The wind blows through her hair as she flies down the trail with her father.

Elsa LaFollette is a sophomore girl who loves to hike. She tries to hike every weekend in Palisades Park. She usually hikes with her father but sometimes she’ll hike with her mother and brother, Colter.

Elsa has been hiking for roughly six years going on an estimated 150 hikes total. She didn’t hike much at first but it soon became one of her favorite hobbies, she enjoys the relaxation of hiking and the great views you can find. Elsa wants to hike to a part of Palisades where a valley opens up exposing a field of flowers and beauty. “We don’t know if it exists but people say it opens up to a flat area with lots of flowers,” said Elsa. Getting to this spot is Elsa’s biggest goal for hiking inPalisades.

Elsa and her father are experienced hikers who hike trails in Palisades all the time, some hikes even taking up to an hour and a half. Elsa’s tips for new hikers are to bring good and comfortable shoes to hike long distances in. She also says to look out for roots that you could trip on, weather can also be bad for hiking so people should check the weather before going out.

Elsa will be moving to London next year for her father’s work but she hopes to make new hiking experiences there. The place where her family is going is meant to have good hiking places for new and experienced hikers so she hopes to enjoy hiking in London as much as she enjoys it in Iowa.