Doing things for yourself and being alone – Page 3

"I spend a lot of my time moving at someone else’s pace, trying to accommodate, appease, and appeal. My personality is one that constantly needs to help, be supportive, be a quality team player, and to contribute as much as I can. It’s mostly satisfying, but if I get too absorbed in moving in others’ flow, I lose my own." — Ellysa Evans She Explores, "A Solo Camp for the Books"

"I feel the urge to share these wild places with everyone, but I also covet the solitude that is only possible in places where humans are scarce." — Rebecca Robinson Voices from Bears Ears: Seeking Common Ground on Sacred Land

"I’d had this idea that I could push myself physically through anything if I was tough and smart and rugged, and that the push would show me something about myself and my place on the river. That being able to do things alone was a sign of strength, not fear. I’d thought I could conquer the landscape and fully understand the problem of water use. But none of that is true. The tough part is connection, looking across lines and knowing when to push the lever on what you think is right." — Heather Hansman Downriver: Into the Future of Water in the West

"Watching people doubt themselves, in my experience it’s 100% always women. [On one trip] the group naturally split in half. There were some taller folks (all men) in the front, and they were all very fast walkers, very competitive with each other. And in the back it was mostly women, and many of them just happened to be shorter women. One of the women came up to me and said ‘You know, I just don’t know if backpacking is for me. Look how slow I am.’ And I said ‘You’re not slow at all. You’re walking a pace that’s correct for you. You’re doing what your body wants to do. Not thinking about your pace, are you enjoying being out here? Do you like the feeling of your body moving in this space? Don’t compare yourself to the other half of the group up there that’s taller, faster, more competitive. What are you experiencing right now?'" — Charlotte Austin or Shawnté Salabert She Explores, Episode 56, "An (Adventure) Book Club For The 21st Century"

"Your experience will greatly improve when you begin to exercise agency over your own outdoor experience. Try new things. Build a skill set. Shrug off doubts, rude remarks, and stereotypes. Surround yourself with people who support you. Know your limits and honor them. Know your ambitions and shoot for them. There is more to gain from your time outside than you can ever lose in trying." — Ruby McConnell A Woman's Guide to the Wild: Your Complete Outdoor Handbook

"For women wanting to get outdoors, the best advice I could give them is choose your own adventure. Take control of your own trips, and say this is what I want to do and where I want to do it, and start exactly where you want." — Evelyn Lees Teton Gravity Research, "Steep Jobs: Wild Women of the Wasatch" Episode 6

"The bicycle is just as good company as most husbands, and when it gets old and shabby, a woman can dispose of it and get a new one without shocking the entire community." — Ann Strong Minneapolis Tribune, 1895

"Writers write into a silence that can linger for a long time." — Laurence Gonzales Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why

"The journey you travel on your feet is less important than the distance you cover in your head." — Mishka Shubaly