When I used to be little, I don’t keep in mind seeing many outside ladies I may look to for inspiration. It wouldn’t be till younger maturity that I actually felt I had a spot on trails and in kayaks, tenting within the woods and mountaineering up mountains.
Today, because of many teams selling higher range in outside content material and dealing to make extra welcoming outside areas for everybody, it feels simpler to note the numerous ladies taking up nice outside feats within the backcountry.
And it’s one of many issues I’m proud about collaborating with Gossamer Gear. We have 12 ladies model ambassadors on our crew. I really like following their tales and getting inspiration from their adventures. Through their very own presence within the outdoor, they remind me that I can take up area there, too.
Below, you’ll get to know these 12 badasses and the way they take much less and do extra.
1. Heather “Anish” Anderson
Anish is a protracted distance mountaineering legend. She’s the one girl to have accomplished the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide trails 3 times every. She holds the general self-supported quickest identified time (FKT) on the PCT and the feminine self-supported FKT on the AT and Arizona Trail (AZT).
She’s additionally the creator of two books: Mud, Rocks, Blazes: Letting Go on the Appalachian Trail and Thirst: 2,600 Miles to Home. These reads take you on each her bodily journey and in addition her intrapersonal journey of gaining higher confidence in herself and her skills whereas on path.
You can learn a bit extra about Anish in different articles on the Light Feet weblog:
2. Arlette “Apple Pie” Laan
Arlette appears to all the time be adventuring and has an genuine fashion to how she shares her path time by way of social media. She’s engaged on ending all 11 of the nationwide scenic trails. Just a portion of her path resume contains:
- Pacific Crest Trail (2003)
- Continental Divide Trail, (2004)
- Appalachian Trail (2005)
- Arizona Trail (2009)
- Grand Enchantment Trail (2012)
- Te Araroa in New Zealand (2015)
- The Long Trail (2015)
- Florida Trail (2017)
- Hayduke Trail (2017)
- Colorado Trail (2017)
- Benton-MacKay Trail (2018)
- Pinhoti Trail (2018)
- Cohos Trail (2018)
- New England Trail (2018)
- Pacific Northwest Trail in sections (2007, 2012, 2019)
- Potomac Heritage Trail (2020)
She additionally makes some fairly fabulous material dolls that make nice path companions. You can learn a bit extra about Arlette in different articles on the Light Feet weblog:
3. Sirena Rana
You can consider Sirena because the queen of all issues Arizona Trail. After mountaineering all 800 miles of the AZT, Sirena has devoted herself to its promotion and safety.
She labored for a time with the Arizona Trail Association after which based her personal enterprise, Trails Inspire, LCC, which supplies public talking, path design, writing, and pictures companies centered across the outdoor. Additionally, Sirena is a champion of selling range, fairness, and inclusion within the outside business.
You can learn a bit extra about Sirena in different articles on the Light Feet weblog:
4. Christy Rosander
Christy is predicated in Tehachapi, California, and began backpacking over 30 years in the past when a pal requested her to hitch. Her then-10-month-old had been sick, and along with her husband in a position to watch their two kids, she was excited for the journey and time for some self-care within the wilderness.
Christy is a fan of off-trail routes. Some of her favourite routes and lengthy trails she has hiked embrace:
- Kings Canyon High Basin Route
- Yosemite High Route
- Southern Sierra High Route
- Great Divide Trail
- Theodore Solomons Trail
- John Muir Trail 4x
- Wind River High Route
- Sierra High Route
- Pacific Crest Trail
- Lowest to Highest
- Tahoe Rim Trail
- Scotland The Great Outdoor Challenge
- Continental Divide Trail
5. Carolyn Blessing
For the previous a number of years, Carolyn has labored in outside schooling, together with positions with Outward Bound. She met her husband, Jeff Podmayer (additionally a model ambassador!), in 2016 doing Outward Bound in California. They’ve since been mountaineering and climbing companions who’re keen about individuals, mountains, studying, difficult themselves, and rising as individuals collectively.
Carolyn and Jeff took a non-traditional path (actually) to forming their marriage final 12 months, selecting to thru-hike each the AT and the CDT collectively to honor their dedication to 1 one other. You can learn extra about that journey on the Light Feet weblog:
6. Kathy Vaughan
Kathy “OBAL Unbranded” Vaughan started mountaineering in her teenagers and took her first backpacking journey with a pal when she was 20, into the Olympic Mountain Range in Washington, which acquired her hooked. When she and Ras (additionally a model ambassador!) had their daughter, she started setting household targets like backpacking the 97-mile Wonderland Trail round Mt. Rainier when she was seven and once more when she was eight. They spent most weekends discovering a brand new place to hike within the Mt. Baker space, or the North Cascades.
When her daughter left for faculty, Kathy acquired into path operating and ultrarunning. Once she ran her first 50k and was skilled to take action, she hasn’t stopped. Most notably, she’s had a 200-mile extremely end, two 150-mile extremely finishes, a 100-mile end, and the completion all collectively of round 40 ultramarathons. She gained the Humble Pig award on the finish of her 200 mile-finish for her angle and efficiency all through the weekend.
You can learn a bit extra about Kathy in different articles on the Light Feet weblog:
7. Grace Shattuck
Grace acquired launched to the world of thru-hiking by way of her husband Steven (additionally a model ambassador!). She shared that: “Having a partner to explore with and learn from increased my confidence in my own skills in the outdoors, and taught me that I am capable of so much more than I originally thought. Now we get out to the mountains of Colorado as much as we can, and I’ve been able to create my own goals using the knowledge I learned from Steven. It’s been very rewarding!”
Some of Grace’s path resume embrace:
- Hayduke Trail thru-hike
- Length of Scotland
- Pyrenees from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean
- Alta Via II within the Dolomites
- Three Pass Trek within the Himalayas
- Currently engaged on climbing all of Colorado’s 14k-foot mountains
8. Michelle Zhang
Michelle grew up taking journeys to the nationwide parks along with her household for automobile tenting. These sparked a want in her to return to them to hike extra of their trails and camp of their wilderness. Since then, she’s executed simply that.
Michelle is a San Francisco-based ultrarunner—along with her most up-to-date ultras being the Whistler Alpine Meadows 110K, which runs up and down Whistler and Blackcomb mountain. She additionally has plans to run the Wonderland Trail in a single push.
9. Nancy “Seal Mom” East
Nancy is thought by some (me) because the goddess of the Smokies. Her efforts in Great Smoky Mountains National Park have been each bodily and philanthropic. She holds the FKT for the Smokies 900-Miler Challenge, FKT of the Tour de LeConte for a mixed-gender crew, and has accomplished the South Beyond 6,000 Challenge.
During her FKTs, she raised tens of 1000’s of {dollars} to assist path restoration and preventative search and rescue efforts throughout the Smokies. As a member of her native search and rescue crew, she’s additionally keen about outside schooling to maintain hikers protected on the path.
You can learn a bit extra about Nancy in different articles on the Light Feet weblog:
10. Emily “Squishy” Schrick
Emily is a tremendous photographer along with a badass outdoorswoman. She’s accomplished the PCT, John Muir Trail, Wonderland Trail, and High Sierra Trail. She additionally has hopes to finish the Triple Crown.
She’s a believer that the outside needs to be a protected area and empowering for everybody. Two of her favourite organizations to assist on this trigger are SheJumps and Outdoor Journal Tour, that are keen about getting women and girls of all races, ethnicities, and sexual orientations outdoors, and utilizing the outside for private progress and therapeutic.
You can learn a bit extra about Emily in different articles on the Light Feet weblog:
11. Sally Phillips
Sally is our resident model ambassador of Inverness, Scotland. She has hiked coast-to-coast throughout Scotland twice and has been engaged on bagging Scottish Munros (peaks over 3,000 ft). While Covid put a pause on Sally’s plans to thru-hike the PCT, she has been having fun with exploring her native mountaineering extra and finds confidence and connection within the wilderness.
You can learn a bit extra about Sally in different articles on the Light Feet weblog:
12. Zelzin Aketzalli
Zelzin is the primary identified Mexican nationwide to complete the Triple Crown. In addition, she’s accomplished the Hayduke Trail and Arizona Trail. She loves to seek out methods to encourage others to expertise the good outdoor in her house nation and past, and is presently engaged on opening new thru-hiking routes by way of Mexico.
Zelzin is keen about mentorship and making area for extra ladies of coloration within the outdoor. We teamed up along with her and Trail Mixed in May 2021 to supply sponsorship for one girl of coloration to obtain ultralight gear and mentorship for backpacking adventures huge and small. You can learn extra about Zelzin in our interview along with her on the Light Feet weblog.
Follow Our Women Brand Ambassadors for Inspiration and Adventure
Want to maintain up with our ambassadors’ adventures? Make certain to observe us on social media (@gossamergear). You may also discover hyperlinks to our ambassadors’ social media accounts, web sites, and different info on our Brand Ambassadors web page.