Hi, I’m Shannon, I am a 36 year nurse old who permanently resides in West Virginia. My passion for physical fitness and the outdoors started at a young age. Growing up I spent my summers swimming and camping in Michigan. My dad who is also and avid outdoorsman was blessed with four daughters and instilled a love for the outdoors in us all. However, my obsession with hiking did not start until well into my late 20’s. After a devastating breakup, I went to visit my dad who had moved to Palm Spring, CA. He took me on a not so introductory hike up San Jacinto mountain. It was grueling and spectacular all in one. My obsession began, I love that hiking encompasses the beauty of nature with a physical challenge. Summiting peaks for me is both rewarding physically and mentally. Since my late twenties I have gotten over that dreadful breakup, found love with the most amazing man and hiking compadre I could ever hope for, and I have lived in over six states as a travel nurse, taken a year off to travel/hike around the world pre covid, and now I am currently on another extensive trip that started in Norway and is finishing up in the Italian Dolomites. I wanted to start this blog as an outlet to share my experiences hiking. They have been so unreal even if no one ever reads this at least I’ll have it for my future memories.
Why I love hiking so much, you may ask? It’s simple, it’s where I feel most alive. I use hiking as sort of a meditation practice, no I am not in quite deep thought the entire hike but when I am going up in elevation and it gets too steep to talk, and all I can focus on is putting one foot in front of the other that’s when my meditation takes place. It’s just me and the trail, it’s incredibly therapeutic. I don’t know if its the fresh air or the endorphins I am getting from challenge I am putting my body through but joy is always at the finish.
