Trailblazers

Trailblazer: one that blazes a trail to guide others; a person who makes, does, or discovers something new and makes it acceptable or popular.

I adore the belief that when one of us rises we make space for others to rise as well. I once heard a woman speak at an event and before she started her talk she said that she stood on stage not just as herself, but as all of the women who came before her that made it possible for her to be standing in that spot. What she said really stuck with me, and I often think about the women who came before me that make my dreams possible.

This fall I set out on my first solo backpacking trip on the Superior Hiking Trail (SHT). I spent months researching, planning, buying gear, and prepping for 3-4 days on trail. I had several friends who offered to join me and each time I declined, knowing this was something I needed to do by myself. I grew up camping often with my family and have become a frequent hiker in the last several years, but I'd yet to combine the two. I had no idea how or why, but I knew the trip would be transformational for me in some way.

The trip didn't go as planned, but I am absolutely certain that it went exactly as it was meant to. Even now, a couple months after that first trip, I am still trying to find the words for what I experienced and how it changed me. What I do know for sure is that the first story I shared with those closest to me was this one…

On the third day of my backpacking trip, I was rounding the summit of Carlton Peak and was descending on the northeast side. The ascent on the south/southwest side is no joke, full of rocks and boulders. For brief periods it was even hand over hand scrambling up rocks for this shorty with 30+ pounds on my back. Coming down the other side, the trail was full of day-hikers out hoping to catch some of the peak fall colors. I was exhausted, my feet were killing me, and I was rushing to meet my ride another 3 miles ahead.

I wasn't supposed to come off trail on this day and had planned one more night/day, but early decisions changed my mileage and, well… in hindsight it seems it was meant to be. I had a particularly rough night at camp the night before, had all the feels that morning as I set out to hike again, and was grieving the loss of a few women that trip, including my beloved Grandma Marge who gained her angel wings just a few days prior. Shortly after I began my descent, I came upon this group of women heading the opposite direction who literally lined the trail. They all stepped off the trail to let me pass and I remember saying, "Look at all you beautiful women!" I had one of them give me their cell phone so I could take their photo and we chatted briefly. We were all smiles, took photos, and then headed off in opposite directions, a seemingly simple encounter.

A couple of minutes later it hit me and tears filled my eyes as I realized that these are some of the women who were out there years and years before who paved the way for someone like me to do this. I found out later through social media connections that these women have been hiking together for over 15 years, and the YOUNGEST of them is 75 years young! What an inspiration! Not only did these gorgeous women pave the way for women like me to adventure and hike like this, but they did one helluva hike! That section of trail is no joke, and I'm so impressed that they were out doing it. They probably had no idea that our brief interaction would be the first story I told when I talked about my trip.

I will forever be grateful to those women for being literal trail angels, for giving me a much-needed morale boost that day, and most importantly for being true trailblazers. Women like these make it possible for women like me, if only by proving that we can! These women rose up many years before so that I could rise now, and I can only hope that I'll be able to pay it forward. I am forever changed by those few minutes, and I am still immensely grateful!

I don't think I'll ever be able to set foot on a trail again without remembering that I step forward not just as myself, but as all the women who came before me that made it possible for me to walk this path. Forever grateful!