The first time I met Sarah Lord, she was leading a hike to the Midland Ice Cave near Norton, N.B. The icy alcove tucked behind a frozen waterfall on private land is the kind of local treasure that isn’t advertised, but continues to be popular due to the agreeability of the landowner.
This is what Lord does best: she sniffs out hidden New Brunswick destinations, works out the kinks of getting there safely, and helps others stretch their comfort levels and discover the beauty of their own backyard without the worry of getting lost or encountering the unknown.
Lord is one of the founding members and leaders of Women of the Wilderness (WOW), a casual Facebook group of women aged 18 to 80 who connect through a shared desire to challenge themselves and become more comfortable in the natural world.
A health and wellness coordinator with a PhD in diabetes research, Sarah discovered hiking’s healing properties during a difficult period in her life. She’d lost her mom to breast cancer, suffered a marriage breakup, then escaped an abusive relationship. “I was 40, unmarried, and didn’t have any children,” she recalls. “I felt I wasn’t of value to my dad, who wanted grandchildren. I was the only one in that predicament with my circle of friends. I no longer fit.”
Joining a hiking group of men and women helped her regain stability. “They were the community I needed for belonging,” she says. “Meeting other individuals, especially older ones, provided positive role models for me. One person told me, ‘You do matter to the world, even though you haven’t produced the things you think as a woman you should have.’ I realized that without family and children, I now had the luxury to do the things I wanted.”
With newfound confidence, she completed a Charity Challenge Trek to Machu Picchu, Peru, with the Arthritis Society, then shared her story at two Go Wild forums in Riverview, N.B. The events, part of a municipal program to encourage women to hike, attracted more than 400 people. The response energized her. Lord took an outdoor leadership course and first-aid training, and then organized a community Learn to Hike program to teach the safety aspects and help those unfamiliar with the woods feel more comfortable.
She started a casual Facebook group to keep participants — mostly women — connected, then began leading hikes and other outings. “My niche in leadership is the inexperienced hiker,” she says. “There’s more of a reward factor for me to build someone else’s confidence in something they didn’t feel they could do on their own.”
One day she posed a question on the social media page: ”Does anyone want to go camping?”
“It was like crickets,” she recalls. “Then I posted, ‘Do any WOMEN want to go camping?’
Adventure seekers
A chorus of “Yes!” and “Count me in!” told her she’d asked the right question. Lord booked multiple sites at Fundy National Park, and 18 interested women met to plan how they’d share camping equipment and meals, knowledge, and skills. Some had never overnighted in a tent before; others were seasoned campers. It was a good mix.
Over the course of that September 2018 weekend, the women prepared meals together, shared chores, hiked, kayaked, canoed, stargazed, sang, and laughed.
Riverview, N.B., resident, Donna Glenen-Cruickshank, has fond memories of that outing and the resulting bonds. The recently divorced 55-year-old says she wouldn’t have gone had it been a mixed group, citing a more relaxed dynamic with females only. “It felt safer. We didn’t have to worry about being around men we didn’t know, and conversation is deeper when it’s just women. We had so much fun. We knew we weren’t the only ones interested in such things, so thought why not start a group and see if other women want to join us.”
Saturday night around the campfire, as sparks and laughter lifted into the starlit sky, they chose the name Women of the Wilderness (WOW). Glenen-Cruickshank took over the Facebook page and women started joining, suggesting things they’d like to do.
“Women need to connect with each other, and it’s amazing how quickly that happens when you’re walking in the woods,” she says. “You seem better able to open up to each other.”
Lord’s experience left her sensitive to others who came from abusive or painful relationships, suffered losses, or simply felt more comfortable hiking with other women.
“It takes the pressure off when they’re lonely and feel they don’t belong in other places of society,” she says. “As one woman said, you can be yourself in a way that’s different from the responsible person at home or work. Women know how to look after each other. Having lost my mom, I felt nurtured just being with other women.”
The fledgling group was just hitting its stride when COVID broke out. WOW turned out to be just what women needed to cope with the stress, loneliness, and anxiety.
“I bubbled with three other single women,” says Glenen-Cruickshank. “It was a lifesaver. People just broke into smaller groups to remain within the COVID regulations.”
A growing membership
The outdoor world offered an escape from the pandemic. By 2021, membership had grown to 900, and the group now boasts over 2,400. Events have diversified, friendships are growing, the network expanding, and others are taking leadership roles and planning events.
There have been weekend camp-outs throughout the Maritimes, hiking, biking, showshoeing, skiing, horseback riding, sleigh rides, axe throwing, mushroom foraging, rock hounding, paddle boarding, kayaking, dragon boat racing, and tubing, plus trail building, gun safety, survival skills, and fundraising events. A regular mid-week walk, or an evening showshoe may attract two or two dozen.
For many, it’s like college days or childhood again: a chance to get out and play.
Gail Everett, another founding member, wanted to be able to walk five kilometres without pain in her hips, but she didn’t have many friends who enjoyed outdoor activities.
“My closest friends are now women I met in the group,” she says. “I live by myself, so I need a community of people to do things with. It’s been tremendous as I’m getting out a lot more. I can now hike 12 to 14 kilometres. I’m more fit and my mental health is fantastic.”
Glenen-Cruickshank thinks women are seeking meaningful conversations and connections, and feel less intimidated when expressing uneasiness or discomfort in women-only groups. “Women are more attentive to the needs of everyone in the group,” she says. She adds that hiking and carpooling with others, and sharing the costs, makes weekend expeditions more affordable.
“It’s very satisfying to see people expand their horizons,” says Everett. “Some members are widows who haven’t been anywhere since their husbands died. It’s so healing. A lot are single and wouldn’t want to hike alone, or have partners who don’t like hiking.”
She’s learned that she enjoys leading and encouraging people. She’s gained confidence in her own abilities and stretched her limits, challenging herself and tackling multi-day trips all over the Maritimes that she’d never would have done alone. “I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, now,” she says. “New Brunswick has a rugged beauty, a variety of coastlines, woods, beaches. So much going on here, within an hour of where I live.”
The popularity of women-only outdoor groups has risen in recent years. A quick check on Facebook reveals many options in Atlantic Canada. Some focus on soft adventure, others are more challenging, with rock climbing or winter swimming. As well, an international program, Becoming an Outdoors Woman, offers workshops for women in hunting, fishing, and survival in each Atlantic province.
Knowledge seekers
Heather Fraser, who runs her own outdoor education business, Explore Nature’s Bounty, also discovered that many women want hands-on learning opportunities. She leads educational hikes in the Moncton region, introducing people to the hidden stories and treasures found in nature throughout the four seasons.
“I want to use my knowledge of trees and medicinal plants to build a new and informed nature community, while promoting nature health and wellness,” says the career forester who, after 30 years with the City of Moncton, recently retired from her job as natural resource program coordinator. As part of her job, she managed the city’s 6,070 hectares of green space, developed forest management plans and designed the trails in the city’s popular Irishtown Nature Park and Mapleton Park.
Having grown up with a family of outdoorsy people, in particular her grandfather, she appreciates the forest in all seasons. Her childhood memories include good times spent at the family’s camp in Sussex, N.B. “I have pictures of me in my white walking boots with Grampie,” she says. “Being in the forest with him was the connection and catalyst that piqued my interest in everything wild.”
She’s found a niche with organizations and service clubs seeking opportunities for women to get outside and learn. Almost every week she’s leading a different group to a local nature park to search for wildflowers and native plants. It’s almost as if COVID unleashed a newfound zest for life and living well. And a desire to revive the skills their grandmothers knew so well.
In a talking circle during a spring equinox event this year, which involved an early evening walk through a working sugar maple grove and candle-making, the women revealed that they feel naturally attuned to changes in the seasons, and learning more about these changes makes them feel more alive.
Whether searching for wildflowers and edible plants in summer, collecting berries and mushrooms in fall, or teaching cooking with foraged foods, Fraser brings her botanical experience and knowledge of the forest in all seasons. Some might think there isn’t much to see in the winter woods, she says, but animal tracks and signs, habitat, homes, and birds tell a story. While the trees may be sleeping, life still goes on.
“I meet people where they’re at,” she says. “I want to give them a connection with the outside world and experiences that they can share with others.”