Hidden Hikes, Swimming Holes, Jean Shorts and Rosé
The Ladies Adventure Club of Maine
I’m taking you on a little adventure today, a 'Ladies Adventure', with the Ladies Adventure Club of Maine.
I had the privilege of hosting some of the amazing members of LAC at Evans Notch Lodge back in early June for a weekend of hiking, biking, camping and chilling by the fire. I was so impressed with the way the weekend flowed, with the members dropping in and out, taking part in the stuff that was interesting or new to them, and not worrying about whether they were going to be able to keep up, or if they brought the right gear.
The Club had broken the weekend up into several discrete events that the ladies could choose to participate in, and they were super nice and let me tag along on some of them. I got to ride up and over Evans Notch with one group, which was awesome because I’d never pushed myself to go further than the top, but these ladies were all for it, so I went for it too. Now I know I can do it, which was an awesome feeling - even after I got smashed in the face by a huge bug when I was going 30 miles an hour on the way down. Note to self, wear sunglasses next time….
On Sunday of that weekend, I had the chance to hike Blueberry Mountain with the group. I decided to bring my little hand-held recorder with me so I could talk to some of the Ladies about the club, and a fantastic new initiative that LAC is involved in. The audio from these chats is what I’m sharing with you today. I wish I’d taken some video, too, because the ladies ended the hike day with a group plunge into Rattlesnake Pool, and it was awesome to see women of all ages embrace their inner kid and have a blast jumping off rocks and goofing off while they cooled off!
The Ladies Adventure Club has teamed up with LL Bean, Baxter Outdoors, Back40 Events and Baxter Brewing on an initiative called the Hidden Hikes of Maine - I’m going to let Gillian Schair, founder of the LAC, tell you the rest, but suffice to say I’ve got some new ideas for the rest of my summer weekends! (Check out the map here)
If a weekend like this sounds like fun, and you want to pull together a group of YOUR besties to DIY some adventuring, I’d love to host you all at Evans Notch Lodge! We’ve still got a few open weekends left this summer and fall that will be perfect for biking, fishing, camping, hiking, and of course plenty of rosé-swilling around the campfire.
I’ve got about a million ideas for activities in the Evans Notch area, so if you’d like some help pulling together the perfect ladies weekend, or if you want to bring your neighborhood or your extended family somewhere new for some outdoor fun, drop me a line and we can start planning - email visitevansnotch@gmail.com, or come on over to evansnotchlodge.com and fill out our contact form, and let’s get your next group adventure on the calendar!
And buy this cool hat here!