Willow has been a backpacker for over 30 years. She has built and lived in a debris hut and spent a winter living in a tipi. She's lived with the Southern Cheyenne tribe in Oklahoma and traveled to every state in the continental US as a long-haul trucker. In 2006 she thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail. Summoning the Mountains tells the story of her hike. Other long trails include: Black Mountain Crest Trail, Foothills Trail and the Benton MacKaye Trail.