Appalachian Trail-Maine-2003

This blog is for all hikers, backpackers, and campers. Most of my subscribers are male and most comments I’ve received have been from men. Judging by the increased numbers of females on trails, I would have expected more readership and feedback from women. Every year I see more of the fair sex, and that’s a positive development for the hiking community.

Now and then, I see something referring to women hikers. There is a group called Trail Dames at www.traildames.com. I don’t know much about this group or how active they are, but their site looks interesting. They have eleven chapters, all in the east except for a chapter in Michigan. I suspect this is because of the increasing popularity of women, young and old, hiking the Appalachian Trail. Trail Dames held their own conference last year in Virginia.

Another blogger mentioned the Women’s Adventure Club of Centre County PA, which ran an Appalachian Hiking Series For Women. When I thru-hiked the A.T. some years ago, I remember how grateful I was to a young lady who had—all day—hauled my sack of soaked and dirty laundry I’d left at the shelter.

Of course, the big hiking news is still Jennifer Pharr Davis, who in 2011 broke the speed record for thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. She trimmed 26 hours off the previous record set by a man! Click above and you’ll see the stunning article from Men’s Journal. That she hiked the entire length of the A.T. in 46 days, 11 hours, and 26 minutes is incomprehensible to me. She was chosen as one of National Geographic’s Adventurers of the Year.

Most of the women I see on trails are fit and tough. Welcome.

Mt. Katahdin-Maine

On the A.T.

Related articles

• Trail Dames Presents “The Summit”, the Nation’s First Hiking and Backpacking Conference for Women (prweb.com)
• Adventurers of the Year 2012: Hiker Jennifer Pharr Davis (ngadventure.typepad.com)
• Backpacker Etiquette (takealonghike.com)