The Hikers Without Pants Are Back
It's been a BIG week.
Just this past weekend, I was on stage telling the story of the first "Hikers Without Pants" event to 3000 people at the World Domination Summit in Portland. It was incredible, and the feedback from the crowd and everyone who approached me over the weekend was through the roof. It was a serious honor to share a tiny piece of myself with so many incredible people.
As I write this, the pilot has let me know that we have now entered our cruising altitude of 35000ft, and in an hour and forty minutes, we'll be touching down in Canada. If I'm lucky, it will only be 10:20pm or so, and I'll be "home" before 11pm.
This is important because I'm leaving again at 8am tomorrow morning. This time, it'll be for 11hrs in a car to get to the mountains in southern British Columbia. Backcountry backpacking is in my very near future, and I can't wait.
And I'll be doing it in a dress.
For the last two years, I've organized a series of events to benefit One Girl, an Australian-based organization that supports girls education projects in Sierra Leone. Their project is called "Do It in a Dress," and it's pretty simple.
Pick a challenge. Do that challenge in a school girl dress. Raise $300 to put a girl in school for a year.
Or, as I sometimes boil it down.
“I do it in a dress so a girl in Sierra Leone can too.”
In 2012, it was "Hikers Without Pants," where my father, brother and I hiked for 5 days and 70km in the Canadian Rockies.
In 2013, it was "Climbers Without Pants," where more than 30 of Saskatoon's finest climbed walls in school girl dresses.
And for 2014, we're back on the trails. In a little over a day, I'll be on the trails heading into "Top of the World" park. Our team of hikers will brave grizzly bears, dicey hiking paths, and potentially (hopefully) snowball fights.
I'm no stranger to this park, but it's been may years since my boots have stepped down on those peaks and passes that give such amazing views. The park itself is quite secluded, being accessible by forestry-trunk road, and then by hike-in only once you hit the start of the trail in.
For now, I'll just have to wait for this flight to get out of the way. I'll repack my bags tonight to go from my city wear to waterproof-breathable layers.
And I'll be sure to not forget my dress...
You can see more about the fundraising portion of my Do It in a Dress project here.
