Today I took myself off for a “big” hike — big-ish (5km one way), but it’s a solid 10km return — up the Mount Hallowell trail in Denmark, WA. Finding the trailhead was a bit of a mission (Google Maps tried to send me to the wrong street), so I just drove along Lights Road until I spotted the car park. I picked a rainy, overcast day on purpose because WA hikes can get really stinking hot, and I genuinely love getting out when it’s cooler and everything smells like wet forest. Walking through the karri forest felt like coming home to what I miss about Queensland — that deep green, energising, “reset your brain” kind of feeling. Along the way I stopped at Monkey Rock, found some incredible fungi (yes, including the hilariously named “curry punk”), and had those sweet little trail chats that make solo hiking feel less lonely. I also talked about learning as I go — I’m not a zoologist, I’m a creative, but being out here filming and researching nature for my artwork honestly feels like living my dream. At the summit the weather absolutely turned it on — wind and rain so strong I had to ground myself to not get blown around. No drone flight for Molly today, but the whole thing was magic and invigorating. And, bonus: my water bladder finally works (turns out I was missing the mouthpiece and the valve was shut), so I’m officially using it on all my hikes now.