Alaska

Blog post by Brandi of Wildcrafted Adventures

I’m always intrigued by the ways that our experiences weave themselves together into the tapestry of our lives. How we can sometimes follow individual threads back, and back, and back even further, to get closer and closer to that thread’s origin point. One of the threads that led to the creation of Wildcrafted Adventures began back in December 2024 (although, really, I could probably trace it back to childhood if I tried).

I’ve been getting more and more into hiking since 2020 when I got divorced and embraced my newfound freedom to explore myself and the world. I joined a number of online hiking communities, and last December I met some women from a Facebook group for a hike on Mt. Tam. They were talking about an upcoming trip to Patagonia, where they’d be backpacking and hiking together for a week. They mentioned there was one spot left on the trip if I wanted to join…

An image from the peak of the Mt. Tam hike that started this all

The idea of doing such a huge trip that would test both my physical and my social muscles was a bit daunting at first. But the idea percolated, and after a week of mulling it over, I reached out to the trip organizer to ask if that ticket was still available.

It wasn’t.

I was so disappointed. When you finally decide to dive headfirst into some exciting new experience and push yourself beyond your comfort zone - and then the lifeguard closes the diving board right before you start to climb up that ladder - it’s such a let down. Why hadn’t I said yes sooner and gotten that last ticket?!

But, as is pretty standard for me, I didn’t wallow in the disappointment for long. I figured, if these women were organizing this kind of trip, there may be other women out there doing similar things. And sure enough, I was right. My eyes were opened to the world of solo women’s adventures.

I decided to buy a ticket on a trip to Alaska the following July with Women Who Explore. The 7 day trip would involve a number of hikes through amazing landscapes, a day of kayaking on Resurrection Bay, and the opportunity to sit back and relax and let someone else do all the planning. Plus, unlike going on my own, I’d have a crew of other adventurous women to explore with - which felt super important, especially with the risk of running into grizzly bears on the trails. Yikes. Solo hiking in Alaska is not the safest idea. And while I’m not the fastest hiker in the world, there would probably be someone slower than me on the trail, so I’d be less likely to be the one eaten by the bear.

(Kidding!!)

I made my monthly payments for the trip, which felt like it was beyond my budget but felt like something I just HAD to do. I bought some new gear (thank goodness for sales and friends with discounts!). I joined everyone on the zoom call so I could meet my fellow travelers. I talked about the upcoming trip to EVERYONE (and probably annoyed the hell out of them… but I think people who are excited and passionate are the most interesting people, so who cares if I annoyed some people with my enthusiasm!).

I arrived in Alaska on July 10th, 2025 - waving to one of my trip-mates on the plane as I passed her seat, even though we hadn’t actually met yet. And I met a group of them at the Anchorage airport, where we started sharing our stories while waiting for the van to pick us up. I was instantly reminded of something I have experienced on other women’s trips (I’ve been on two art retreats in Latin America in recent years with groups of solo women travelers): the kinds of women who come on these adventures - who show up alone, trusting that they will bond with strangers quickly, ready to experience something amazing despite the awkwardness or anxiety they may be feeling - these kinds of women are my FAVORITE kinds of women.

Over the next 7 days, we pushed ourselves on some serious hikes. We shared our joys, our heartaches, our struggles. We sang together (well, some of them did… I chose the quiet/conversation focused van instead of the karaoke van! Much more my speed). We cried together. We encouraged each other. I could go on and on about the amazing landscape, or the incredible views on the hikes, or the animals we saw (whales! puffins! moose!). But the thing that resonated with me the most, that felt the most special, was the camaraderie. The bonding. The way that women can quickly forge deep connections and get vulnerable with each other when sharing an intense experience. It’s magic, pure magic.

I brought back a renewed passion for travel, and a renewed desire to create opportunities for women to bond with each other. Within a week of being home, during a fateful lunch with Honey, we came up with the plan to create this company based partly on my Alaska experience. And I can’t wait to see where this thread continues to go, how it will weave itself through the tapestry of the rest of my life.