A group of Ohio women have taken on new outdoor survival challenges – many with little or no previous experience – developing new skills and new friendships.
On July 13, a local hiking group, the Summit Sisters, embarked on their latest hiking test, a three-and-a-half-mile hike followed by an overnight stay at Germantown Metropark, about 20 miles southwest of Dayton.
Summit Sisters is a women's hiking school. It is a 16-week course that covers everything one needs to know about hiking, including equipment, food, water, safety, and navigation. The classes are combined with weekly training hikes to build strength and endurance.
Nancy Ball is the school's founder. She created Summit Sisters four years ago.
“I wanted to make this accessible to everyone,” she said. “So I worked really hard to remove as many barriers as possible.”
She tries to address people's fears and concerns about backpacking. The three most common fears Ball hears are bears, getting lost and going to the bathroom in the woods.
This year, the Summit sisters ranged in age from 35 to 75. Some had camped once or twice before, while others, like Angela Radakovich, had never slept in a tent.
“It’s way outside my comfort zone, but it felt like a challenge I wanted to take on…and my family said, ‘Do it, do it,’ so I did it,” Radakovich said.
Radakovich lives in Cincinnati. She recently left the nest after her youngest child left for college and felt the need to try something outside of her comfort zone.
“I just turned 55, so I have a lot of years left in me. So why not try something completely new and different?” she said. “It’s nice to know that you can still challenge yourself, I think, even at this age.”
The day of their final excursion was warm and sunny. Several women seemed proud of their achievement and appreciated the strength they felt walking in the heat and climbing hills with 15kg packs.
The atmosphere at camp was warm and fun, and the supportive relationships participants formed were a blessing, Ball said.
“I didn't realize it would be more about women empowering each other, more about encouraging women to take risks in a safe environment and what that does to their bravery, their courage, their self-esteem,” Ball said.
More information can be found on the Summit Sisters website.
You can contact Nancy Ball at nancy@summittrektravel.com
