Danelle Hallenbeck, M.A.
Rites of Passage Wilderness Guide • Firewalk Facilitator • Holder of Sacred Space
As a wilderness guide, my calling is to create and tend spaces where healing can naturally unfold. Nature has a way of slowing us down, quieting the noise, and gently guiding us back to ourselves. Together, we step into the landscapes and elements of the natural world, where there is room to breathe, to listen, to let go of what no longer serves us, and to remember who we have always been.
I don't believe healing can be forced. I believe it emerges when we feel safe enough to be present with ourselves. My role is not to tell you who to become, but to walk beside you as you discover your own path, your own wisdom, and your own truth.
I offer myself as a guide because my own life has been shaped by profound loss, grief, sexual trauma, broken relationships, and the challenges of loving someone through addiction. There were seasons when I lost myself, searching for my worth in roles, relationships, and the expectations of others. Those experiences challenged me in ways I never imagined, but they also became the path that led me home. Through them, I learned that healing is not about becoming someone new, it is about remembering who we are beneath the pain.
I’ve had to learn to navigate, heal, and overcome through some most challenging experiences. Sexual abuse from a very young age, the untimely death of my closest cousin when we were 20, healing from an abortion, two tough failed marriages, and being the mother of an addict (now in recovery). These challenges brought much with them. Codependency, PTSD, depression, feelings of shame, guilt, anger, low self worth, many bad choices, and the loss of my identity, (who am I?) after placing my worth in external roles and people.
Then on August 8th, 2019 I unexpectedly lost my husband of 20 years, the love of my life. I became a widow at the age of 52. I was stricken into the depths of grief like I have never felt. My life as I knew it was gone.
My grief is sacred. My grief is gratitude.
Grief became one of my greatest teachers. It taught me how to stay present with pain instead of running from it. It taught me that healing doesn't mean forgetting,it means allowing love to change form. Today, I stand with a heart that has been broken open. I continue to grow, to learn, and to walk this path with humility, gratitude, and hope.
I have come to understand that so much of life is learning to grieve,not only the loss of loved ones, but the loss of dreams, identities, relationships, and the versions of ourselves we have outgrown. When grief is honored instead of avoided, it creates space for something new to emerge.
It is my deepest honor to walk beside others as they navigate their own seasons of change. Together, we make room for grief, healing, remembering, and joy. I believe that when grief is fully expressed, gratitude naturally begins to rise, not because the loss disappears, but because love remains.
Wilderness Experience
My path has been shaped not only through formal education and professional training, but through years of walking with the land itself. I completed two 11-day Vision Quests, where I learned to trust silence, solitude, and the wisdom that emerges when we listen deeply. I also hiked the Mountains-to-Sea Trail across North Carolina, an experience that strengthened my relationship with nature, resilience, and the understanding that every journey unfolds one step at a time, each step revealing the path ahead.
These experiences continue to influence the way I hold sacred space,with humility, presence, deep listening, and trust in both nature and the innate wisdom within each person.
Much Love,
Danelle Hallenbeck, M.A.
Rites of Passage Wilderness Guide • Firewalk Facilitator • Holder of Sacred Space
Education & Certifications
Formal Education
Master of Arts in Human Services with a Specialization in Business Administration — Liberty University
Bachelor of Science in Sociology — Iowa State University
Paralegal Certification — Institute for Paralegal Studies
Professional Training & Certifications
Rites of Passage Wilderness Guide Training — Kedar Brown
Sundoor Certified Firewalk Facilitator
Warrior Goddess Facilitator Training — HeatherAsh Amara
Wilderness First Aid Certification
Life Coach Certification
Reiki I & II