• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Trail Stoke

one girls quest for awe-inspiring adventure, great gear, and eternal excitement

  • The Desert
  • The Mountains
  • The Gear
    • Adventure Gear
    • Deals
    • Trail Running Gear
    • Travel Gear
  • The Dog
  • The Life
    • FAI Surgery
  • About
  • Contact

REI Placing Women Front and Center in the Outdoors

May 2, 2017 by Amiee

IMG_8843

This post is sponsored by REI, but thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rock a Boat. Start a Fire. Be a Force of Nature.

Well the boat was certainly rocking. White-knuckling the paddle, I tried to ride the waves rather than fight, but they seemed to be coming from every direction. The waves were bouncing off the high canyon walls and swirling down the side canyon, while the gusts were catching my paddle, tipping me off balance as I tried to recall a time I felt more frightened.

When I look back at my life, it is times like these that I feel most alive and well darn right happy. Times like battling waves down a side canyon in Glen Canyon, stumbling upon ancient ruins in Cedar Mesa, wandering through Joshua Trees in the Mojave, or spending countless hours running the hills near my house with my dog bounding through the wildflowers up ahead. I cherish these adventures and often lose track of time experiencing only what is in front of me at that moment.

IMG_8522

Nothing makes me happier than time in the hills with my pup.

REI recently commissioned a national study on women and the outdoors and found that “More than 85% of all women surveyed believe the outdoors positively affects mental health, physical health, happiness and overall well-being, and 70% reported that being outdoors is liberating.”

For me, the outdoors is liberating indeed! Without my daily dose of outside time, I feel sluggish, more stressed, and am overall less pleasant to be around.  Lucky for me, I have miles of trails nearly in my backyard and live close to so many beautiful places to explore. Had I not “discovered” the outdoors, I don’t know who I would be.

Getting more women outside is unfortunately not without obstacle, REI also found that 63% of women said they could not think of an outdoor female role model and that is SAD! I have Anna Frost, Jenn Shelton, Emelie Forsberg, Krissy Moehl, and many more. There are so many women doing so many amazing things right now.

Rad women doing amazing things!

Rad women doing amazing things!

Sadly a high percentage of women feel like their interests in the outdoors aren’t taken as seriously as men’s. I will never forget a conversation I had with a certain ski boot rep. I had inquired about finding a lightweight ski mountaineering boot in my size and he just laughed and said that maybe I can get into ski mountaineering when they start making gear for kids. I was so angry. I am not a child, I just have small feet. A simple “we unfortunately are not making your size in these boots yet” would have sufficed. My feet may be small, but I can ski!

I feel like equality in the outdoors has come a long way, but we still have a ways to go and that is why I am so excited about an initiative from REI to make women front and center by investing in stories, adventures, and opportunities for women for the rest of this year. REI recognizes the quality and availability gap in women’s gear and is working with several companies to close that gap hopefully meaning I will have more ski boot options (and a little more respect perhaps) in the coming years – yay!

My favorite forces of nature!

My favorite forces of nature!

Save

Save

Save

Save

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Featured, The Adventures Tagged With: Featured, News, REI, Women Adventure, Women and the Outdoors, Women's Gear

Previous Post: « How to Ski Free in Jackson, Wyoming!
Next Post: Monday Motivation, Volume 5 »

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Top Posts

  • Visiting Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Winter
  • FAI Surgery Recovery: The First 6 Weeks!
  • Hip Impingement (FAI) Surgery: A Success Story?
  • Visiting the Great Salt Lake’s Spiral Jetty in Winter
  • Best Travel Skirts For Adventure Women

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

2019 Race Schedule

July 20, 2019 - Wasatch Speedgoat SHORTGOAT
September 6, 2019 - Wasatch 100

amieemaxwell

☕️⛰🐶🍺Salt Lake City, Utah 🇺🇸

I still don’t quite understand how one can “ow I still don’t quite understand how one can “own” a bazillion years of geological time 🤔
New obsession, desert ice! New obsession, desert ice!
Not sure if either one of us is ever going to get Not sure if either one of us is ever going to get used to these average Monday morning run views (not a fan of how close he gets to the edge though).
Was worried I’d miss the snow living in the dese Was worried I’d miss the snow living in the desert this winter. Guess I don’t have to 🤷🏼‍♀️
Took my mom on her first slot canyon adventure the Took my mom on her first slot canyon adventure the other week. She said she learned those moves watching Ninja Warriors 😂 We then ticked off another of her bucket list items and had dinner at @hellsbackbonegrill (holy moly carrot cupcake desert, no photos cuz we enjoyed every second!). Now she just needs to buy a horse or at least find one to borrow and her winter in the desert will be complete (although she still has four more months here)!
Day 41 in a tent. Temps never got above freezing t Day 41 in a tent. Temps never got above freezing today. Hotel tomorrow 😜
A few bits of fall in the desert now that I live h A few bits of fall in the desert now that I live here 🌵🍂 💛
When your dog and hubby are sporting matching @sto When your dog and hubby are sporting matching @stormykromerofficial masks and only one of them is wearing it appropriately...
Last night we played bananagrams and I only used f Last night we played bananagrams and I only used flower words. I did not win 🤷🏼‍♀️, yet I did 🎨 💐!
Follow on Instagram
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: API requests are being delayed for this account. New posts will not be retrieved.

There may be an issue with the Instagram access token that you are using. Your server might also be unable to connect to Instagram at this time.

Gear Deals

Recent Posts

  • A Mostly Dry November Foray into Buckskin Gulch
  • Monday Mojo 22 – West Desert Season & Donkeys
  • Big Mountain to Beer Bar: A City Creek Canyon Expedition
  • 2018 & The Year of 100 Summits
  • Monday Mojo 21 – I Want My Mojo Back!

Copyright © 2021 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress