Sierra (not her real name) leaned back in her chair.
“She was a moron,” she said with some venom. “I can’t believe she was so stupid. Totally unprepared.”
“I agree,” said Terri, sitting next to her. “How could anyone be so dumb?”
We were discussing the book Wild, which tells the story of a young woman’s trek up the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). Cheryl Strayed, the author, recounts her rookie experiences, her mistakes, and what she learned along the way while hiking one of American’s toughest through-routes. I was sitting across the table, watching the members of the book club excoriate Strayed’s inept preparation for her enormous undertaking. The dumb stuff she bought. Her incredibly overstuffed backpack. Mistake after dumb rookie mistake.
The women around the table were members of the Outdoor Women’s Alliance, a growing online community of women who love the outdoors and represent a lot of talent in a broad range of outdoor activities. Experienced backpackers, climbers, outdoorswomen. All of whom, like Strayed, were also once total rookies, and likely very inept. Kinda like we all are just starting out.