Hiking to Healing Through The Highlands — Shan’s Tale from the Trail

In 2012 I underwent a double mastectomy that didn’t go to plan and I ended up spending 5 years having back to back reconstructive surgeries. I was also battling eyes that were trying to quit on me. I fell into a deep depression. My personal life was a wreck. Then when my father passed away after several years of battling cancer, leaving many things he’d wanted to do in this life undone, I knew I had to make a drastic change.

Between surgeries walking was the only physical activity I was allowed to do. I began to feel so much better even after just a few hours outside. My walks around the neighborhood became walks through local woodlands, then walks in other states. One day I decided I needed a bigger adventure. I decided to cross the ocean to hike 200 miles across the Scottish Highlands via the West Highland Way and Great Glen Way.

I trained, researched and prepared. I started a YouTube channel to document my preparations (and the hike itself) and to keep me accountable. In April of 2022 I crossed the ocean to Scotland carrying everything I’d need for the trip on my back. It was truly the adventure of a lifetime. Even as I stood atop a mountain I’d struggled to get up, in the freezing rain and strong Scottish winds, with my feet throbbing from walking miles over rugged, rocky terrain, I felt a sense of contentedness. There was peace in the simple daily routine of walking, looking at the beauty of nature, eating, setting up camp and sleeping. It changed me for the better. I wanted my children to remember me not for the woman who’d been so overwhelmed and miserable for so many years but the wild and windswept adventurer I’d become; full of joy and hope and excitement for the future.

That trip also taught me about resilience and that we really need so little to be truly happy. I learned to prioritize myself and to live life to the fullest before there is no more life to live. Life is after all the grandest of adventures and it all begins with that first, courageous step into ourselves.”

Everyone’s trail to healing and discovery looks different, but every step matters. We’re grateful to @shanoutdoors for sharing her story with us.

If hiking, walking, or spending time in nature has made a positive impact on your mental health, we’d love to hear from you. Your story might be the inspiration and encouragement someone needs to lace up their boots, and find what they’re looking for out on the trail.

Share your story at https://americanhiking.org/share-your-story/.