Wilderness Women—not just wilderness, not just women

by Bridget Harris

Pittsburgh—At a recent meeting of Wilderness Women and Friends (WW+F), about a dozen members enjoyed a potluck lunch and each listed a few activities they wanted to do with the group.

Suggestions ranged from boating and fishing at Rocky Gap State Park to hiking in the Laurel Highlands to shooting pool in the South Side.

After the meeting, several of the women took a four-mile urban hike through the neighborhood of Mt. Washington, led by Cindy Abbott, who knows the area well.

While WW+F it is an outdoors club, the group also holds social events such as dining out and attending events like the Pittsburgh International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.

The group’s activities are wide-ranging to reflect the members’ diverse interests and levels of ability. Some younger members are hardcore hikers/campers and enjoy three-day wilderness treks.

Some older, or less athletic women, prefer short hikes and opt out of the more challenging ventures. Kayaking and hiking were popular activities this past summer.

Also on the wish list for the coming months and year: biking trips, indoor tennis, a trip to the Wildflower Reserves at Raccoon State Park, snow shoeing at Niagara Falls, tubing at Hidden Valley or Seven Springs and cycling through one of Pennsylvania’s most remote regions in Benezette.

On the tamer side, people wanted to participate in riverfront/stream cleanups, see the Disney movie African Cats and attend the popular Outrageous Bingo.

Recent trips included a three-mile hike at Ohiopyle’s Cascade Falls (a relatively easy trek) and riding down the natural waterslides there—though low water levels that day required more scooting than sliding! The swimmers among the group then enjoyed diving from a large boulder into a deep area in the stream.

WW+F is a sort of reincarnation of the organization, Wilderness Women, which was founded by a woman who moved to Pittsburgh from Oakland, California, and it was modeled after an organization she belonged to there. After several years, the organization disbanded.

Flash forward to 2008, when another transplant, Cyndy, who had moved to the Pittsburgh area from Berea, Kentucky, in 1994, started another group known as Wilderness Women and Friends. She wanted to find a way to still enjoy the wonders of the outdoors as she had in Kentucky and also meet people who shared this passion.

“I wanted to feel at home here,” Cyndy explained, “to share wilderness adventures with like-minded people and also connect with the gay and lesbian community here, especially those not into the bar scene.” She and Analeisa Ecker got together and now run the group.

Cyndy explained that the words “and Friends” were added to the organization’s name to reflect its inclusivity.

“We wanted the group to be inclusive so that anyone—lesbian, gay or straight—would feel welcome. As long as someone is open-minded, they can join us and we can enjoy activities together.”

Some events are for women only, whereas others are open to both genders.

Those interested in learning more should go to www.wildernesswomen.org to sign up for email updates, which are usually more current than the website listings.