and I used to amble in winter, spring, summer and fall.
            My oldest brother, who lives in a scenic part of England, has sent in a series of World Walks contributions. We live halfway around the world now, but it’s nice to imagine my brother walking on peaceful trails in England with his beagles, the same kind of dog we walked with in the back fields as kids. The first highlighted share from his favorite walks in England is Bacton Wood.
            This week’s HikingAutism archives Hike Notes features Burleigh Murray Ranch Trail, which not only reminds me of the farmland where I grew up, but also features paths I was reminded of as I looked at trail photos in the Bacton Wood World Walks.
            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. It’s easy!
 
This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives:
(Original Hike Notes 128): Burleigh Murray Ranch Trail

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