I was doing my due diligence and my homework to create my women’s outdoor clothing line Cover Y’r Assets, and looking up articles on my target market, actually working on the who, what, when, where and how of my target market.  I came to a few distinct points 1. My target market are women who pee outdoors or would like to feel confident enough to pee outdoors, and 2. I are women 36-44 and women 50-64.  Well I was finding these numbers was interesting in itself yet I have the fabulous ability to go down rabbit holes after finding bits of information.  That being said I went down the rabbit hole of why do women over 50 hike, I found a wonderful article/blog called 17 reasons women over 50 should hike.  I am going to share them with you over the next 17 weeks. 

Number 1 and I’m not sure they were put together in any particular order, but the first one is hiking is a positive way to explore grief.

I don’t know about you, but I have been very good at dodging grief.  Whether it is the loss of a loved one or friend, a job an ability to do something I used to be able to do.  You name it I have been one of those who dodges those bullets, like Wonder Women, with her superpowers and bracelets.  So, this one took me by surprise in a way.  Yet when I actually stopped and thought about it, really thought about it I realized that I have been using hiking as a way to maybe not explore my grief but to work with it, walk with it, embrace it.  I am not a person to ever really ask why about things.  I just see them and flow with, through or around them.  Well lately I have been brought the question of Why, on a new spiritual practice ,that I’ve been studying which is the Kabbalah and the question Why is this in my movie? Has come up.  Well darn that surely can be a deep and interesting why.  Then yesterday when I was doing my research here comes another why.  Why should women over 50 hike? 

So since I seem to be being asked to look at some why’s in my life I might as well share them with you.  So why should women over 50 hike? We will start with to explore grief.

There are as many negative ways to experience grief as positive and since we are looking at  why women over 50 should/could hike let’s look at this from a positive perspective.

When hiking we will find that a trail, any trail really can be more than a place to get sweaty and listen to the birds.  It can be looked at as a no-nonsense companion, a patient guide and your walks can be a never-ending story that is waiting for you to write.  As we walk depending on the trail and terrain it may demand you to focus, focus on where your next foot needs to land, where you need to walk when the bicycles are coming, or those high school runners.  No matter it requires you to pay attention, It may even be in an open yourself to the big picture way, so it strips away the complications of life and allows  our senses to connect with the sights , sounds and smells of nature, as we challenge our bodies to move, maybe more than we have in a while, while also nurturing our spirits  I’m not sure about you and your life but my life seems to be keeping me very busy and moving at a faster pace then I may like.  I may miss many small acts of beauty in my day to day life.  Hiking allows us to slow down and wrap ourselves in a simpler life, sharing with us the gifts of reflection, insight, and clarity. The trail shows you who you are.  How you are living, and what might be the next good action to take or to choose to ignore.

One woman in the article started hiking seriously when both of her parents died within a few years of each other. The trail called her into the wilderness and backpacking became her bliss. Hiking surprised her by giving her a positive way to explore grief. Standing alone on the trail, she  was truly able to say goodbye and thank you to her mom and dad. She said goodbye and hiked into the rest of her life.

For me it was hiking the Camino de Santiago that allowed me to really feel and explore grief.  I had 38 days to really dig deeply into those space I had tried to ignore for so long.  I carried the people I cared about by picking up a stone each day and taking them along with me.  Up and down mountains, over rocky terrain, around lakes, mile after mile.  Walking with them as a part of me whether I was enjoying the breathtaking views or struggling over the last 5 km’s to get to my place of rest. 

Now that I am back in Tallahassee where we have 600 miles of trails within an easy and usually short car ride, each time I visit one of these trails is a unique  experience, that infuses a little magic in me. I know the trail sends me home a better person each and every time. I truly want more women to feel that way, to venture out with confidence and gather the gifts that await them on the trail. Whether it is dealing with grief, or just a wonderful way to start you day hiking is definitely a powerful experience for women!

I started this by mentioning that I was doing research from my target market.  It was for my outdoor clothing line and My cover Y’r Assets Skort came from my pilgrimage I walked for my 60th birthday.  It was created  to make “going” easier for women on the go, and by allowing  women to find confidence, privacy, and security when the need arises to answer natures call.

Let’s see what other great reasons there might be for women over 50 to start hiking either  long or short trails.  What might they find along the way or when they get home. 

Let me know what you have found while hiking and check out the skort that was born of a pilgrimage WWW.CoverYrAssets.com.  Lets chat leave