19th August 2025

Beyond the Boots: Meet Kate

Stories from the Guides Who Lead the Way

Some people start a business.
Kate started a movement.

The Hike Collective began not with a blueprint, but with a feeling. A pull to reconnect. To rediscover awe. To walk beside others as they turned the wild into wonder,  and the trail into something that shifts you from the inside out.

“I believe the wild outside restores the world within.
And I get to see that happen. Every single day.”

The very first hike she led was out at Rocky Pool, one blazing November day.
The land was dry, the sun was fierce, and the group was small,  but her brother was there. And that made it unforgettable.

From those humble beginnings, she’s now led thousands. But her reason for showing up has never changed.

“What keeps me coming back is witnessing the trail create space for wander. Watching someone soften. Light up. Get curious again.”

When you walk with Kate, you quickly realise something.
It’s not really about the trail facts or the distance covered.

It’s about the moment.
The story.
The spark she sees in you,  and reflects right back.

“I get distracted easily,” she laughs. “My trail notes are not like the rest of the team. I share what’s real, what’s felt. It might be spontaneous, but it’s always intentional. I just want people to take something with them.  Something they’ll remember the next day. And the one after that.”

Her favourite place to guide?
Without question,  Karijini.

“Kalamina Gorge. There’s something poetic in the language of that land. The Pilbara listens. It holds space. It doesn’t judge. And the spiritual connection you feel on Country there is spectacular.”

The Trail Within

Kate talks a lot (her words), but she’s learned how to listen more.

To the rustle of leaves.
To the unspoken energy in a group.
To the moments where silence says more than a speech ever could.

“The trail teaches you that. To listen. To slow down. To make space.”

Her perfect day on the trail starts before sunrise.
Watching the day stretch awake from a sacred place in nature.
Sometimes with her son. Sometimes solo.
Always with gratitude.

Because in a life that moves fast, those quiet, calm pockets of presence are rare,  and worth everything.

If you were standing on the edge of something new; a trail, a chapter, a change, Kate wouldn’t tell you what to do.

She’d just ask:

“But what if you fly?”

Because to her, every hike is a metaphor.
Every guest is a story unfolding.
And every first step is the beginning of something beautiful.

What’s in Her Pack?

Always: her camera and a notepad.
The art of photography and written word are her way of capturing not just what she sees, but what she feels.
That quiet moment of trail magic, sealed in ink or light.

If someone caught a candid photo of Kate mid-hike, it would be this:

One hand touching everything she passes.
The other gently guiding someone up a steep bit of track.
Laughing with her whole face.
Somehow grounding the group and lifting them all at once.
Not posed. Not polished.
Just real.

This is part of our Beyond the Boots series.
Real stories from the guides who lead with soul.