A few months ago an old friend saw my post of climbing Tumanguya (Mt.Whitney) last year. She said it was her dream to hike it and asked me how to prepare. She said her permit was in a week.
I didn’t want to discourage her but I was honest that there was no way she could go from 2 mile runs around the block to doing a winter summit of the tallest peak in the lower 48 in a week. It was dangerous and it would take time to gain the experience needed to do something like that but I told her not to give up and that if she wanted I would help her train.
As we got to talking she said, “thank you for helping me with this. I’ve always loved the outdoors but have been very intimidated because it seems like everyone who does outdoor stuff like you was raised doing it and I’m too far behind to ever catch up.”
I had to stop her there and explain something she said completely changed her perspective and gave her the confidence to pursue her dreams.
What I told her was:
I was not raised “outdoorsy.
People often think I was raised doing the things I do now but that could not be further from the truth.
My first backpacking trip was an overnight using borrowed equipment only a few months before I attempted to thruhike the AT in 2018.
I was raised in the concrete jungle of Los Angeles without financial privilege or access to “the outdoors.” I was raised in a working class family that didn’t have time or money for “leisure” activities like camping and hiking, etc. Playing soccer on the local middle school field was as “outdoorsy” as it got for me growing up.
I found the “outdoors” very recently and I struggle with imposter syndrome constantly.
Access to the outdoors MATTERS. Many people tell me they sideline their outdoor passions because the “outdoors” feel or are literally inaccessible for any number of reasons, as they were for me.
I don’t like the adjective “outdoorsy” because it frames connecting with our natural environment, which we are all inherently part of, as a hobby. How has “outdoorsy” become synonymous with brands like Patagonia instead of the meditation of just being outside and how has nature itself become so privileged and inaccessible that anyone who is not an affluent white man can feel conspicuous or even in peril in the woods?
For me it was a STEEP learning curve with no one to teach me and it took a very long time to even save enough money to participate in “backpacking.”
All the “outdoorsy” Kevins and Kyles of the world made nature intimidating and unwelcoming to anyone who didn’t look like them. I felt alone and in way over my head.
I learned through failure and stuck with it despite the classism, sexism, sexual harassment, homophobia, and transphobia I was exposed to in these spaces regularly. I will soon make a post with some SAFETY 101 stuff I got wrong and hope you don’t
EVERYONE belongs outside. The Tristan, Tyler, and Connor climbing bros are no longer the image of “outdoorsy” - YOU are.
EVERY body is an outdoor body. The possibilities for connection with the environment are endless. It makes me sad that I and so many others are excluded from our passions in these spaces so it’s time to make a change.
The outdoors NEEDS YOU. Mother Nature needs as many loving advocates as possible who are willing to fight for her as there is little time left to reverse the impacts of climate change.
If you have “outdoorsy” skills or knowledge, PAY IT FORWARD and teach someone who wouldn’t otherwise learn. I would NOT be here on the CDT or have learned anything about backpacking if it weren’t for some college friends who did grow up doing programs like NOLS and took the time to teach me everything I know.
I am not a trained or certified guide but I am a certified distance running coach and I have extensive experience hiking, backpacking, and running. I volunteer to provide FREE counseling/training plans to anyone this post resonates with
If you have resources, research where to donate your used gear to !!but please reach out in advance to ask what gear they need!!
A few places I’ve found include
Your local boys and girls club or YMCA.
A youth wilderness therapy organization.
Big City Mountaineers
Melanin Base Camp
Queer Nature
Black Trans Travel Fund
The Conservation Corps
If you know of others PLEASE LET ME KNOW
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