About Us

Sydney + Barry Williams, Founders of Hiking My Feelings

Our Mission

Hiking My Feelings began on a mountaintop east of San Diego, CA in 2018 โ€“ a mantra, battlecry, and most importantly a replacement to the eating and drinking that had once been go-to methods for handling the reverberating emotions of lived trauma. 

Since that day, weโ€™ve been on a mission to improve community health by creating opportunities for people to experience the healing power of nature. 

What unites us? A deep desire for healing and a growing awareness that self love isnโ€™t selfish.

 
A woman hikes toward the top of a mountain on Catalina Island. You can see the Pacific Ocean behind the top of the peak

Our Work

Our programs and events cultivate a judgement-free space where transformational healing is possible. We introduce people to mindfulness and the healing power of nature, and the results are lasting improvements to mental, physical and spiritual health. 

This is more than learning how to set up a tent, this is wilderness wellness. Through guided self-discovery exercises, in-the-field education, physical movement, and storytelling, we heal and transform our relationship to self so we can show up more powerfully for our communities.

We know that when there are spaces where vulnerability is recognized as a strength and empathy is the norm, deep healing is possible. Everything we do is designed to support participants as they embark on this journey to blaze a trail to self-love. 

our programs
 
Sydney walks up the ridge of a sand dune in Great Sand Dunes National Park. The sky is blue with puffy white clouds and the dunes are showcasing many different textures in the sand, including footprints

Our Impact

Each healing act we take for ourselves ripples out to our community and planet. Daily we see the fallout of the mental, physical, and environmental crisis that defines our era, but we know there is another pathway forward.

When we give ourselves the opportunity to reflect and find inspiration in what weโ€™ve experienced on our Trail of Life, we can get intentional about how we spend the rest of our time on this planet in these bodies โ€“ integrating the lessons learned into our personal lives and communities.

The results? Empowered individuals taking a stand for the wellbeing of their communities and planet. 

Read the Report
 

People are talking.

Press Logos

Pretty pictures, long captions.

๐Ÿ’š Happy Earth Day! ๐Ÿ’š Do you have a relationship with nature? How do you give back? Join us for one of our Stewardship & Self-Care Events in 2024. <Link in Bio>
DEADLINE EXTENDED: You asked, we answered. Earlier this week we sent out a reminder email that we were closing registration for Hike + Heal Glacier National Park, our newest collaboration event with the Glacier Institute happening September 26-29.
It might not look like it, but summer in Sequoia National Park is just around the corner. The forecast for this week is for temps in the high 50s and low 60s. Have you made plans to attend one of our Hike + Heal Sequoia retreats yet? Join us: June
Sometimes we allow ourselves to dream as big as possible. We practice mindfulness, visualize success, and write journal entries to our future selves, planning how we'll celebrate once this goal is accomplished. Sometimes the biggest dreams come tru
๐Ÿ™We are better together, let's collaborate! Earlier this month, we had the time of our lives at the @publiclandsalliance conference in San Francisco. Together with our partners at Sequoia Parks Conservancy and the Volunteers in Parks program at Seq
๐ŸŽ‰ Have you read the @healing.and.cptsd Chronicles yet? As if this week wasn't exciting enough with the big release of Hiking Your Feelings on Tuesday, we are so stoked to share this incredible resource from @complex.dani, founder of @healing.and.cp
๐Ÿ™ Keeping Austin beautifully weird! We had an absolute blast yesterday leaving Austin a bit better than we found it at #SXSW. We conducted a Trail cleanup in partnership with our friends @thetrailconservancy and @gossamergear. Together, we picked u