Hello, and welcome to Hike Stars on Earth!

My name is Jared Harding Wilson. I grew up in North Carolina, and for the last decade, I have called Utah my home. Throughout my life, I’ve developed a love for faith, learning, creativity, adventure, and the outdoors. Whether I’m hiking a mountain trail, training for a marathon, reading a great book, playing music, working with wood, exploring a new destination, or simply enjoying a beautiful sunset, I’m constantly discovering lessons that make life richer and more meaningful.

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and my faith plays an important role in how I view the world. Some of life’s greatest lessons have come through both successes and setbacks, unexpected detours, and opportunities to keep moving forward when the path ahead wasn’t always clear.

There was a time in my life when things became very difficult. During those years, I learned the importance of seeking help, accepting support, and continuing forward one step at a time. I am deeply grateful for the counselors, therapists, mentors, friends, family members, and countless acts of kindness that helped me through those seasons. Their influence helped me build a healthier life and a deeper appreciation for hope, growth, and second chances. I have learned that no one is beyond hope, that growth is always possible, and that anyone can be redeemed. Whatever challenges you may be facing, never give up.

Today, I strive to live a healthy and balanced life centered on faith, learning, creativity, service, meaningful relationships, and personal growth. Writing has become an important part of that journey. It helps me slow down, reflect, process experiences, and better appreciate the lessons hidden within everyday life.

My love of writing began years ago at Jordan High School (Go Falcons!), where an English teacher’s enthusiasm for literature and storytelling left a lasting impression on me. She helped me discover that stories matter and that writing has the power to inspire, teach, heal, and connect people.

Years later, I came across a simple piece of advice from Stephen King that has stayed with me ever since: if you want to be a writer, write. Write regularly. Write often. Write even when you don’t feel like it. That idea helped me realize that if I wanted to become a writer someday, I needed to start writing today.

That’s one of the reasons Hike Stars on Earth was born.

At first, this website simply gave me an outlet for writing. Over time, it became much more than that. Writing has been therapeutic, reflective, and deeply rewarding. It has helped me organize my thoughts, preserve meaningful experiences, connect with an incredible community of fellow bloggers, and become more intentional about living a healthy life. It has also reinforced a personal goal that continues to guide me today: to create more than I consume.

Why the name Hike Stars on Earth?

For me, stars represent the bright spots in life—the people, experiences, lessons, adventures, and moments that inspire us and help light our path. Earth is where those moments happen. Sometimes we find them on mountain trails. Sometimes we find them through faith, books, music, travel, creativity, service, or meaningful conversations. This site is a collection of those stars.

One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned is that growth rarely happens all at once. It happens one choice, one step, and one day at a time. That lesson became especially meaningful as I trained for and completed my first half-marathon and later my first marathon. What began as a fitness goal became a powerful reminder that perseverance, patience, and consistency can help us accomplish things we once thought were impossible.

Here you’ll find hiking adventures, travel stories, photography, book reviews, spiritual reflections, music, woodworking projects, fitness challenges, and lessons learned along the way. More than anything, you’ll find a record of one person’s journey to keep learning, keep growing, and keep looking for the bright spots in life while striving to pay those blessings forward. My hope is to use whatever time I have left of life to help, encourage, and uplift others along the way.

Whether you’re here for a trail recommendation, a spiritual thought, a book suggestion, a woodworking project, or simply a reminder that there is beauty and goodness all around us, I’m glad you’re here.

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you’ll join me as we continue finding stars on earth together. Feel free to reach out or subscribe for new posts.