trail community
Follow Jack Schleifer on an inspiring journey with the Wild Gift 2021 Fellow through Part 1 of their trek. Uncover the power of wilderness adventures in shaping leaders committed to environmental stewardship.
Written and contributed by Kristen Walker, a lifelong Baltimore City resident with a passion for outdoor exploration and conservation. She is the Co-Founder of Our Parks Too! An initiative to increase the visibility of Black joy and recreation in the National Parks system.
As an urban outdoor educator, I’m all about blending style with functionality. After all, when you’re teaching the next generation about the great outdoors, looking the part can make a world of difference. I have had many outdoor shoes in my day, but I never expected the Katabatic to become my go-to shoe for everything from hikes to happy hours.
It seems like everyone wants to get outdoors for the Gram, but no one wants to put in the work to create a sustainable relationship with the land they inhabit. We live on land, work on land, play on land, eat, love, and die on land: everything but really get to know our land.
If you’re interested in engaging with nature, it’s important to understand land stewardship, and what goes into building and maintaining trails.
For both Natives and allies, land acknowledgement is a wonderful tool to be more intentional about your adventures and beyond. It is a way to learn about the history of an area, including the Indigenous peoples and cultures that helped shape the landscape. If you’re completely new to land acknowledgments, here are some easy steps to get started:
Welcome to Hiking 101: Getting into Hiking. Class is in session. Hiking; the word itself conjures imagery of mountain passes, alpine meadows full of wildflowers, fresh air, granola bars, spandex, and epic social media posts. For many people, hiking is almost an abstract concept. What is hiking, actually? How accessible is this mysterious activity? Is it leisure, or sport?
It’s not every day that we think about the condition of our insoles inside of our hiking footwear. However, after miles-upon-miles of time on trail, the foam can get compressed down and thinner in areas of the insole. Therefore, you won’t be getting those cushioning benefits that the footbed had originally.
I’ve joined the trail conditioning Facebook groups, where I see my peers averaging 15-20+ mile days daily, summiting multiple peaks, doing so as if they were out for a walk in the park. Meanwhile, I find myself having to mentally prepare for the physical and emotional requirements needed to get to the top of a new summit. If this resonates with you, I hope you continue reading and partake in my journey to train for and summit my 7th Adirondack high peak.
