‘I Hike to Show Marginalized People They Belong in the Outdoors’
In my 20s, I started hiking around the Seattle area with friends—but I was always too nervous to go by myself. Then, one weekend, a friend and I were supposed to check out a popular trail a few hours away, and she bailed last minute. I’d been so excited for the trip that I worked up the nerve to go alone; I’d done my homework on the trail and knew there’d be other people out there to keep me from feeling too isolated.
When I got to the summit of that mountain (the highest elevation I’d ever been!), I couldn’t believe the miles and miles of mountains in front of me—and I was hooked. From that day forward, I started hiking alone all the time. I liked that I could fully experience everything around me, sit at the summit for as long as I wanted, and take my sweet time coming back down. At first, I hated being alone with my thoughts, but as time went on, I realized I could think (or say) anything I felt out in the wilderness and that the trees and the plants were there to just receive it all.
From then on, my alone time led to breakthrough after breakthrough. With every summit, I shed some of my self-doubt and realized how capable I was. I started taking road trips and car camping to explore the Pacific Northwest, went backpacking this summer, and I’m planning a solo trip through Utah and to the Grand Canyon. Of course, it hasn’t been all summit selfies and sunshine. My backpacking trip this summer was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I grunted and swore my entire hike back to my car. I broke down crying the moment I finished, but I had done it—and I was damn proud of myself.
For me, exploring nature on my own has given me confidence that my younger self would never think possible. She’d be in tears to see how strong and adventurous I am now.
Still, I think we have a lot of work to do in helping other marginalized people (like me, a mixed-race person) feel they belong in the outdoors. If we want to be good stewards of this land—which isn’t even ours to begin with—we have to provide everyone with the opportunities and education for them to experience and appreciate it too. That’s why I share my routes, advice, and encouragement on Instagram. I can do this, solo, and I want other people to see they can too.
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