Skip to content

Jenny Bruso & Unlikely Hikers

Unlikely Hikers
Writing
Shop
Hikes + Events
Plus-Size Activewear
Media
Gear List + How-To
Donate + Sponsor

portland oregon

Ape Canyon (+ writing)

by Jenny Bruso on September 21, 2016December 1, 2016

The Unapologetic Fat Girl’s Guide to Exercise and Other Incendiary Acts – Hanne Blank

by Jenny Bruso on August 30, 2016September 3, 2016

The Adventure Gap – James Edward Mills

by Jenny Bruso on August 22, 2016August 31, 2016

Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls – Jes Baker

by Jenny Bruso on August 22, 2016September 3, 2016

The Journey is Good, Too.

by Jenny Bruso on July 5, 2016March 20, 2017

Trekking Poles

by Jenny Bruso on July 5, 2016September 7, 2016

Gear + How to

by Jenny Bruso on June 17, 2016February 11, 2017

Growing Pains

by Jenny Bruso on June 7, 2016June 24, 2016

Why America Hates Fat Women…

by Jenny Bruso on May 23, 2016May 23, 2016

Posts navigation

Follow Blog via Email

Receive e-mail notification of each new post xo

Newsletter

A once-monthly digest of all things Jenny Bruso & Unlikely Hikers – CLICK

Jenny Bruso & Unlikely Hikers

Jenny Bruso & Unlikely Hikers

@jennybruso on IG

We can entertain the idea of respecting each other’s politics when we’re all on a level playing field. . You don’t get to vote for only the things you like about a presidential candidate, you vote for their entire platform. Fiscal conservatism ain’t real, boo. It’s true that in voting we all make compromises on things we don’t agree with. Those who have the most social privilege need to decenter themselves and vote with those who don’t in mind. Vote with the entire planet in mind. . I will vote for whoever will beat Trump, but I want to vote for Elizabeth Warren. I don’t believe any president is a hero. It’s so hard for me to think anyone who wants to be the “ruler of the free world,” as they say, can be anything less than a narcissist and egomaniac, but I am so ready to be wrong. I think Bernie Sanders would be good enough, but he is riding the wave of misogynist bullying from his followership and doing too little to distance himself from it. . It makes me cringe to think of another old white man as our president. Hear me out! We are living in new times and we need new faces for the change we want to see. We know the power of representation and it feels like a self-fulfilling prophecy to keep voting for the same profile of a leader. . Pete Buttigieg is not it. Our first gay president shouldn’t boast that if he could take a pill and not be gay, he would. Internalized homophobia isn’t a cute look, sweetie. Michael Bloomberg isn’t it, either. He is just as evil as Trump and has said too many racist, misogynist, transphobic things to count. It’s his ego that wants to beat Trump, not his moral compass. . Don’t mistake bluntness for unkindness. That wouldn’t even be in question if I were a man. Couching something important with polite disclaimers and kid gloves so folks with more privilege don’t feel called out takes energy that can be better purposed. I’m always coming from a place of love and belief in our collective power, even in my anger and pain. . I’ve put some links in the story highlight “2020 Election” to fill in the gaps here. Share if you like ✨

Another stop on the love train –– I used to say dancing in the club (and at the after party) and hiking were the only kinds of movement I liked and I was just fine with that because our culture of body shame mostly made me despise all exercise. Now, I’m realizing how spacious my definition of joyful movement has become, thanks to some amazing leaders I’ve had the pleasure of moving with. Follow them! Make your feed a place where movement is fun, not something you punish yourself with. . 💪🏽Tasheon Chillous, she/her – @chilltash – is a Certified Personal Trainer (CPT). I took one of her plus-size group fitness classes and had so much fun, but more than that, it made me feel really inspired by the creative possibilities of gym-based movement. Tasheon posts a lot of videos and photos of herself working out and talking about things in ways that can change anyone’s ideas about how we view gym life. Because of her, I just started seeing a personal trainer (like, literally today) and I’m feeling PUMPED. . 💪🏽Sam Ortiz, she/her – @samortizphoto – is a rock climber and mountaineer. In 2019, she started hosting plus-size rock climbing events after lobbying her rock climbing gym to get plus-size harnesses. I *never* thought about rock climbing––ever, but seeing a group of plus-size folks climbing up those walls like spider monkeys was all it took for me to decide I need to start rock climbing immediately and I love it! . 💪🏽Crystal Lina, she/her – @goredita – similarly, I never spent one grain of thought on boxing, but when my friend Crystal started a fat boxing group, I signed up at first chance. Now I’m walking around these streets like, I-wish-a-motherfucker-would… Also, the group is called Fat Fists of Fury, so I basically had no choice as it was a force greater than I. . #climbbig #fatfistsoffury #unlikelyhikers #mybodytookmehere #joyfulmovement #fatandoutdoorsy

Somewhere along the way, I caught hold of a star and it pulled me into a future I couldn’t imagine in my wildest, dreamiest dreams. The future isn’t a fixed thing. It is faceted like a gem and just as tough. You can try to bury it, throw it into a lake, push it to the back of a dresser drawer to be forgotten, but it still shines despite best efforts. Let it SHINE. . I am wrapped up in the coziest gratitude and love for these beautiful souls. Their presence in the world gives me no choice but to never stop believin’! My love, @breezy__does__it, and friends @chilltash, @theblackalachian and @erinsends7. Thank you @merrell for turning a vision into something I can hold onto. . #merrellambassador #unlikelyhikers #MYBODYTOOKMEHERE #sayitloud

@unlikelyhikers on IG

“I grew up in an outdoorsy family, with a river guide dad and a mountaineer mom but spent my formative years immersed in urban queer scenes searching for some kind of idealized belonging. After a decade of disowning outdoors adventure though, boy howdy, I came back with a vengeance! On my first thru-hike I stayed in the closet as trans. I was hiking solo, far from my familiar urban queer community. I didn’t want to answer prying questions about my body, or deal with transphobia out there on my own. It ended up being a really lonely hike. So, last summer on the #greatdividetrail, I decided to screw it and bring my whole trans self to the trail and you know what? It wasn’t that bad. I answered a lot of questions, but it brought me closer to people, and I finally got to experience belonging without sacrificing either part of who I am.” . —Mik | they/them/theirs | @gaylyfwd . 📍Kakwa Lake, British Columbia. This land is ancestral to the Dakeł (ᑕᗸᒡ), Lheidli T'enneh and possibly others. . Tag #unlikelyhikers to be featured! . [image description in Alt Text]

“I’ve always been a lover of the outdoors. I grew up hiking in the pine barrens, body boarding at the shore and skating the streets of Jersey and Philly. I had a motorcycle crash in 2004 that resulted in several life threatening injuries and the amputation of my right leg above the knee. I’ve been able to get all my passions back and then some. But the thought of hiking scared me the most because walking caused me so much pain after the amputation. Luckily I’ve always believed in doing the things that scare me the most and finding a way to adapt. I still get nervous before any hike but once I push past that feeling I’m filled with love and appreciation for this body that I’ve taken through hell and back. And for Mother Nature that has shown me true beauty and taught me what it means to be resilient.” . —Dani | she/her/hers | @dani.burt . 📍Mukuntuweap aka Zion National Park, Utah. Mukuntuweap is the Paiute name. This land is ancestral to the Southern Paiute, Pueblos and possibly other tribes such as the Ute, Goshute, Paiute, Navajo (Dine), and Shoshone. . Tag #unlikelyhikers to be featured! . [image description in Alt Text]

“Whether it is hiking, cycling, climbing, skiing or any other outdoor activity, I've always found a safe space in the outdoors to feel welcomed. Growing up as a tomboy, the outdoors was a space where gender expectations about how I had to be and act relaxed. It allowed me to just be me. Nowadays, as a trans person, nature doesn’t judge my identity or the way I look, it doesn’t choose who’s going to die or survive based on that, but on knowledge about the natural environment. Going outdoors allows me to believe in and be proud of my body, to love and take care of it. Moreover, being outdoors is also part of my academic life –– I'll be starting a Ph.D. about the experiences of trans people in outdoor activities in the autumn); my activism –– with the collective, educational, and research project @somatecarevoltosa; and hopefully, my work life –– I'm completing my education to be an official mountain guide, probably the first known trans mountain guide in Spain.” . —Bart | they/them | @bartbloem . 📍Étang Long, Ariège, France. . Tag #unlikelyhikers to be featured! . [image description in Alt Text]

@unlikelyhikers on Twitter

Post to

Cancel