Hiking and a Nature Journal: A Perfect Match
Hiking and nature journaling are my favorite pass-times. I made an impromptu decision to try and squeeze in a quick hike today in between rain storms. We have had an amazing amount of rain this spring and I was itching to get a bit of nature. I’ve decided to share my little ½ mile, 1 hour long hiking experience with you to share with you how much you can witness if you just slow down a bit and look!
Hiking: Only a Few Feet From the Parking Lot
I watched an American Goldfinch perched on a tiny little branch at the top of a small bush. It called back and forth for about a minute. Meanwhile, I’m hiking down this steep hill into a planted prairie meadow. From up here, the view is breathtaking.
Just a few steps into the meadow, there is a patch of Queen Anne’s Lace. I stop to get a good look. I want to add these to my Nature Journal later. I get closer to snap a picture. There is a cool bug on the fully opened flower — bonus!
Can You Nature Journal Birdsong?
In the background, I’m hearing one of my favorite birds calling — a red-winged blackbird. I always thought their call sounded a bit like an old-fashioned telephone ringing. There are about 10 of them swooping back and forth across the meadow. They are much too quick and skittish for me to catch a photo with my phone, but I enjoy their presence.
To my right is the usually calm creek that runs alongside the trail. Today I heard it roaring from the top of the hill. We’ve had massive amounts of rain this spring. This normally quiet little creek is a powerful, muddy, rushing river today!
As I walk the trail alongside this creek, I see dragonflies and damselflies flitting back and forth. It’s so difficult to catch them sitting still long enough to get a good picture. (I must get my actual camera out here soon!) I take a short side-trail through the woods to get a good up-close look at the swollen creek. As I head back, I spot a damselfly. I slow down and get my phone camera ready. OMG! I got it this time! I’m not sure what species this is, but I now have a decent shot of it on my phone. I’ll sketch it later and see what species it is. So excited!
Damsel fly modeling for me! Look Closely: Native Wildflowers Ahead
As I walk on, I’m enjoying the native wildflower show all around me. Close to the ground are the delicate pink flowers of vetch. Rising up on tall stems, bursting with buds ready to open, I see hundreds of purple milkweed (aka: swamp milkweed). There are bumble bees flitting back and forth over these. I’m so happy to see so many of these this year. Their super-power is being a nursery plant for Monarch butterfly caterpillars. I can’t wait to see those!
Vetch 
Purple Milkweed + Bee
Hiking Reveals Critters as Well as Flowers
Just a few feet up ahead I hear a loud plonk! I know that a black walnut has fallen from the tree. I know exactly where this tree is, as I gathered nuts off the ground last fall from this particular tree. Yum! I pick up the nut and notice that the stem has been chewed. My mind wanders and I picture a squirrel sitting high up in the tree, trying to time the falling projectile to my walking speed. (I’m not really sure why a cartoon scenario is playing in my head — but I go with it.)
Squirrel Grenade- aka Black Walnut I’ve barely taken a few steps from the walnut tree when I spot 2 small brown rabbits resting on the trail up ahead. They appear to be adolescents. I take slow, quiet steps — I want to see how close they’ll let me come. They hop ahead a few feet, but stay on the trail. We repeat this sequence a couple more times before they hop off into the tall grass.
As the rabbits hop away, my eye is drawn to the small pine tree beside the trail. The sun (we haven’t seen much of that lately!) is shining on raindrops still sitting on the needles. It’s so beautiful! I snap a photo. I may want to sketch that later. (I’m not ‘live’ drawing on this trip as it’s threatening rain again and I don’t want to ruin my sketchbook.)
Eye-Popping Color
I round a corner and encounter a large patch of bright orange milkweed on both sides of the path. Wow! Its color makes such a visual impact in this sea of green dotted with soft pinks and lavenders. There are multiple bumble bees on every plant!
At this point, I’m about ¼ mile into the ½ mile trail that I’m hiking today. My boots are soaked. I’m truly in the moment. It’s hard not to be when you’re in a place like this.
Turning another corner, is that a wild rose? As I get closer, I see it’s a blackberry bramble! Itsy bitsy fruits are just beginning to form. I’ll keep my eye on those as they get larger. Maybe the birds won’t mind sharing a berry or two.
Good thing they’re water proof! 
Blackberry Brambles
Across the path from the blackberries, there are a few conifers; one a fir with large cones. As I step closer, I can see the sap dripping from them. I snap a picture — this will eventually go into my nature journal. Spotting a wildflower that I can’t identify, I snap a photo, so I can look it up later.
Too Much Coffee! (Is That a Thing?)
I still have a bit to go on my trail, including back up the steep hill to my car. Sadly, I speed up my pace and probably miss even more cool things, ‘cause — coffee! I didn’t expect to go hiking today due to the rain, so I had lots and lots of coffee! And now I have to pee! Well, it was an amazing hike. I feel like a new person! I’m over-the-top excited about all that I discovered in this impromptu hike that was only ½ mile and about an hour long in a nearby park in the city limits!
As I really wanted to process the hike and this peaceful mood, I stopped at another little park nearby (baseball fields and picnic tables) to use their porta-potty. I got out my sketching materials and sat down at a table under a shelter; figuring that I could sit and sketch even if it started to rain again. The ball-fields were too wet to play. The park was deserted. Alone in the quiet, I was able to relive my adventure while I sketched.
Hiking and Nature Journaling: To Learn and To Remember
I sketched for another hour and a half. I still have a few sketches to add to these pages. Looking back on the hike as I was drawing, I felt this big rush of gratitude for all that Mother Nature decided to show me today, as well as an overwhelming sense of connection — something we could all use more of. I thought about all that I would have missed if I’d been in a bigger hurry; if my hike had been about exercise rather than discovery, . . .
Oh yeah, remember that cool bug I spotted on the Queen Anne’s Lace? Turns out it was a species of lightning bug that I had never seen before! How cool is that? I see a night trip to the park in the near future!
Want more nature journaling? Follow Lisa’s Instagram page! I post hiking and nature journaling daily over there. You may also enjoy this post on Keeping a Nature Journal.
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A Nature Hike Improves Mental Health
Can taking a nature hike improve mental health? According to several current scientific studies, it can! Deadlines. Schedules. Concrete. Traffic. Cell Phones. Email. Cubicles. Windowless offices. Stress. Just writing the words has me feeling tight, pinched, and stressed! Even when we love our jobs and our lives, we need to make time for rest and renewal.
More and more studies are proving that time in a natural setting on a regular basis is the best way to reboot. Here are 10 ways that a hike in the woods can improve your mental health.
1. Hiking Boosts Endorphins
Endorphins are a feel-good hormone. They are released by the body as a natural pain killer — ie: when you’re walking uphill on the trail. Studies show that as little as 20 minutes of exercise is all it takes to get a boost of endorphin.
2. Hiking Boosts Serotonin
Serotonin has many roles and purposes in our bodies, but for this discussion we’re looking at its role as a mood regulator. Serotonin is a chemical produced in the body, mostly in the gut. Its production and release requires exposure to sunlight.
Besides sunlight your body also requires tryptophan to produce serotonin. How do you get tryptophan? It’s in the trail mix of nuts, seeds, and dark chocolate that makes a perfect hiking snack! So make sure to pack some along on your hike along with a banana. Take a break, have a snack, absorb some sun on your skin and get your serotonin levels humming!
3. A Nature Hike Reduces Cortisol Levels
Cortisol is a regulator. It helps us keep a rhythm of day and night. Our constant exposure to the blue light used in technology; computers, cell phones, TVs, etc., tricks our body into thinking it is perpetually morning.
There is a difference in the light of morning and the light of evening. Morning light is blue and causes a rush of cortisol to wake us up and get our day going. At night the light is a soft orange, signaling the reduction in cortisol so that we can wind down and go to sleep.
Spending time in nature, no matter what time of day, can help our bodies reset the cortisol cycle.
4. Time in Nature Increases Our Level of Negative Ions
Ions surround us. There are both positive and negative ions found naturally in our living world. In a perfect environment, they are balanced. However, in our current world we are constantly bombarded by excess positive ions emitted by all of our electronic gadgets and gizmos. We are out of balance.
Time in nature can even out that balance. Forests, waterfalls, and the ocean all create an abundance of negative ions!
5. A Nature Hike Boosts Our Oxygen Levels
We all learned this is school, but how often do we think about it as adults? Trees breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen! Yep, get out in an area with plenty of trees and you get an oxygen boost. A bit of exercise, deeper breaths, and increased oxygen levels can amount to boosting brain power and creativity.
Science has also shown us that there are essential oils called phytoncides released into the air from trees and plants. Breathing in these naturally occurring phytoncides helps not only to boost your immune system, but also to assist in stress reduction.
6. Walking Meditation is Easier in Nature
Meditating while walking in nature can have tremendous benefits. It’s much easier to focus on being mindful and present when your body is engaged in physical activity. Many people who struggle with seated meditation have no problem with walking meditation. There’s something about the forward motion of your body that causes your mind to move forward as well.
7. A Nature Hike Allows A Closer Connection to Nature
Spending time in nature, taking your time, and noticing all of the awe-inspiring wonder around you can help you feel connected. We forget because we are so isolated from nature most of the time, but we are nature. Loneliness abounds in our society. We can feel most alone in a crowd of people. That kind of loneliness comes from disconnection. While we absolutely still need close relationships with people in our lives, there is a vital connection to be had in nature as well.
We can find a sense of our belonging to nature. The exciting part? It takes time. Developing a connection to nature doesn’t happen overnight–it takes time and commitment, just like any long-term relationship. The more time you spend in that connection, the more in love with nature you become and, . . . the bigger that sense of belonging becomes.
8. Creative Thinking Gets a Boost From A Nature Hike
There are multiple studies that show spending time in nature and away from technology can boost your ability to solve problems in a more creative way by up to 50%. Taking away the noise of the city and your office allows you time to think, increasing both your memory and your ability to use creative problem-solving skills.
9. Nature’s Antidepressant Bacteria
Soil can make you happy and smarter! Scientists have discovered a bacteria called Mycobacterium vaccae. This beneficial bacteria resides in the soil and works like an antidepressant in our system. It works on many chemical levels that are still being studied, but we now know that it affects serotonin in a positive way, giving our brains a boost as well as our mood.
How do we access this miracle microbe? Hiking along a dirt path through the forest causes the bacteria to be released from the soil as we walk. We breathe it in. Playing with our hands in the dirt both releases it to our lungs as we breathe, and also through our skin through direct contact. Give yourself permission to get dirty and enjoy those antidepressant effects!
10. Forests Buffer Noise
Sounds — man-made sounds, . . . we are inundated by the sounds of traffic, sirens, construction equipment, lawn mowers, as well as the constant hum of computers, video games, and TV. This constant noise takes a toll on our physical bodies as well as our minds.
Step out into the forest where the trees and underbrush filter out much of that man-made noise. Listen to the sounds of wind through the trees, singing birds, and hear the crunch of leaves under your feet. Giving your ears a break from the noise of the city is yet another way to boost brain power and increase your access to your own creativity.
Interested in the scientific studies? PubMed has over 100 studies on the health impacts of forest bathing (spending time in nature).
Now that you have 10 more reasons to get out in the woods and take a hike, what are you waiting for?!
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