Summer Michaud-Skog - Fat Girls Hiking: An Inclusive Guide to Getting Outdoors at Any Size or Ability

SUMMER MICHAUD-SKOG

To my mama, Robin,
who made me who I am and taught me how to look
at the world through a camera lens.

To my sister, Sarah,
who always pushes me in the right direction
when I lose my compass.

To my besties, Ginamarie, Sarah, and Katie,
my rainbows, my ocean, my moss and moon sisters, your support,
laughter, and love mean the world to me.

To the Fat Girls Hiking community,
you have changed my life and made my dreams come true.

To every fat person
who was told they couldnt or shouldnt and did
it anyway, Im proud of you.

In 2018, I traveled the country to open Fat Girls Hiking chapters, leading hikes and living in my moms old minivan while also doing research. I had lead group hikes for years and found a glaring lack of information for accessible trails with inclusive information. Most outdoor guidebooks focus on thin, able-bodied hikers. I wanted a resource where folks with chronic pain or disabilities could find trails with benches, outdoor spaces that would accommodate mobility devices and wheelchairs, and specific information about whether bathrooms at a trailhead are gendered or gender neutral. These aspects of accessibility in the outdoors are often overlooked.

On my travels to open FGH chapters and find accessible trails, I would post in the FGH stories on Instagram about the great places and trails that I visited that center ADA accessibility. Shout-out to many of the national parks I visited! Many months after I returned to Oregon from my cross-country trip, I received an email from someone at Timber Press in Portland. They wanted to meet to talk about the book I was writing. Ah, what book? I thought. But as a lifelong writer, it was a dream opportunity. I had no idea how or what I was doing, but I sent in a book proposal and was honest about my mission. In that outline, I stated that Im not an expert. I still dont feel like an expertbut my experiences and dedication to community, fat activism, and outdoor spaces that leave no one behind are valuable, despite what imposter syndrome tries to tell me. Needless to say, my idea to create a resource for outdoorsy people who rarely see themselves represented in the mainstream became my hearts work for the next fourteen months.

Most of this book was written outside at state park picnic tables, in my van, in small-town bars late at night, and, in the final push toward the deadline, in a yurt on the Oregon coast. I could not have written this book without the generous support of the FGH community, who shared the stories that now live in these pages. Trail reviews in this book focus on accessibility, and the reviewers personal connection to the land. So many of the incredible FGH ambassadors contributed their favorite places in nature. Much of the work I do to keep the community a safer space for fat folks and all marginalized people is through my analytic work around cultural oppressive systems. Some stories Ive written are funny, some evoke anger. As a writer, it is my job to tell the truth as I know it and examine all perspectives.

In 2020, not much was easy, and writing a book was no exception. As the world faced a deadly pandemic, quarantines, shut downs, police brutality, fascism from government leaders in the United States, wildfires on the West Coast, and ongoing environmental crises, it wasnt uncommon for me to find myself writing through tears. However, reading contributions for the community spotlights and trail reviews brought bright spots of joy into these days. The connections we all have made through online community and through group hikes and events have been so important to our collective joy. We are not alone!

Moss and lichen are some of my favorite things to see outside

Its hard to know where to start with a new activity, especially if you dont see yourself represented in images of that world. When I started hiking, I didnt know it was something fat people did or could do. I hope this book will help you feel like there is, indeed, a place for you in the outdoors. You might be intimidated by certain gatekeepers in the outdoor industryI was when I first started hiking, often feeling alienated by comments online or on trails about what it means to be a real hiker. But I have also experienced a lot of kindness on trails. I have had some deep, soulful conversations with complete strangers in the wildernessconversations I dont think are possible when Im wearing my tough, city-girl protective shell. The outdoors makes me more open and vulnerable. At times it is uncomfortable. Its not easy to know where to start. But being out in nature is proven to make people happier.

A group hike at Tryon Creek State Park in Portland, Oregon

I have learned through trial and error about the woes and rewards of getting out on a trail. Throughout this book, Ill cover all the little details that will allow you to feel comfortable as you begin hiking. What to wear, what to carry in your backpack, how to research a trail, how to find ADA-accessible trails, and how to take care of yourself once you get there. The intent for this book is to spread the power and joy that comes from spending time on the trail. Along the way well celebrate who we are as a community, our individual stories and experiences, our collective desire for a more equitable world, and the incredible power the outdoors has to bring us all together. We all deserve to be heard, to see ourselves represented, and to have places that heal us.

F at Girls Hiking, the book, is a portal to different ways of connecting with the fat outdoor community. I assume that my proud mom will be the only one reading this from cover to cover. For everyone else, you can slip it into your backpack or display it on your coffee table and flip through it when curiosity calls or you need some daydream fodder. You might find yourself immersed in a personal essay from the FGH founder (thats me, hi) or really connecting to a community members story.