Hannah’s Story

“If we surrendered to Earth’s intelligence, we could rise up, rooted, like trees.”

I read this Rilke poem before Nature really meant anything to me. It was a place to take cute selfies in: maybe a place to kiss a guy.

Then, I went on a wildly uncharacteristic 5 month backpacking trip and everything changed. I got to sleep on the Earth’s back every night. I walked among the ankles of the trees, and I began to realize my place. I am a little sister of the birds, a granddaughter to the trees. I am a member of the family of the Living.

Now, I am a full time independent artist (MentalPaint) and solo backpacker. I’ve backpacked over 3,000 miles in several countries, and more to come! I write about my backpacking adventures in a format called “Crow Laughter” (working on a book!) and just led my first backpacking trip to teach women solohiking this summer.