Date: 2013-01-17
To: 116
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: heavy snow

         Sometimes you have to figure things out. But sometimes, the universe does it for you. This is the tale of how the universe showed me what¢s up.         About three months ago, I was out for a weekend solo hike along the A.T. here in my home state, with the intention of hiking for 4 days. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans and sent Hurricane Sandy our way. The night before it hit, I set up camp at the Rausch Gap shelter to plan my early exit the next morning, but when I arrived the shelter was full. As in packed. So I wandered off about 50 yards and began setting up my tent, hoping that no record winds would knock a tree on my delicate tarp tent. While cooking my insanely early dinner, a giant mutt of a dog came bounding towards me, stopped abruptly, and sat down calmly by my side, appearing to wait. Shortly after, his two humans (I assumed) came sauntering down the trail. They were jovial and friendly and hustled over with a boisterous greeting and apologies for Muttly, the dog. I hesitated at their question of whether I was alone, but when they explained that they were with a Boy Scout troop and staying at the shelter, I figured they were safe and nodded in the affirmative- I was by myself. They were simultaneously a bit alarmed yet highly impressed that a female would be out in the woods by herself, especially with the impending natural disaster (totally hyped up by this point). I was cordially invited over for ramen and salmon after they witnessed the congealed disaster that was my dinner, and feeling like I just got invited to a dinner party, eagerly accepted. And a dinner party it was! There were approximately 10 boys, mostly high school aged, and clearly very skilled and experienced in the ways of the wild. It was a joyous occasion with much laughter, and dinner was served with wine (yes, wine, but don¢t worry, adults only).         The two things that struck me the most was the way the older boys took the lead and help coach the younger ones, and that they all were fanatically excited to be out there. They spent the next 4 hours regaling me with tales of their extreme, and sometimes outlandish, adventures, and I reciprocated with similar accounts of my global travels. I came to learn that there were several young women who had joined the troop via a Venture Crew, but were not on the trip because they had no female leaders. These were young women who wanted to go on the thrilling adventures I had just heard about, who wanted to experience the outdoors and hone their skills the way their male peers had. They were passionate about being outside and actively sought opportunities to do so, but were denied due to logistics. When I found out that they lived a reasonable distance from me, I knew that this was my call from the universe. I have been a part of the troop ever since.         Over the past few months I have gotten to know these lovely young ladies as their new female leader, and am continuously impressed, surprised, and downright tickled at their enthusiasm and commitment to excellence in the outdoors. I could not be more thrilled to take part in raising up a group of strong, fearless women who are at home in the woods and possess the necessary skills to survive and enjoy the outdoors. This weekend we are building snow shelters in the Endless Mountains and sleeping in them, while their peers will be at the mall and watching movies. These girls are tough, adventurous, and brave, with experiences and skills to last a lifetime, and I am so proud. I will be hiking for them, to reinforce that women can do anything they want, that we can climb mountains and toilet outside and sleep on the ground, that the things we teach them really do matter, and that they too can become experts in the wilderness.