Derrick was setting up camp when I noticed the pile of wood he had just chucked out of the back of the truck. I asked where the hatchet was and if everyone was ready for a fire, since I was cold. Unbeknownst to me, Derrick had just realized he’d forgotten the tent poles, pointed in the direction of the axe and suggested in an agitated tone that Carol could help me chop the wood and start the fire.

I shot him an expletive-laced look that meant I’d rather chop him. At the same time, Carol announced that she had never split firewood before, and while I got the fire going, Derrick sheepishly set about hunting for sticks to prop up the tent.

This exchange has become a constant joke in our lives now, where Derrick will suggest I ask Carol for help if I’m doing anything remotely “outdoorsy,” even if Carol is in another state on a different trip. It’s his way of saying he’s sorry for underestimating me. (He seems to have forgotten that I kept a fire going in our woodstove for over a week one winter while he was off backcountry skiing.)

I often wonder how frequently things like this happen—where we decide what a person is or isn’t capable of based on the limited understanding we have of them. We often make up ideas about what our friends can or cannot do based on what we see on social media. More importantly, how often do we decide if we will join an invite, or include friends or a new acquaintances, based on the limited view we see online?

A few weeks ago, Carol invited me on a bike ride. My first thought was that I couldn’t keep up with her, and she would be disappointed with the ride. This probably comes from hearing Derrick talk about not getting enough exercise on mellow rides or hikes for so many years. Yet Carol’s response was golden: “It’s about the friendship, not the miles.”

As an extrovert, often looking for connection in social media, playing in the outdoors for me is not primarily about fitness or other adventure objectives; it’s about connection. For my husband, an introvert who doesn’t frequent social channels and feels like there is limited time for exercise and connection with nature, his outings are about something very different.

Both are okay. Both kinds of outdoor time are important. The point of all this is to remind ourselves not to amplify inaccurate perceptions about others that might create further barriers to potential connection and quality time spent outside.

The key to making connecting outdoor adventures work, it seems, is self-awareness of our motivations and fitness levels, expectations of ourselves and others, and making sure we’re all communicating about these things.

That day at the campsite, after our chuckle about my fire-building skills, I hacked up some kindling, balled up some paper, and made a nice hot fire while Derrick made a make-shift, pole-free tent in the back of the truck where we slept comfortably. In the morning, he brought me coffee and breakfast while I was curled up in my sleeping bag.

We all do what we can and what we’re good at out camping as in life, but, as we now like to say, if you need some serious help out in the backcountry, you’d better ask Carol.

Shallan Knowles is co-publishes Out There Venture with her husband, Derrick, and is also visual editor. She grew up in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is an alumni of University of Idaho, and previously worked for Mountain Gear and taught yoga classes. She enjoys alpine skiing, paddling, biking, and camping with her husband and their young son and dog, Fernie (named after their long-time favorite ski town, Fernie, B.C.).

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Tiny in the midst of the string of mountains and knife-edge peaks, a barely-visible ribbon of dirt trail meandered along a ridgeline. Three miniscule shapes moved along the track, slow beneath the weight of their heavy packs. Sounds of laughter and conversation faded into the wind and waterfalls.

A group of friends—all women and moms in or approaching middle age—climbed switchbacks toward a mountain pass far from any trailhead. We were the only all-women group of backpackers we encountered in three days. We saw a handful of couples and mixed groups of men and women, but most backcountry campers we met were men traveling together.

This is typical of every backpacking trip I take, and yet somehow I am still surprised at how uncommon it is to see groups of women, especially those 40 and older, unaccompanied by men in wild spaces. It says a lot about how our culture continues to view women in the outdoors.

So many youthful, vibrant women nearing the middle of their lives are already looking back and saying, “I wish I would have tried stuff like that when I was younger.” But we are younger, right now, than we will be later. What better time to go?

Olivia Dugenet

Maybe that’s why it didn’t occur to me at first to invite other women and moms on wilderness trips. I have been backpacking with my daughters every summer since they were six and eight years old, and I have never encountered another solo mom leading kids out on the trail.

I always felt like an outlier. I assumed, wrongly, of course, that women my age who aren’t already established in an outdoor activity or lifestyle are simply not into that kind of thing. I was surprised and really delighted when women I’ve known for many years started asking if they could join me.

My daughters have grown into adult-size teenagers with adult-size packs to lend. So, I started putting together additional trips to include women friends who had never had an opportunity to try backpacking.

Quite by accident, I found myself serving as an informal, volunteer backcountry guide with a patched-together gear library and a super nerdy zeal for planning and logistics. It’s a lot of work, and certainly worth the effort.

When we walk out of the wilderness after a beautiful, brutal multi-day trip, everyone is tired, dirty and hungry. I always wonder if my friends secretly hated the whole experience, especially those who struggled with self-doubt and discomfort along the way.

Instead, they consistently report a feeling of euphoria, even describing trips as “life-changing.” What is it about walking outside for a few days that generates such a profound visceral response?

Author Florence Williams explores the transformative effect that wilderness can have in her analysis of the “Three-Day Effect”—a scientifically-tested phenomenon in which people who spend multiple consecutive days in wild spaces without digital devices experience an astonishing 47% increase in creative thinking and insight problem solving.

Not everyone enjoys equal access to that wilderness euphoria. In 2016, REI published a blog post called “Closing the Gender Gap in the Great Outdoors.” Author Katherine Oakes cited research from the Outdoor Foundation finding that 66% of boys ages 6-24 participated in outdoor activities, compared with only 55% of girls in the same age group.

More interesting, however, is that as women age, their participation in outdoor activities drops off. By age 66, only 20% of women report engaging in outdoor activities compared with 40% of men. The Outdoor Foundation’s new 2021 report on outdoor trends still finds “stagnant female participation” despite “significant industry efforts to address gender disparities.”

It is not that women and moms don’t want to get out there. Many do, though I can see why some women stop participating in outdoor activities as they age.

Motherhood is demanding. We put a lot on hold while raising children, giving much of ourselves away to our kids, families and jobs without always finding ways to replenish.

Years pass quickly, we get into a routine, and soon it feels too late to start something new. So many youthful, vibrant women nearing the middle of their lives are already looking back and saying, “I wish I would have tried stuff like that when I was younger.” But we are younger, right now, than we will be later. What better time to go?

Cultural narratives over many generations have created a distorted social reality where women, especially as they age, are made to appear inept or disinterested in wilderness. These false stories may influence how women perceive themselves and their capacities.

At the same time, through all the noise and distraction of everyday life, there is this other wild reality, vivid, physical and very close by. Some joyful part of me is always there, caked in dirt and sweat on the blue lake shore, diving into the icy water and then rising up again into afternoon mountain sun. 

It is true that women must be disproportionately brave to enter wilderness, but not because we are afflicted with some special type of female weakness that makes us too scared or incapable to navigate the outdoors. Women are brave to challenge stereotypes and social expectations that try to convince us we don’t belong at home in our own wild world.

Olivia Dugenet is a writer and nonprofit professional living in Spokane. She holds a Master of Science in Cultural Communication from EWU, and spends a lot of time thinking about philosophy of nature. Her best adventures are with her husband, four wonderful grown-up children and their Yellow Lab Zizou.

Originally published in the November-December 2021 print issue.

Find more personal essays in the Last Page column archives.

Read “Mountain Biking Women of Spokane” (March 2020 print issue).

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Retreat dates are September 24-26, 2021, and includes a workshop to develop your skills as a trail runner and prevent injury, nourishing meals from locally grown food, yoga to re-center and refocus, and the opportunity to build community with fellow female runners and give back to the land through fireside chats and community science.

To learn more and sign-up, visit basecampcascadia.org/runintothewild.

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“In mountain biking you can really set your own level of fun. It’s a way to get out in nature and play as an adult,” says Penny Schwyn co-founder of the Biking Betties women’s riding group, based out of The Bike Hub in Spokane. Women age 15 to 65, and older, enjoy group rides on local trail networks, such as Beacon Hill and Saltese Flats.  

Schwyn, 59, started mountain biking in her 30s—her husband did it and it looked fun. After a few years, she took a riding class. “It was life changing because I understood the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ to riding a mountain bike,” she says. “It taught me skills so I could be confident, and then I started having more fun.”

Now Schwyn is on the coaching team for Evergreen East, the Spokane chapter of Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance.  

Biking Betties’ member Jane Patten, 37, started mountain biking 6 years ago. She appreciates how the sport provides challenges suitable for all riding styles and intensity levels, from leisure double-track rides to “lung-burning cardio on massive climbs,” she says—with technical descents and jumps optional. She tries to get more women to participate in local MTB races.

“I think as a beginner the thought of doing a race can be pretty intimidating,” she says. It was the encouragement of local pro-racer Jaime Reese—co-founder of Biking Betties—who inspired Patten to try racing.

“After my first enduro race I was immediately hooked. The experience was so much more than just the race—it was seeing how much you can push yourself, building a camaraderie with old and new friends as you learn the course, and just having fun and living in the moment,” says Patten.

“Now so many us of inspire each other and are constantly encouraging each of us to try new events. The Wednesday Night cross-country races out at Riverside State Park is a great weekly series during May and June that’s not as technical as races out at Beacon if you’re looking to build confidence and ease yourself into the racing scene. These races will definitely help your endurance and cardio” 

Leigh Bowe, 38, a professional enduro mountain bike racer since 2015, joined Biking Betties after moving to Spokane from Colorado about two years ago. She started mountain biking in 2006 while still in the military.

“I had just returned from a year-long deployment to Baghdad, Iraq, and I was looking for a way to experience some adrenaline and be healthy outside,” says Bowe.

Last fall, she competed in Smoke ‘n’ Fire 400, in Boise, which inspired her to do Cross Washington (XWA) this May—a 700-mile self-supported, mostly off-road bikepacking ride from the Pacific coast to the Washington-Idaho border. 

All women are welcome to join the Biking Betties—check out its Facebook page for group ride events.

Originally published in the March 2020 print issue.

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By Amanda V. Mead

When Summer Michaud-Skog began hiking with her girlfriend in the Oregon wilderness in 2015, she couldn’t help but notice the stares of passersby. Skog knew they didn’t look like the stereotypical hikers seen in outdoor magazines, athletic campaigns, and gear catalogues—she was covered in tattoos, her girlfriend was a woman of color, and they were both queer and fat. But she was certain there were others like her out on the trails across the United States. 

Skog decided to find them. That spring she created the hashtag #fatgirlshiking on Instagram to document her outdoor adventures. She encouraged others to use it as well in an effort to connect to each other. The hashtag quickly caught on, and Michaud-Skog’s following grew. Soon, people began to ask her to take them on hikes around Portland. Initially, she had no idea how to lead a hike, but she did her best. Now, four and a half years later, running Fat Girls Hiking (FGH) is Skog’s full-time job.

Since May of 2015, 29 chapters of FGH have been established. While the majority of chapters are located in the United States, there are six international chapters. “As long as people keep wanting chapters, and people are stepping forward to build community in those areas, I’m willing to work with people and teach them how I lead group hikes,” Michaud-Skog says. 

This is exactly what Andrea Shroter wanted to hear when she asked Skog if she could start a chapter in Spokane. Skog gave Shroter her stamp of approval, and in October of 2018, the Spokane chapter of Fat Girls Hiking was born.

The Spokane chapter tries to have an event at least once a month. Events range from hikes in Riverside State Park to yoga sessions at FatGirl Yoga, where Shroter is an instructor. To improve accessibility and inclusivity, Shroter and her fellow Spokane ambassador, Megan Cuilla, do their best to create events that are ADA accessible. 

From the start, FGH’s mantra has been “Trails, Not Scales.” There is zero diet or weight talk and no body shaming. One of the hallmarks of a Fat Girls Hiking event is that the ambassadors lead from the back. Hikes are done at a leisurely pace, with plenty of time to take in the scenery and snap photos. This also allows for one of the other central tenets of FGH to emerge—community building. “Fat Girls Hiking is about making friends and building community and family, and providing a safe space for everyone,” says Shroter.

This past October, the Spokane chapter joined forces with the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) on their annual walk to raise awareness of eating disorders and recovery. Korrin Fotheringham, a sponsor of the event and an avid Fat Girls Hiking enthusiast, explained that she often refers her clients to FGH. As a registered dietician, Fotheringham touts the group as a “great resource for community members and is a comfortable environment for people to get to know one another and move their bodies in an enjoyable way.” 

The message seems to be working. Even though the NEDA walk was a special event for Fat Girls Hiking, folks who weren’t affiliated with NEDA and who hadn’t been to a previous FGH event showed up to walk with the group. When asked why she decided to attend, first-timer Tracey Rice said, “I love to hike, but I hate hiking by myself. I love that the motto is about no judgement, but to come out and enjoy the outdoors and not be judged by your abilities.” 

If you’re interested in joining a Fat Girls Hiking event, you can find their events posted on Facebook. For further information, check out fatgirlshiking.com. //

Amanda V. Mead is a writer and teacher who co-hosts the podcast “I Don’t Know Her.” She is a running, biking, and hiking enthusiast. 

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