The Story Behind
Women in the Wild
Origin Point
What started out as a Facebook group with 63 members in/around Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada) has grown into a thriving community of over 100,00 all around the world. The majority of our members are in North America, but we're slowly making ourselves known across the waters, too!
Why We're Here
Honestly? Trish was lonely, and wanted friends! She was tired of hiking and snowboarding alone, and decided to take initiative to create a community of bad a$$ ladies. She invited any and all women to join her adventures, and eventually, the community grew into what it is today!
Where You Fit In
No matter your age or experience, you belong here.
Let me say that again.
You belong here.
Since this platform allows members to create Meetups, we have the ability to host events at all levels, for all women.
Not Ready to Commit?
Sign up for our newsletter to get a taste of the Women in the Wild community before you join. You'll receive a weekly email with tips and tricks for hiking and backpacking, industry news, safety alerts, hot gear deals, new international trip announcements, and so much more.
Get On The ListHi :) I'm Trish
Â
I'm a 31-year-old hiker living in British Columbia, Canada. I created Women in the Wild back in February of 2022 with a free Facebook group and a hope to find other women like me.
It's hard to believe now, but just a couple years ago I didn't have any female friends who were willing to go hiking with me. My girl friends felt overwhelmed and underprepared so I was always going alone or with guy friends, and I started really craving connection with other women.
Eventually, I decided to create the community I craved: one where I could facilitate growth in a comfortable group setting and we could all help build on each other's knowledge and skills. Of course, this is done while prioritizing safety so that more women feel capable and prepared to get a little (or a lot) more adventurous.
The early days of Women in the Wild started out by making events out of all my plans to go hiking in hopes that someone, anyone, would join me. For the first 5 months it was just me, and sometimes my roommate at the time joined me. After that first event where 5 women joined me on a hike to Cheakamus Lake, the ball started rolling and I started getting women showing up to more events.
And the rest is history!
Nah I'm kidding, I'll tell you more below :)
This is My Story.
Â
I've been an athlete my whole life, starting out as a gymnast from age 5 to 14 and a competitive cheerleader ages 10-16. I took a year of dance here, a year of softball there, but gymnastics and cheer were the only two that really stuck. After I left gym and cheer, I took up a passion for snowboarding, martial arts, and hiking (shocker, I know).
My first job was coaching gymnastics, which I did for 5 years before fully parting ways from the gymnastics world. IÂ worked random jobs here and there like pizza delivery driver, medical office assistant, and care aid. Now I work full time in the forestry industry. I was a tree climber and faller-in-training for the first 6 years, and now I work in Health and Safety. I'm a certified arborist and danger tree assessor, so I do a lot of paperwork now. Yay...
Naturally, hiking lead to backpacking and climbing trees led to climbing rocks. Between high-risk sports and a high-risk job, safety has been an underlying fundamental throughout my life. Although some might see me as reckless, the risks I take are calculated and based on my own body, experience, knowledge of the subject, and a willingness to say "not today." I came to the realization that not everyone has the risk tolerance or athletic history that I do, which is one of the reasons I started teaching hiking and backpacking skills in my online course, Trail Ready, and hiring certified guides to teach in-person courses so our members can learn and hone their backcountry skills in a hands-on setting.
Â
Women in the Wild Today
Â
What started out as a little Facebook group with 63 members has developed into a worldwide community of over 100,00 with more than 50 free meetups and 6-10 international trips every year.
As our Instagram account exploded at the beginning of 2024, we started getting women from all around the world signing up and it made me realize something: my problem of not having female friends to go on adventures with is more common than I thought, and my desire to find those women is not unique.
To facilitate the growth of this community and have it not be dependent on Trish and where in the world she is, she created a way for the community to go international. Now, any member has the ability to create meetups. Essentially, you choose the when and where, it gets posted within our community, and other members can join. It's as simple as that!
The point is, we're growing. Come grow with us :)
Become a Member
Success Stories.
Here's what our members have to say about their experiences:
"I had a great time! The event was well organized, communication was excellent and honestly, as silly as it sounds, I forgot this was through a group until I received the follow up email because I felt really comfortable and like I had just been on a trip with my friends. Great experience all around!"
Â
Shannon
"This was my first meetup with WitW and I had an amazing time. Although I had never met any of the 4 ladies I went backpacking with prior to our 3 night/4 day backpacking trip, we all got along great and it was so nice to have other people to share the experience with!"
Â
Brynna
Free Mini Course: First Aid Essentials
How to Build Your First Aid Kit
Learn where to find pre-built first aid kits and how to customize them to your needs so you can be prepared when you hit the trails.
