Forty for Forty: Mindful Monday series

Article in partnership with The Wenatchee World 

Forty for Forty: Mindful Monday series

The outdoors is a space that I have only recently started exploring. While growing up, the outdoors looked like public parks and any grassy area that I could find. My parents did their best to take my brother and me outdoors, and we explored places like Quincy Lakes in Grant County. But we never went on hikes or camping trips, so these concepts were foreign to me. No one in my immediate circle did these activities, so I didn’t start exploring nature until later in my life.

When I moved to Wenatchee in 2020, right before the pandemic, I wanted to find a way to get connected to the community. A friend mentioned Team Naturaleza, a group focused on bringing Latinx people to the outdoors, and I took a chance and went on my first outing with them in 2022. Being around people in an outdoor space who looked like me and shared a similar cultural upbringing in an outdoor space was revolutionary for me. 

My engagement with Team Naturaleza empowered me to keep exploring and spending time in nature. This is where I built my confidence in navigating outdoor spaces and trails on my own. Since then, I have explored all the local foothills trails and other trails in Washington State. 

Through this exploration, I realized that nature has provided me with a sense of healing, connection, and clarity that I have not found elsewhere. I have used therapy to make sense of my experiences and to find purpose, but while this has led me toward healing and understanding, nature has taught me the lessons of slowing down, being flexible, and of embracing change. Nature has also provided me with the psychological and emotional benefits of lowering my stress levels while increasing my sense of belonging, meaning, and purpose. 

One of my favorite areas, where I have been able to explore being present, slowing down, and connecting with nature, has been the Sage Hills trail system. I enjoy this area because there is minimal elevation gain, you can walk short or long distances depending on time constraints, there is rarely anyone else on the trail, and the silence just lets me disconnect from my cluttered life and truly rest. I love taking my time and stopping for anything that catches my eye, whether that’s a bird, flower, or bug. I also really enjoy how spacious it feels being in these hills. This spaciousness reminds me of how small my troubles really are in the context of the vastness I’m a part of.  

With my professional background in mental health counseling and my passion for the outdoors, I have been brainstorming ways to utilize the natural resources we have in the Wenatchee area to help our whole community. For a few years now, I have wanted to incorporate mental health into outdoor experiences for healing purposes. By blending my two passions — mental health and nature — I have developed the Mindful Monday/Caminatas Conscientes series, which invites people to learn about nature's emotional and social benefits through guided mindfulness techniques utilizing the outdoors. I invite you all to join me on these monthly outings that will be offered in English and Spanish. Each session provides a different focus such as mindful walking, nature journaling, and engaging our senses. The event and registration details are listed below near the end of this article.

Sage Hills Details

History. Hikers, runners, and bikers throughout the Wenatchee Valley have long visited the Sage Hills for inspiration, recreation, and exercise. In 2001 when development threatened access to this local resource, the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust responded with the Save the Sage Campaign, which raised over $60,000 in six weeks to protect 35 acres in the foothills. This provided permanent access to the PUD’s 960-acre Homewater Property in the Sage Hills. The Save the Sage Campaign also spurred a larger public dialog about the importance of conserving other areas in the surrounding foothills that the community valued but might lose through unplanned growth. This discussion targeted the most important lands for conservation and the most sensible lands to facilitate growth. It also kickstarted the Land Trusts ‘Foothills Campaign’ that conserved other properties, like the Horse Lake Reserve that connects to the Sage Hills and greatly enlarges Wenatchee’s wonderful trail system.

Uses. Hiking, trail running, mountain biking, horseback riding, dog walking (pets must be leashed), nature photography, wildflower and native plant observations.

Access. There are several ways to access the Sage Hills trails. Most entrance points have limited or no amenities. The two access points I use are the Day Road Access and Fifth Street Overflow Parking. 

1)Day Road Access. Drive west (uphill) on Fifth Street 0.6 mile past the intersection with Western Avenue. Turn right on Surry Road and, after 150 yards, turn left on Lester Road. Drive uphill about 200 yards and turn right on Day Road. Follow Day Road as it makes a few right-angle turns, first to the left, then to the right. Just before the pavement ends and before the ‘Stay Out’ signs, enter a small parking lot on the left owned by the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust. A  trail leads uphill from the parking lot and intersects the main trail in about 70 yards. Note: This parking lot has an automatic gate that is closed by a timer at 7 pm. Also, if the lot is full (possible on spring weekends), use the Fifth Street Overflow Parking.

2)Fifth Street Overflow Parking. On spring weekends during the peak of the wildflower bloom, the small parking area at Day Drive is often full. During this time, mountain bikers are asked to park along Fifth Street between Jennings Street and Surry Road (about 0.5 miles west, or uphill, of Western Avenue). Ride from here up to the Day Road Access mentioned above.

Hiking. The main Sage Hills Trail is 4.5 miles long between Sage Hills Drive (to the south) and the Horse Lake Trailhead (to the north) and has an elevation gain of 1,300 feet.

Map. Click here to view the Land Trust map showing Sage Hills trails. https://www.cdlandtrust.org/sites/default/files/2024-12/Sage%20Hills%20trails%20map%202024.pdf 

 
Seasonal Closures. Every winter (from December 1 to April 1), the Sage Hills and adjacent lands in the Horse Lake Reserve close to public use. This provides undisturbed and protected habitat for the herds of mule deer wintering here. 

Support. The Chelan-Douglas Land Trust is a non-profit conservation organization that relies on the people of our two counties to amplify its work. Click here for ways of supporting the organization’s work. https://www.cdlandtrust.org/support-us/membership 

Events. Join the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust for a unique opportunity to connect with nature. Starting in April, the Land Trust will offer a series of outings for people interested in learning about the emotional and social benefits of nature. 

Ayla Medina Ulloa is a licensed mental health professional who currently works as the Community Inclusion Coordinator for the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust.