This episode of the Outside Podcast is brought to you by REI Co-op.

They want to make the outdoors the largest level playing field on Earth.

And this summer, they're kicking off more than a thousand new events and classes designed just for women.

Michelle Allard teaches one of those classes. It's a backpacking basics course and she's got one big message for everybody who shows up.

It's not as hard as you think it is. It's easier and it'll get easier the more often that you do it.

That's a lesson Michelle learned firsthand.

She didn't hike or camp until she was an adult. My family was really not like an

outdoors family. We didn't camp or anything.

And so when I grew up, I decided that I wanted to go camping

with my friends, and then they showed me how to do it.

And I was just like, all right, so, you know, let's go.

And I just hiked in my jeans and it ended up being really fun and like I said you just learn as you go. And if you want to learn some before you go, like what to wear, what pack, and what to eat.

Check out those free backpacking basics courses and more

at REI.com slash Force of Nature. From Outside magazine and PRX, these are dispatches.

Stories from our writers in the field.

Every once in a while a person comes along and starts an organization and you just want to root for it.

You just want to see it succeed.

In this case, the person is Vanessa Garrison, and the organization she started is called Girl Trek.

And the story of Girl Trek is a story about health and justice and power and survival.

But mostly it's the story of trying to change the world

and change your community

through something so simple is going for a walk.

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