Women outdoors

I had my first talk yesterday at the ‘Garden Talk Series’ hosted by House Of Change and I had a blast. The location was stunning, the weather was nice, the people were even nicer and the wine was out of this world. No complaints. I went on first and it was interesting to hear what kind of questions people had. “How much food do your bring on a trip?” or “do you hunt?” or “aren’t you afraid of running into creepy men along the trail?”. One lady told me she wouldn't do what I do, because she’d be too afraid of being raped out in the woods. I understand where she’s coming from. There is obviously always a chance something horrible like that could happen, but I would never let hypothetical situations stop me from doing what I love most. The thing is, the further I’m in the woods, the safer I feel when it comes to men. The closer I get to cities, the more cautious I become. It’s not the people on trail who I’d be afraid of, it’s the people who aren’t.

I was glad to see the majority of the audience yesterday were women since I feel like there’s still this miss perception that the outdoors is a place where women don’t belong. I can't even count the times women have told me they would never sleep in a tent outside but they wish they could. What are you talking about? Of course you can! Anyone can. Sometimes I feel like it’s not even men telling us that we can’t do things, it’s us thinking that it’s ‘just not for us’, because for so long it wasn’t our place to be.

Sadly there are - luckily not too often - cases where you meet men who still think the old fashioned way. I remember a situation a couple of weeks ago when I was hiking through Switzerland. It was a rainy day and the mountains were covered in thick clouds. I was drinking a coffee at a hut when three older men showed up to do the same. After a bit I got up and started packing my things. They looked at me and asked if I was sure I wanted to head out. I answered “yes”. “But don’t you think it is dangerous for a woman alone?”. I didn’t know what to say so I just said no, I didn’t think it was. Then I started hiking and I started thinking about the question. Why did he had to say “woman alone” at the end? Had I been a guy, no such comment would have been made. Why was it more dangerous for a woman to be outdoors than it was for men? It is not.

Edvin Uncorked spoke about wine right after me and it was super interesting to hear that she had faced similar challenges herself. Finding a voice and being taken seriously in the wine industry, a world still dominated by men, isn’t easy. But she obviously did a pretty damn god job of showing everyone who’s boss. Check out her site and her book. She draws all her illustrations herself which I find beautiful.

So dear readers out there. If you know a group of girls, or a group of women who would profit of some Dom-Pep-Talk, let me know. I am happy to come talk about the trail, the outdoors, how to pee in the wood, how to dig a catholes and whatever else you’d like to know.

Photos by: Aragorn Frey