9 Women in the Outdoors to Follow for Inspiration

Earlier, we shared a blog that highlighted the 12 badass women on our brand ambassador team here at Gossamer Gear. In addition to our crew, we love to follow many of the women in the outdoor industry who are not only taking on their own incredible feats, but encouraging others to do the same.

If you’re looking to reinvigorate your Instagram feed, find some inspiration for your next outdoor adventure, or connect with an inclusive outdoor community, we’re sharing nine women in the outdoors to follow.

1. Liselle Pires and Quena Batres

Liselle and Quena founded the Trail Mixed Collective, an inclusive community of women of color in the outdoors. The collective offers mentorship, courses, meetups, and more. Our brand ambassador Zelzin Aketzalli recently partnered with the group to offer mentorship to a scholarship winner. Follow these women for a good dose of inspiration and representation.

2. Rocío Villalobos

Based in our own Austin, Texas, Rocío is an equity advocate, storyteller, and connector. She shares her stories of outdoor and running adventures on her blog, The Xicana Explorer, inspiring readers to explore parks and races in Texas and beyond.  

3. Bree Jameson

Bree is the first Black Woman in Texas to bolt and climb a First Ascent, a feat chronicled in the upcoming film J.E.D.I. Training, which Gossamer Gear was proud to be a sponsor of. Bree offers a powerful story of how to bring greater justice, equality, diversity, and inclusion to climbing communities.

4. Ivey Smith

Ivey is the founder of She Treks, an organization that offers guided lightweight backpacking trips to connect, empower, and inspire women and gender minorities. A thru-hiker herself, Ivey helps answer many of the questions beginners have about backpacking to help them feel prepared for their trip.

5. Adriana Garcia and Luz Lituma

Adriana and Luz are the co-founders of Latinxhikers, which is described as, “A grassroots initiative dedicated to breaking down barriers in the outdoors by creating access, providing representation, and empowering our community to establish connections with nature just as our ancestors once had.” The group offers hiking and outdoor social events across the country to forge connections.

Luz Litum after the final day of the W trek in Patagonia, Chile. Adriana Garcia. Photo credit to Cherisa Hawkins @switchbackshawty 

6. Jenny Bruso

Jenny is the founder of Unlikely Hikers, a diverse, anti-racist, body-liberating outdoor community featuring the underrepresented outdoorsperson. Their work aims to change the outdoor industry’s narrative on who is considered “outdoorsy” and elevate adventurers who are plus-size and fat, Black, Indigenous, people of color, queer, trans and non-binary, disabled, neurodivergent, and beyond.

7. Debbie Njai

Debbie is the founder of Black People Who Hike, a community organization that works to empower, educate, and re-engage Black people to the outdoors through wellness campaigns, health advocacy, and community based activities, such as hiking, camping, kayaking, rock climbing, and yoga. Debbie started the organization in September 2019 as a personal therapeutic outlet, and it has since grown into a global movement.

8. Favia Dubyk

Favia is a climber, cancer survivor, and physician. She also writes for Melanin Base Camp, an effort to increase the visibility and representation of outdoorsy Black, Indigenous, and people of color in media and advertising. She’s an incredible resource for climbing information and an inspiration through her strength.

9. Debby "Bear Repellent" Roberts

Debby is a 71-year-old Appalachian Trail section hiker who has been working through the trail for the past 30 years. You can learn more about her journey in a PBS “Windows to the Wild” short documentary as she hikes a portion of the trail in northern Maine.

Expand Your Outdoor Content With Women Making Big Moves on and Off the Trail

We can all benefit from diversifying the content we see related to the outdoors. Above are just nine of the many women out there taking on incredible feats in the wilderness and encouraging others to come along with them for the adventure. 

Know someone else who should be on this list? Feel free to share your favorite outdoor women to follow with us by tagging Gossamer Gear on social media (@gossamergear) and using the hashtag #takelessdomore.