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.

๐ŸŒฟ Why Support Public Lands Organizations on #GivingTuesday? Hey Fam, Sydney here. Today is Giving Tuesday, a global day of giving back, and I want to talk about something near and dear to my heart: public lands. These spaces have been my sanctuar
โœจ connection: the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship. - @brenebrown // ๐Ÿ™ Grateful for Joshua
๐Ÿ“ข We have THREE free spots for this weekend in Joshua Tree! Listen, we know this month alone has felt like lifetimes and our pals at @jtnpa and one very generous donor have now completely changed the dang game by making THREE free spots available f
๐ŸŽ‰ YELLOWSTONE HERE WE COME! Earlier this year, we had the pleasure of sharing about our innovative stewardship and self-discovery programs with our industry peers at the @publiclandsalliance conference. Amongst the folks we met after our presentati
Join us in Joshua Tree this fall! ๐Ÿœ๏ธ We are thrilled to return for our fifth season as instructors at @jtdesertinstitute. This year, we created two new programs to support @jtnpa, the official nonprofit partner of Joshua Tree National Park and give
A soft place to land, a firm place to launch from. In the 6+ years we've been doing this work, we have met some of the most incredible people and traveled to some spectacular places. And every once in awhile, we land somewhere that feels like home,
โœจ Taking life at a glacial pace, soaking up the vibes in this stunning place. Over the weekend, we had the opportunity to make dreams come true in Glacier National Park. This was our first event with our pals at @the_glacier_institute, and our first
๐ŸŽ‰ Happy #NationalPublicLandsDay! We are in the middle of hosting our Hike + Heal weekend with our pals at @the_glacier_institute at @glaciernps and breakfast is in 20 minutes so we gotta make this quick: Do you have a relationship with nature? If