Susan Joy Paul - Woman in the Wild: The Everywomans Guide to Hiking, Camping, and Backcountry Travel

Susan Joy Paul has traveled around the United States and beyond to 47 hot springs, more than 150 waterfalls, and to the summits of more than 700 peaks. Her memorable adventures include hikes and climbs on the Mountaineers Route on Mount Whitney, the East Arte on Mount Russell, Ottos Route on Independence Monument, the Emmons Glacier on Mount Rainier, the Gooseneck Glacier on Gannett Peak, the Jamapa Glacier on Pico de Orizaba, the Ayoloco Glacier on Iztaccihuatl, and the Whymper Route on Chimborazo. When shes not outside, shes at her desk writing guidebooks to Colorados great outdoors. Susan lives independently in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The author on Tres Orejas, New Mexico

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Unless otherwise noted, action, gear, and clothing photos by Stewart M. Green with products provided courtesy of Mountain Chalet of Colorado Springs

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Paul, Susan Joy, author.

Title: Woman in the wild : the everywomans guide to hiking, camping, and backcountry travel / Susan Joy Paul.

Description: Guilford, Connecticut : Falcon, 2021. | Includes index. | Summary: Adventurer and guidebook author Susan Joy Paul provides real instruction for women of all ages and skill levels, from beginners to intermediate hikers and experienced mountaineers. She shares details gleaned from two decades of training and real-world experience, bringing together everything a woman needs to know to be safe, independent, and self-reliant at camp and on the trailProvided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020047862 (print) | LCCN 2020047863 (ebook) | ISBN 9781493049745 (paperback) | ISBN 9781493049745 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Outdoor recreation for womenHandbooks, manuals, etc. | Outdoor lifeHandbooks, manuals, etc.

Classification: LCC GV191.64 .P38 2021 (print) | LCC GV191.64 (ebook) | DDC 796.5082dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020047862

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020047863

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

For every woman who fell in love with the wild and every woman who aspires to

Hiking with friends adds a layer of experience and skill while building camaraderie. Hikers head into Colorados Collegiate Peaks in Chaffee County. PHOTO BY OTINA FOX

Depending on the water depth, temperature, current, and creek bed terrain, stream crossings can vary from tricky to dangerous. On her way to Wind River Peak in Wyomings Wind River Range, Jean Aschenbrenner hangs her boots around her neck, dons Tevas, and uses her trekking poles for balance. PHOTO BY KEN NOLAN

I HAD MANY hiking and climbing partners and mentors over the yearstoo many to list, or even remember. But Id be sorely remiss if I didnt call out Douglas Hatfield, my hiking buddy for several years. Dougs technical and personal skills made him the perfect backcountry partner, mentor, and friend.

I had some help with this book. Alyson Kirk, Andrea Sansone, Beth Balser, Daria Holler, Geimi Chism, Teresa Gergen, Ellen Kerchner, Jean Aschenbrenner, Jennifer Roach, Leigh (Sug) Peterson, Linda Parobek, Lisa Heckel, Marsha Hawk, and Otina Fox provided photos and inspirational profiles. Several of these women also read some of the chapters in this book and gave me feedback to help make it better. Mountain Chalet of Colorado Springs let me borrow their gear and clothing for photos, Stewart M. Green took the gear shots, and Carolyn McNeil lent her Photoshopping skills to the project.

I also got a lot of support from my acquiring editor, Katie ODell; production editor Meredith Dias; copyeditor Melissa Hayes; layout artist Rhonda Baker; and proofreader Beth Richards.

Finally, this book wouldnt have been written if it werent for David Quinn, who got my proposal in front of Jessica dArbonne, and if Jess hadnt believed in it. These two, along with David Legere, Ryan Meyer, and everyone at FalconGuides, deserve a whole lot of credit. Thank you, all.

Backcountry goals motivate you to get out more, go farther, and go higher. Otina Fox skins toward the east face of Colorados Huron Peak on her quest to ski all of that states 14,000-foot peaks. PHOTO COURTESY OF OTINA FOX

WHEN I WROTE the first book proposal for Woman in the Wild in 2011, I couldnt get a publisher. I was told the market was too small. Women arent really interested in the outdoors , they said. You need a broader market. That didnt make sense to me because I was interested, and I was seeing other women hiking the trails, climbing the crags, and scrambling to mountaintops. But their numbers were still low, and I wondered why. Why werent there as many women as men in the wild?

Fortunately, I got a contract for another book, and then another, and anotherguidebooks to Colorados hot springs, waterfalls, and mountains. After the books were published, libraries and visitor centers invited me to do presentations. So I did. And I noticed something about my audiences: They were almost all women. If so many women were interested in getting outside, why werent more of them out there?

Talking to them after the presentations, I got my answer. They wanted to explore the backcountry, but they didnt know where to start. Some had joined hiking groups that hadnt worked out. The people who ran them tended to take a militant approach to the whole experience. There was an overriding sense of competition, with the experienced members held in high regard, while people new to the outdoors were looked down on and even castigated for not learning the skills fast enough, not being strong enough, or not being fast enough. These women didnt want to competethey just wanted to learn how to enjoy the backcountry safely and without getting lost. I believed them, because Id encountered similar situations when I started out: hiking groups led by gruff, overbearing taskmasters who thought their job was to whip you into shape and put you down when you didnt measure up to their standards. I was lucky enough to find people who didnt treat women this way, or I, too, may have given up on the backcountry.