Finding Freedom Beyond the Daily Grind

Ever wondered how conquering a mountain could lead to life-changing self-discovery? Let me take you on an exhilarating journey to Yellowstone National Park with a group of audacious women who found strength, joy, and camaraderie in each other's company. Hear how one of our fellow travelers surprised herself by summiting Mount Washburn, reaching heights she never thought possible, all while surrounded by a supportive circle of women. It's a tale of empowerment where shared experiences transformed into a collective story, enriching our lives and redefining our sense of self.

Join me as I dive deep into the liberating magic of women-only group travel. It's about breaking free from the confines of daily roles and finding the space to be authentically yourself. We'll talk about the vulnerability and safety this unique environment fosters, allowing us to share dreams, fears, and laughter with newfound friends. Whether it's ziplining through Costa Rican rainforests or navigating the peaks of the Andes, these adventures push us out of our comfort zones, proving that we're more capable than we often believe. So, get ready for stories filled with laughter, tears, and the unforgettable bond of sisterhood on the trail.


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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:13

When I got back from a group trip that I led to Yellowstone National Park last September, I was scrolling on social media and one of the trip participants posted something on her Facebook page and she said I did the thing that I didn't think I could do, and she had summited to the top of Mount Washburn, which is a mountain, a peak in Yellowstone just over 10,000 feet. And it made me feel so good that she had done this thing that she didn't think she could do, and the reason that she was able to do it was because she was surrounded by a group of positive and supportive women and it was so powerful. I think she could have done it without us, but because she's just a tough cookie. However, I do think there is something to be said about traveling with a group of like-minded, positive women when it comes to adventure travel and when it comes to traveling with a group. So today I'm talking about something that's close to my heart. We've been talking a lot about adventure travel lately here as we wrap up the year, and I want to just talk about the emotional power of traveling with a group of women, and I think one of the most important things is this magic that comes with shared experiences. And so, for example, on that trip up to the summit of Mount Washburn, every woman on that trip shared this experience of hiking together and doing this really hard. Climb together, doing this hard thing together, sharing that moment, sharing that experience, sharing standing on the summit together. There's magic and power and beauty in those shared experiences, especially shared experiences with a group of women who share your passion for the outdoors and for hiking and for adventure. So when we're traveling with women like this, with a group of women, you know it's not just about seeing new places, it's about creating this shared narrative, a collective story that becomes part of who we are, it becomes part of us, it becomes part of our own story.

Speaker 1: 2:52

Another thing that I love about group travel is it gives us the chance to break free from the roles that we all have in our lives. Most of us have spent decades being someone's wife, mother, colleague, friend, caregiver, partner, spouse, and on these trips, and we just get to be us and, like I just get to be Rebecca, I don't have to be Al's wife, I don't have to be mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom. Right, it's so liberating for me to have the opportunity to step away from my daily responsibilities and to be able to discover the parts of myself that have become dormant over the years. As I've just grown up right and approached this mid-life part of my existence, I love being able to go on a group trip and being able to break free from the roles and responsibilities that are expected of me. Group travel also provides us a safe space for vulnerability. That's a hard word for me to say right now, but there is something safe about being in a women-only group that lets us have the opportunity to open up and to be vulnerable and to risk sharing who we really are, and that is rare in our everyday lives because we are just expected to stick to this status quo, this status quo and often we find ourselves sharing things like our hopes, our fears and our dreams with these strangers that we've somehow ended up on a group trip with. I love the safe space that is created at Hike, like a Woman, where women can be vulnerable and where they can be authentic in the backcountry and on our group trips.

Speaker 1: 5:02

You know, sometimes adventure travel really pushes us through our comfort zones. We've talked about finding comfort in uncomfortable situations, but like when you're ziplining through the Costa Rican rainforest or when you're climbing up a big, big mountain or sharing a meal in an expedition tent in Peru. We're having fun and we're not just proving to ourselves that we can do hard things and that we're more capable of doing those things than we thought, but we're feeling empowered and we're feeling supported and I love that. You know that that cheer when the people who were traveling with cheer us on and support us and encourage us to conquer that fear or to learn that new skill. And finally, we have to talk about laughter.

Speaker 1: 6:01

There's something that is so silly about group trips. One time someone wrote a review of one of my trips and she did not intend it to be a very nice review and I've talked about this recently on our YouTube channel. It's the only one star review I've ever received and it gutted me. It made me feel so terrible and maybe I'll talk about it a little more here on the pod too. But anyway, she said that on our trip she felt like it was a bunch of teenage girls on a girl's trip for the first time, and I think she meant that to be insulting, but instead I wore that like a badge of honor because I want people who are on trips with us to feel like they can put aside this like proper woman expectation and like embrace, that childhood part of us that's been lost.

Speaker 1: 6:56

Silly, goofy, funny, laughter-filled, childlike energy. That is what I want to feel when I'm on a hike, like a woman group trip, and you know things are silly and there's a lot of laughter and I love that. So, anyway, those are just a few thoughts that I have today about adventure travel and you know the emotional power of traveling with a group of women, and I would encourage you, as we get pretty close here to wrapping up 2024, I would encourage you to do something, put something on the schedule that's going to challenge you a little bit, something that's going to challenge you a little bit, something that's going to force you to step outside of your comfort zone and put something on the schedule with a friend or join a group trip and make a whole bunch more friends. Thanks so much for being here, happy holidays and I'll be back next week talking about my plans going into 2025. Thanks so much, see you next week, bye-bye.