Matt Podolsky here - I’m jumping back into our Earth to Humans substack feed to share this conversation that I had with Dr. Heidi Schreiber-Pan.
The inspiration for this episode came from my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. Almost 4 years ago, I set out with my mom on a 6-month journey across the spine of the Appalachian mountains. Once we were on the trail, the connections between long distance hiking and mental health were evident all around us. I could feel the changes taking place in my brain as I simplified my routine and focused more and more of my energy on the meditative act of walking. But I also started to see the connections between hiking and mental health throughout the Appalachian Trail community.
I saw graffiti scribbled on trail signs that said things like, “The AT = free therapy”. But I also met other hikers who were on their own mental health journeys. Everyone has their own distinct and personal reason for hiking the Appalachian Trail, but almost everyone’s reason has some connection to their mental health and wellbeing. This was certainly true for my mom and I.
Common Land, the documentary podcast and radio series about my Appalachian Trail thru-hike, was released last summer. While I touched on the issue of mental health in the series, I felt a draw to explore this topic in more depth. As it stands now, the series ends when I complete my thru-hike, but that’s not the true end point of my Appalachian Trail journey. For many hikers, the biggest challenge comes after the hike is over. Post-trail depression is real, and is a common topic of conversation within the long distance hiking community.
I reached out to Dr. Heidi Schreiber-Pan, the founder of the Center for Nature Informed Therapy, to get her expert take on the connections between spending time outside, and hiking specifically, with mental health. Dr. Schreiber-Pan has spent her entire professional career exploring these questions and putting her ideas about outdoor therapy into practice.
Small segments of this interview will appear in a forthcoming episode of Common Land, which will serve as my epilogue for the series. But it was such a great conversation that I decided to release it here, on Earth to Humans, in it’s entirety.
-Matt Podolsky
