Halle Homel: climber, guide, nomad

Halle Homel is a 27-year-old outdoor guide, van dweller, and questioning nomad who built her life around travel, adventure, and seasonal work—and now asks herself whether the road still feels like home. (@halletreks)

After graduating college a year early with a degree in creative writing, Halle hit the road in her Kia Soul and spent three months visiting all 48 contiguous states alone. That trip turned into six years of van life, guiding rock climbing, backpacking, and canoeing trips across the U.S. while living on public land and making seasonal wages stretch through the winter. But as she and her partner juggle life in a van with a six-day-a-week climbing schedule, the absence of a real home base is starting to feel more like survival mode than freedom.

We discuss the economics of seasonal guiding: how she makes $200 a day on average, relies on tips for daily expenses, and stretches her summer paychecks to last all year. Halle shares the reality of van life in 2024, from Walmart parking lots to the mental toll of constantly moving, and why she’s now searching for a mountain town where she can return year after year. She also talks about breaking into the guiding world as a woman, the sexism she’s faced in climbing, and how she’s using her new Single Pitch Instructor certification to carve out a long-term career in outdoor leadership.

She opens up about her evolving relationship with social media after going viral on TikTok, her role in environmental advocacy, and the tension between craving stability and chasing big, audacious goals—like summiting all 15 of California’s 14,000-foot peaks before October.

Full transcript: dirtbagrich.com/halle