Katie Garding’s Backpacking Adventure: Finding Presence in Nature

In this episode of Unpacking Injustice, Montana Innocence Project client Katie Garding shares her experience on a three-day women’s backpacking retreat at Doris Lake near Whitefish, Montana. While this was her first backpacking adventure, her lifelong love of nature made the journey all the more meaningful. Katie describes the trip as freeing—an opportunity to be fully present in nature without the weight of her ongoing wrongful conviction. We discuss the details of her retreat, the emotions that surfaced upon her return home, and the grounding lessons that nature offers in presence and resilience.