November 2019: A Note From Diane

After 10+ months of hiking and outdoor time, I’m ready to brew a pot of tea and put my feet up. How about you?

Just kidding!! There are great reasons to venture out the door in November, so let’s start there in this month’s Happy Trails.

TRAIL BENEFITS

Enjoy their Trail Benefits Library, too!

Trail Benefits Survey Results

I also wanted to share one of the best referenced articles I’ve seen on 8 health reasons to spend more time outdoors.

As hikers, we’re first in line to soak up all of the benefits, including enhanced memory, stress management, and a natural mood boost from time well spent doing what we love.

Use it to tempt those you love to join you on a hike or walk on trails and recreational paths:

Outdoor Time Benefits

TRIBUTES TO OUR ELDERS

Let’s take a moment to consider the impact of Gert Boyle on women’s outdoor adventures. She passed recently, age 95, after taking over a company (after her husband died) that everyone predicted she would be unable to manage: Columbia.

I will never forget her public persona: crossed arms and deep frown peering over dark glasses! It made me want to tickle her :)

Here's a tribute to her toughness and common sense: Gert Boyle

Another woman, Anne Lorimor, recently climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro at age 89, which earned her a place in the record books!

Elder Power: Guinness World Record Holder

HFH NOVEMBER GIVEAWAY

Don’t let the “skirt” throw you. This female owned company knows how to put together a layering system any hiker will love. And if you love skirts on the trail, they literally have you covered.

To get you started on layering, Skirt Sports is giving away a Tough Chick Top PLUS a $75 gift card.

Get your name entered by the end of November!

Hiking For Her Monthly Giveaway

You can read my review (with photos of it in action) as you channel your inner Gert Boyle - the original Tough Chick extraordinaire: Skirt Sports Tough Chick Review

NO FEES, JUST FUN

• Jan. 20: Martin Luther King Jr. Day

• April 18: first day of National Park Week

• Aug. 25: anniversary of the creation of the National Park Service

• Sept. 26: National Public Lands Day

• Nov. 11: Veterans Day

Makes scheduling a personal wellness day easy, right? Get it on the calendar!

SPEAKING OF NATIONAL PARKS...

NEW HFH RESOURCES FOR YOU

PHOTOGRAPHERS WANTED

But some of us bump it up a notch (or three) and take stunning photos of outdoor adventures. Why not share them?

The following link takes you to the guidelines for an amateur photo contest. You can enter your photos of outdoor activities on federal lands, including camping, hiking, biking, boating, and more: Share Your Experience Guidelines

There are multiple categories, so it’s likely that a photo you took will fit into one of them.

The fine print: Your photographs were snapped between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2019. Contest deadline: December 31, 2019. Winners will be announced Spring 2020.

THANKS + GIVING

Each of them has a unique approach to encourage the next generation(s) of hikers, and to support us in our current pursuit of hiking happiness.

Hiking For Her has no affiliation with them, just admiration for their good work:

American Hiking Society Giving

Hike It Baby Giving

Washington Trails Association Giving

An easy way to find hiking groups to support in your area is to search “giving Tuesday” + “your location” + “hiking”.

Every gift of time and money to a hiking organization strengthens our community and spreads all of those trail benefits we noted above.

Looking for a specific way to donate time before the end of the year? REI Co-op is coordinating community clean ups (say that 3 times fast, I dare you).

It's part of their famous annual OptOutside campaign: OptOutside 2019

Thanks

HFH exists simply to help hikers hike. A simple hello, your thoughts, photos, concerns, suggestions... they brighten my day AND let me know you're real.

Sometimes tippy tapping away on a keyboard can feel mighty unreal. So help me keep things real around here by hitting reply!

Here's the part where I wish you lots of late November and December outdoor time to soak up all of those trail benefits... and get a little mud on your boots. That's real, for sure.

And as always, happy trails to you,

Diane a.k.a. Happy Hiker

diane@hiking-for-her.com

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