smiling about her prospects, long journey into

[KLPNO]

Hello everyone
I'd like to ask about some unclear things in a sentence in the following passage.

Jopale even managed his own convincing smile, and watching his fellow passengers, he found one other face that appeared equally optimistic... She looked ready for a long journey into cold darkness. But where could a young woman be going, and smiling about her prospects, too?

Does the phrase "and smiling about her prospects, too" mean that she was smiling at her future plans and Jopale didn't know why she was doing that?

And does the phrase "long journey into cold darkness" mean that she was going to a cold and dark place, or does it imply that the environment in which she was travelling was cold and dark.

[Mister Micawber]

.
Yes, smiling about her hoped-for future.
You'll have to check the context to be sure, but it seems she is travelling into cold darkness from the current location.
.
_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mr. Micawber

[KLPNO]