At Women’s Adventure, we receive essay submissions on a daily basis. Everyone has a story they want to share. And most of them are great—interesting, funny, well told. It’s tough not to print them all. But we usually print more informational pieces than essays, because while we do aim to inspire through storytelling, a huge part of our mission is to educate and enable adventures.
Why? So you can come home with your own stories!
I think that sometimes I forget the point of adventure outdoors. It’s often not for exercise, not always for pleasure, hopefully not for the sake of your hardcore image, and never for someone else’s entertainment (as an essay would be). The point is to have your own experience—to laugh at yourself when a bug gets stuck in your hair, marvel at a moose from afar, shake the water from your rain gear when you get to camp in the evening, lean in close to smell a patch of wildflowers, peel the blisters from your feet, unfold a tattered map on the final stretch of a thru-hike, thank God for your life after a close call, wipe the sweat from your face, tippy toe around a snake, raise your arms as you cross the finish line, sip hot tea with your legs elevated and backpack on the floor of the forest, and grit your teeth through the final rapid, and take a deep breath before leaping off that cliff into ice cold water.
The point isn’t to know everything, to do it all correctly, to bring the techiest gear, to look the outdoorsiest, or even to finish the fastest. The point isn’t always to have a good time, to enjoy every second, or to be comfortable in the moment. The point is to just go—experience something new (or something old on a new day) and simply be.
I hope that we can help you with that. It’s important to remember that the stories that come out of our adventures are ours. We can share them with friends, keep them secret, write them down, forget them, or yes, publish them. That’s the beauty of a lifestyle like ours. We’ll make another memory, go on more vacations, lose ourselves in a new place again, repeat the best trips, and maintain the cycle of living fully and adventuring passionately.
So, to enable story making this season, our fall issue is packed with wonder-evoking photos, aspirational tales from all corners of the earth, shoulder-season gear reviews, and tips to help you master new skills, including adventure dog training, fly fishing, and racing in gravel grinders.
Please go and test your new skills, try your new gear, go outside whenever you can, and see if you don’t come back with some incredible tales from your very full life after this adventurous autumn.
Happy exploring!
Jennifer
Here’s what’s included in our fall 2014 issue, which you can order in digital or print form here.
Wonder
Winter Driving Tips
Top 10 Books For Adventurous Women
Autumn Boot Picks
Trail Maintenance
Active Pregnancy
Travel
Solo Travel
Footwear Reviews
Urban Adventure in Detroit
Texas Journey
Disaster on The Camino
Miscarriage on Kilimanjaro
Island Getaways
Aspire
Trail Sisters
Amy D. Foundation
Sacred Headwaters
Hula Hoops Can Change The World
Features
Pedal Revolution
A Girl’s Guide To Mountaineering
The Future of Mountain Biking
Master
Train Your Dog For Adventure
Fly Fishing 101
Gravel Grinders
Gear
Lightweight Jackets and Baselayers
Yoga and Gym Essentials
It’s Personal: Climbing Fears