Group Hike: Boulder
I find myself saying this every week now, and it's true: this was one of the most special hikes I've ever been on. We had folks 24-70+ years old - the end caps on age being a woman and her granddaughter. We had two people who were in town for business from Atlanta and Louisiana who wanted to hike and heal. Two women who met on Tinder and moved out here together to build the life of their dreams. A woman with whom my path had already crossed when we worked at Disney in 2005, which we discovered on trail during a snack break. An athletic trainer who, after the hike, loaded us up with additional bandages and stuff for Barry's EMT kit. A woman who is on a mission to build an online community that shares stories to break stigmas on mental health. A woman who is friends with one of my besties back home in San Diego.
We shared stories about our different traumas, how hiking helps us heal, we channeled Brene Brown as we talked about what it means to come in last and still love the activity we are doing, and I shared parts of my story that don't make it into the talk I give on tour, parts that I haven't shared on-trail since the first HMF group hike in Burbank last October.
I've cried four times since we hugged goodbye in the Avery parking lot, and as I journal about this hike and write this post, I keep having these "single tear rolling down the cheek" moments.
I had high hopes for our time in Colorado, while also preparing myself for the possibility that this talk might not be as well-received in the absence of proximity to Catalina Island. These talks, these hikes, this new family we found, this is everything I ever dreamed of and then some.
This hike shifted something major in me and I'm still finding words to describe it, but to everyone who joined us yesterday, thank you for spending your precious time with us. Thank you for showing up for yourselves. Thank you for allowing me to see in real life what is possible when we dream big. Thank you for setting a very dark corner of my soul free. You have impacted my life in immeasurable ways, and I am so grateful to be in your orbit.
FORT COLLINS: you ready? See you Tuesday at REI!