Interesting Folks I Meet On The Journey

• 

Today a new solo traveler came through the park with nothing more than a backpack, a tent on her back, and an incredible spirit. She’s been on the road for just a few weeks starting somewhere near San Fransisco and headed back to New York making a powerful statement about her passion to connect with people along the way and raise money to improve the environment. Twenty something Hannah from New York immediately reminded me of Cheryl Strayed’s Pacific Rim Trail hike. She is a strong, intelligent, woman, finding purpose in a journey after a loss. She is one of the many who have lost their jobs during this pandemic and found a way to live a purpose driven life in 2020. She blogs about her adventure letting us get a peak into sites she sees along the way. Friends have joined her for parts of the hike, and other parts she will go it alone. She loves seeing women accomplish cool things on their own. And she is humble as heck. Sure she is trying to raise money, however she said she sees herself making a difference simply by connecting with all of the people she meets along the way. Having a smaller footprint on the earth is also important to her. As she travels she will determine what’s next and where.

She definitely has the skill to make one feel special as she showed a sincere interest in my journey as an artist. I think if I had just hiked three hundred miles I might be curled up in a ball in my tent feeling sorry for myself that I had not had a building to retreat inside of, and a bathtub to soak in for the last few weeks. Instead she drinks in the Colorado River views from her little tent popped up on the shore and blogs about the sites she is seeing.

Of course starting in California she covers the effects our fires have had on our state. If you remember back to my post “Tornado Hopscotch” you got a peek into a new phenonmena many of us fulltime travelers are experiencing. As we criss cross the country we are seeing the extremes of our climate in the various regions. Knowing I always see more in my “neighborhood” when walking, it will be interesting to follow her journey and see our country through her eyes. What a great cause, raising money to support saving our enironment. Hannah is truly committed. I hope you will follow her and donate to her cause.

I have to be honest, it’s fun to meet strangers who also get excited about what I’m doing. Hannah graciously wanted to purchase a piece from me supporting my art. I pictured her lugging that across the country, laughed and suggested instead that I ship something out once she was closer to home.

I love that my travels have introduced me to so many new and interesting people. Meeting others who live outside of the box, care about having a smaller footprint on our planet and value people over things, reminds me that its ok to go off the beaten path and live a life that matches one’s values. (By the way Jeff and Coffee, if you are reading this, you just might get to meet Hanah in Las Cruces.) Meeting people like Hannah and seeing how courageous she is adds to my own ability to tap into my own inner strength and continue on my journey. My plan is to keep introducing you to people I meet along the way, making “Interesting Folks” a regular feature of my blog as I journey on.

Thanks again for your follows! It means a lot to me.