Real Chick's Hike

..because real chick's hike and hiking is for REAL chicks...

Today is the first time since I moved (ahem, not that long ago) that I am missing Omaha. Maybe it's because I've been here long enough now that I'm realizing this is more than a vacation. Perhaps it's because all of my former co-workers just got to spend the last four days being their incredible selves together at a manager's meeting...without me. Or it could just be the longing to fit in here the way I felt I did back home, with my people, in my job, in my town. Life's curve balls always seem to come just as you find your stride. Some might say, just as complacency hits.

Tonight though, more than anything, I am thinking about Real Chicks.

Two and a half years ago, I started a women's hiking group in Omaha, the Real Chick's Hike. The first hike was comprised of five women, three of which I was related to. Having been the only woman on many an outdoor adventure and having heard countless females torn between their fears, finances and obligations and their desire to spend time outside, I had a vision for this group. We hiked once a month, always the third Saturday, and it was to be accessible to ANY woman who wanted to be there and the group would be there to empower ANY woman to get outside. Before long our group of 5 became a consistent 12, then 20, then almost 30 hikers a month. My email interest list grew to over 250. It became almost a movement in Omaha. Women responded to this idea in a way I had dreamed about but never actually considered a reality.

Two and a half weeks ago, I had to say goodbye to this amazing group of women. As we celebrated our time together on the trail and over a few (errr) glasses of wine, laughing and talking and genuinely connecting with one another, I realized that these women, this group, would be the thing I would miss most in Omaha. (Disclaimer: family and best friends are always present in one another's journey so I try not to think about them as being "gone") I learned more about myself in being around this strong, diverse group of women than I ever could have imagined. And they saw more in me as their leader and friend than I ever would have discovered on my own. At some point, Real Chick's stopped being mine and became theirs. They had ownership in it, loyalty to it and strength in each other. It was/is it's own entity and community, with or without me.

On my last hike, which was also my last official day in Omaha, they surprised me with personal and thoughtful gifts. I showed up to hike and they presented me with a "Property of the Omaha Police Department" t-shirt (I have many cop hikers...they're very protective) and an apron (another story on why it was an apron) that they had had embroidered with the Real Chick's logo and that each person present had signed messages onto. It is probably one of the most meaningful gifts I've ever received.

This group and these women have changed my life. I am a better person for having spent time on the muddy, icy, rocky trails with them. For getting up early, even after late nights, and sloughing through deep snow, bugs, rain and countless sunny mornings. For listening to their life stories and telling them mine. For teaching them gear and allowing them to teach me...well, a million things. I have met their families and they showed up to my going away party. I would go so far to say that they ARE my family. And now that I am starting (or trying to) a new life in a new town, feeling a bit lost and out of place, those written words of encouragement speak to me daily. They remind me that I am capable of doing amazing things if I am patient enough to let them be developed.

There aren't enough words to thank each of them for being part of my life but for those Real Chicks who find themselves reading this,

THANK YOU!

Needless to say, I will be making a point to always come back to Omaha on the third Saturday of a month and in the mean time, every glass of wine I drink will be in toast to Omaha's REAL CHICKS!