Hey everyone, so this is hard for me, but my well-being is telling me I need to suck it up and ask for the help I need. Maybe you need Unlikely Hikers as much as I do.

Unlikely Hikers is building invaluable community, I think that’s obvious to everyone who follows. Things probably look really glamorous. I’m getting a lot of opportunities and “followers” (I still hate that we use that word!) and I’m beyond grateful! BUT the truth is community building efforts, interviews and even tv and radio airtime don’t usually pay.

I’m spending extremely long days working on this, often with no days off, for almost nothing. Obviously, this isn’t sustainable and it has begun to affect my wellness. I want to make this work financially sustainable and quit my day job, so that I don’t have to scale back, which is how things are looking right now and that feels heartbreaking. You wouldn’t believe the hours I put into planning, researching and conducting group hikes alone!

Patreon is the best way to donate and I’ve just created a really cool rewards program, including access to private resources (journal, podcast, etc. all detailed in full on my patreon!).

One-time donations via paypal or venmo (@jenny-bruso) will really help, too! If you donate $10 or more, I’ll send you a 3-pack of stickers. Just be sure to send your address with donation.

I thank you for your consideration and for your dedication to my work and Unlikely Hikers!

If you have been donating to my patreon for awhile at $5 or more, you will also gain access to these new rewards and I’m also thinking about something I can do retroactively to show my thanks. You will be contacted on Thursday or Friday of next week to get your new rewards!

Unlikely Hikers creates safer, supportive outdoor community for people underrepresented in outdoors culture. We hike together as a group. No hiker left behind! Absolutely no diet or weight loss talk. Be mindful of gender pronouns, group dynamics, microaggressions, cultural appropriation and different physical ability levels.
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SERIES: Low Intensity. This series has an even stronger emphasis on body- & fat-positivity. Slower pace, elevation gains under 500 feet and usually 3-4 miles. Open to Unlikely Hikers who specifically need trails like this. (find out what series is best suited to you here)

LOCATION: Welches, Oregon

TIME: 10am – DRIVE TIME: 1h20m

TRAIL STATS: 5.2 miles (but we’ll decide how long we want to go together!), 100 ft. elevation gain.

Continue reading “Group Hike – Low Intensity – Old Salmon River Trail” →

1.  I was on Live Wire Radio! Public Radio International, bitches! (I’m on at 42:52.) I sound bizarrely confident. I wasn’t, but maybe I’m getting better at faking it. Cute Story: as I was getting ready for this, putting on my make-up, etc., a booming voice from on high infiltrated by very being: “CHERYL STRAYED WILL BE THERE!!!” Writer George Saunders, was the “big” guest that night and he was her writing mentor. I was about three seconds away from shitting myself the entire night thinking she would be there. She wasn’t, but this happened the other day:

Which segues us nicely into 2. I’m performing at Back Fence PDX tonight. Just me, you and 500 of our closest friends. This is by far one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. Public speaking hasn’t gotten any easier for me even if I’m doing it often. Even at the last Queer Adventure Storytelling, my very own event, I was near losing it with nerves. Pray for me. I do know that I’ve done all I can to prepare, so whatever happens happens. It’s my birthday tomorrow and I’m skipping town, so that seems like a good plan.

3. I was chosen out of hundreds of applicants to be one of Granite Gear’s 2018 Groundskeepers! Essentially, I have committed to picking up trash on trails for 300 miles. I will definitely be writing about this a lot and also inviting people to join me. This includes some Unlikely Hikers group hikes that will center this mission. From my application: “Leave it better than before” is such a compelling act! I want to spread the message and also show how easy it is pick up errant trash. We all feel bummed seeing plastic water bottles and micro trash on our beautiful trails and sure many of us pick it up, but making it into an actual mission sounds so positive and inspirational. It will also be great for people who move at slower paces as many of my group hikes are for beginners and people who need slower, friendlier trails. I also like the idea of people learning how to train their eyes for it. It may open up a whole new world of seeing while on trail.

4. If you haven’t read and subscribed to my newsletter, Unlikely Outdoors, what is keeping you? It’s an amazing resource featuring the work of (these are all instragram handles) @theventureoutproject, @brownpeoplecamping, @indigenouswomenhike, @outthereadv, @nativesoutdoors, @akunahikes, @tyrhee.moore, @latinaswhohike, @queerouthere, @vanessatakesphotos, @mynameisbam, @thegreatoutchea, @oriartgallery, @ashleysadventure, @wilddiversity, @queernature, @melaninbasecamp and more! Hold space for my many errors, they need love, too.

SERIES: General (find out what series is best suited to you here)

LOCATION: Silver Falls, Silverton, Oregon

DATE: Saturday, March 17

TIME: 10am

TRAIL STATS: 7.5 miles, 600 ft. elevation gain, loop

Continue reading “Group Hike – General – Silver Falls” →

RSVP on facebook! Or don’t, just come!

Queer Adventure Storytelling happens every second Wednesday featuring stories of the outdoors, traveling and beyond by queer, trans and gender non-conforming speakers. Let’s build a NEW outdoors narrative together!

Our guests for March 14th are Miche Lozano, Jen Naughton, Kendra Wissel & Sye Laird! (bios below)

No Strings attached, co-producer Travis’s string band, will play before the event to set the vibe!

QAS is brought to you by Trevor “Homework” McKee, Mercy Sham (Wild Diversity), Travis Clough (The Venture Out Project) & Jenny Bruso (Unlikely Hikers)

Continue reading “Queer Adventure Storytelling – March 14” →