Howling on the trail: Women's adventure group hosts last walk of 2018

On a dark, snowy trail in Fredericton, 10 women looked up at the sky and howled at the moon.

It was momentary respite from the stress of the holidays and the worries of regular life. The women laughed,   turned their headlamps back on and started walking again, feeling they'd asserted their presence in the woods.

The walk around Killarney Lake was organized by the women's adventure group GTFO New Brunswick — it stands for Get the F--k Outside — and was the last of the year, attended by a small but loud group of women of varying ages and skill levels.

"I would never do this by myself, I just would not." said Marsha Clark, who's been going on adventures with the club for almost a year.

There are days that it will just bring me to tears. It's so much bigger than what we thought it's going to be.- Kaylee Hopkins - GTFO New Brunswick co-founder

Clark said she's no stranger to hiking, since it's just "a fancy word for walking in the woods," but it still amazes her that she feels safe enough to go on an hour-long hike after the sun has set.

"I'm a social worker in the domestic and intimate partner violence field, so it really drew me that we were creating safe spaces and taking back some of the spaces that are very hostile to women," Clark said.

"Being outside, alone in the woods or at the park, you might not think about doing that if you were a single woman right? So I like that we're creating a safe place for women."

Founded for women

GTFO was founded by Kaylee Hopkins, Stefanie Bouchard, Nicola MacLeod and Joanna Nickerson. Hopkins said the idea came when Nickerson put up a survey on Facebook asking how many women wanted to go outdoors but didn't feel safe or didn't know where to start.

Hopkins said 300 people answered.

"[We] decided that clearly, given the answers on the survey, that there's a need for female-only space in the outdoors and that there is some clear accessibility issues … so we wanted to fix that," she said.

A little over a year later Hopkins said she has met at least 500 different people through the club. She and other members of the executive organize a weekly Wednesday walk, but they also host paddling trips, rock-climbing and mountain -hiking trips.

"There are days that it will just bring me to tears," she said. "It's so much bigger than what we thought it's going to be. It's really moving to see the commitment that women are putting into making that time for them to get outside."

The group includes female-identifying and non-binary people.

"I think there's an a openness, I think there's an acceptance or vibe that women tend to give off that's really loving, really caring, really compassionate and really focused on building other women up," she said. "Not to say that men don't do that … I think it's just a safe space, it feels calm, it feels safe, it feels empowering."

Most events are free, but if there's equipment rental or lodging involved, attendees have to buy tickets. Hopkins said the group is working on getting not-for-profit status so it can apply for grants.

She said the group has seen some backlash for not encouraging men to join, but she said the founders believe women need to claim their space in areas that sometimes feel male-dominated.

"There's a need to have that space where we can express ourselves because in the outdoor industry, or the outdoor world, women are significantly underrepresented," she said.

"We want to make sure that women feel that they're equal in that playing field."