The Mental Health Benefits of Hiking with Rooted Rose Recreation + Wellness

Heading up Liberty Springs Trail in December 2023.

This past December, I was feeling anxious. I was trying to work, but my hands were trembling and heart was pounding too much for me to focus. Even though I wasn’t sleeping well from a mix of emotions and a busy schedule, I knew that I needed to get outside, so I decided to hike Mount Flume and Liberty that upcoming Sunday with my friends.

After summiting Mount Liberty, there is a 1.2-mile section between there and Mount Flume where you descend for a bit and climb back up. Instead of fighting gravity, I let myself fly down from the summit of Mount Liberty, gliding along the snow, and getting a bit ahead of my friends. I remember looking up at the open forest of trees and the snowy landscape in front of me as I moved through it in a way where I felt like I was flying. I didn’t let myself slow down. With every step, I could feel my mind and body releasing the stress I have been holding. Finally, I stopped and hugged a tree to my left and let tears fill up in my eyes. I knew what I had to do.

A waterfall on Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail heading to Mount Monroe and Washington.

Hiking is an activity that has various mental health benefits. Not only does it provide more clarity and a calmer mind, it can also boost your self-worth and confidence, reduce stress and anxiety, and naturally boost your endorphin levels, which makes you feel relaxed. In addition, spending time in nature increases your levels of serotonin and therefore leads to greater feelings of happiness.

“When you put yourself out in nature and out into the mountains, and you push yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually—whatever it is, everything that you do, it’s recognizing the wisdom within you,” says Erika Halaby, co-owner and co-founder of Rooted Rose Recreation + Wellness, an outdoor adventure company that holds space for movement, personal development, education and healing by offering guides hikes, paddles, international and U.S. retreats, outdoor workshops, movement classes, and custom adventures. 

Erika Halaby at Lake of the Clouds Hut in July 2023. Photo by Meagan Bronson.

Halaby began struggling with her mental health at a very young age and into her teens, when she was diagnosed with anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and ADHD. She tried various medications to support her mental health journey, but realized that they were only making her feel numb. Little did she know that turning to Mother Earth and movement would be the best medicine for her healing. 

In high school, Halaby would wake up with the sun to go to the gym before school and found herself feeling happier during the day. While attending Plymouth State University in Plymouth, N.H., she fell in love with being in nature. Five months into her college career, she discovered Wilderness Therapy & Adventure Education at her school. She decided then and there that this was the path in life she was going to take.

 “[Hiking] gives people autonomy because no one else is going to hike that mountain for you,” says Halaby. Oftentimes, clients come on hikes with Rooted Rose Recreation + Wellness when they’re going through a hard time, whether that’s depression or a certain anniversary date—only to realize how much beauty there is in the world once they come on one of these hikes. One of Halaby’s favorite ways to help clients is by exposing them to their homeland and its history for the very first time, especially in the White Mountains. Many are surprised by how amazing they feel after getting outside on one of these hikes, especially in the winter.

“It’s that liveliness that can only be done through the action,” says Halaby. “It takes sometimes just going outside in the winter without your shoes on when the day begins and listening to the birds.”

A group hiking Mount Pierce in 2022 with Rooted Rose Recreation + Wellness. Photo by a hiker on trail.

The mental health benefits you gain from hiking often stay with you off trail. Someone may hike Mount Washington and now suddenly they’re enjoying the sunset in their backyard or listening to the birds first thing in the morning. Halaby says that it’s about adding more meaning to your everyday life, which helps individuals cope with their mental health in a more positive way, especially when it comes to grief. 

In 2016, Halaby’s dad, who suffered from Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, bought her all the basic hiking gear she needed that she still has and wears to this day. She had no idea that shortly after, her dad would go into the hospital and never leave. One month and a half after she hiked Mount Washington, he passed away.

Having a deep bond with the moon, Halaby connected to her dad with it while he was in the hospital. She hoped that he would see it from his hospital bed. During the supermoon, Halaby received one of the last texts she ever got from her dad, where he said, “the moon looks great honey.” Not only the moon, but may other aspects of nature, such as birds and sunsets, are a great way to stay connected to loved ones and deal with grief in a positive way, Halaby says. She sees nature as a never ending toolbox for healing. Halaby’s dad has hiked the Franconia Ridge, so she says that, “when it’s time for me to do that, I’ll do it in his footsteps.”

“If you’re more connected to nature than ever, you’re going to move through [grief] much more gracefully because you’re seeing everything around you,” say Halaby.

Learn, heal, grow.

A group with Rooted Rose Recreation & Wellness studying a map in the White Mountains. Photo by Meagan Bronson.

While in nature, the mind becomes quiet, yet the body is constantly moving. Halaby says that with every step, you can be releasing fear, grief, old stories, and build a new mindset. Halaby notices that clients often sign up for hikes because they can feel a shift in themselves—they’re becoming exhausted or overwhelmed with their emotions and need an outlet. Since hiking releases serotonin, it gives people a heightened perspective and expands their mind. For those looking for mental health support through hiking, they can check out all of the services that Rooted Rose Recreation + Wellness offers.

“In the next few years, Rooted Rose will have a base camp in Rumney, N.H.,” says Halaby, where they’ll host therapeutic and recreational events on their property. Rooted Rose Recreation + Wellness is planning to do more therapeutic work in 2024 and put more energy into their custom adventures and one-on-one time with clients.

 “[Hiking is] giving people something to look forward to—that I think is one of the biggest rewards I’ve seen,” says Halaby.

Mount Washington 2023

Erika Halaby & Domenic LaRosa, Owners of Rooted Rose Recreation & Wellness, leading a hike. Photo by Meagan Bronson.