Do You Really Need a Women’s-Specific Backpack?

I stood on the porch of a backcountry cabin high in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains with 15 other women, all of us there for a lesson in pack fitting from Becky Marcelliano, the marketing manager of Deuter, an outdoor-bags company. The women gathered around Marcelliano were all part of the outdoor industry and there as part of a leadership summit organized by Project16x. We were adventure photographers and writers, business founders, and professional athletes. The collective miles we’d logged over the years was indisputably considerable.

When Women Lead

Exactly a week ago now, I found myself snowed in for first snowfall of the year in the High Camp Hut outside of Telluride, Colorado. Seventeen women, all from our different forests, mountains, homes (some vans), and walks of life met for the Wild Women's Project. We explored, hiked, built fires, laughed, dreamt, encouraged each other and opened up to each other (and ourselves). Though we brought our differences, we all shared something similar - our hearts were all found and formed by the outdoors.

Notes From A Women's Weekend at 11,600 Feet | Munk Pack

The outdoor adventure sports arena has made it’s promises to it’s ever-so-dedicated female following. The forecast is for a whole lot less of the “shrink it and pink it” mentality and a whole lot more of showing men what women can do. I could only imagine the feeling that a male fly-on-the-wall might have gotten at the first Wild Women’s Project last month in the San Juan Mountains. I’d like to think he wouldn’t have been shocked at the amount of driven women in one place, but the reality of the situation is, he would have been blown away.

Wild Women's Project | Ursa Major

Our friends at BoldBrew launched a new initiative this year called the Wild Women's Project. The goal of the project was to create an innovative leadership and empowerment camp for women in the outdoors industry, including editors, athletes, photographers, and influencers. The weekend included hikes, yoga, workshops, and campfires. But in the end, BoldBrew just wanted to create a memorable experience for these incredible women and see what would happen, what would be shared, and what would come out of it.

the summit field guide