Meet the Artist: Sarah Hernandez

Sarah Hernandez is the artist behind the Six-Pack of Peaks Series now available in our shop. She shares many of her eye-catching pen and ink drawings on her Instagram feed. As it turns out, she used SoCalHiker when she was planning her thru-hike a few years ago. But I’ll let her tell you…

Tell us a little about yourself. 

Hello. My name is Sarah. I am an artist, drafter by trade and passionate hiker living in Zurich, Switzerland. My work is inspired by the places I have been and the ones I would like to explore in the future.

How did you get into working with pen and ink?

Through my work as a drafter. At the beginning of my apprenticeship, I had to draw all the construction plans by hand using technical pens. During that time, I drew a lot of construction details and buildings. I like the technical side of it. The precision, the clean lines.

Your work reflects your passion for the outdoors. Tell us about that passion. Where do you love to explore?

I love that you can get away from things. There is nothing more amazing than when you hike up and the entire environment around you changes. Alpine areas, anywhere above the tree-line, and mountain lakes in general are amazing places.

Here in Switzerland, I love the area close to where I live. Some amazing places are just an hour by car or train. I am always amazed by how much in reach everything is. The area of the Canton Grison is my other favourite place to go hiking. It’s just beautiful with its valleys, peaks and the entire history of the area.

Outside of Switzerland… ugh, so many places. I love the National Parks in the States. In 2013, I spent nearly three months hopping from one to the next one. Some of my fondest memories happened there. When I hiked the John Muir Trail, that experience alone was incredible. I loved the simplicity of life on the trail. The things worried about were: where you will camp, what to eat (we talked about food the whole way from Yosemite to Mt. Whitney) and where you could go for a swim. The simplicity of it is magical. All you need is in your backpack.

The best memory from that time has to be the watching the sunrise from the atop Mt. Whitney. It was so cold and only a few of us took the sleeping bag up to the top. The rest of us left it at the trail crest. But when the first sunbeams hit the top? Such an amazing feeling. I will never forget that.

What is on the horizon? What’s your next big adventure?

Exploring the south island of New Zealand. They have so much remote wilderness that it is kind of scary and at the same time really amazing. I can’t wait.

Thanks so much for sharing a bit about yourself with us! 

Be sure to check out Sarah’s work on the Six-Pack of Peaks Series in the shop. You can find more of her artistry at @lostswissmiss on Instagram.