Day 12: What Does Community Mean to You?
Reflect on how connection shapes your outdoor experiences
Hey there, Heroine,
Some adventures are best taken solo, but others? They’re made richer, deeper, and more meaningful because of the people we share them with.
Your prompt for Day 12:
Reflect on what community means to you and how it’s shaped your outdoor experiences.
Maybe you’ve hiked with a group that kept you laughing through the toughest miles. Maybe you’ve had a quiet moment of connection with a stranger on a mountaintop, watching the same sunrise. Maybe the best outdoor experiences aren’t about who was physically there, but who you carried with you in your heart.
Whatever community looks like for you, think about how it has influenced your relationship with nature. Has being outdoors ever made you feel more connected—to others, to yourself, to something bigger?
Share your thoughts in the comments or on Substack Notes, and tag them with #LoveTheWild. I’d love to hear how the wild has brought you closer to the people (and places) that matter most.
With gratitude for this wild-hearted community,
Jill
I used to do mostly solo hikes and backpacking trips, not because I preferred them but because it was difficult to coordinate schedules with the few hikers I knew. But a few summers ago, I started volunteering on the Ice Age National Scenic Trail and it completely changed my outlook on community in the outdoors.
Not only do I build friendships with other volunteers as we work, eat, and camp alongside each other for a long weekend, but I also have interactions with hikers who are passing through the project areas and neighbors who come out to see why fifty cars have suddenly descended on a small trailhead parking lot. It's amazing to see that the trail building and maintenance work that I help with is building community beyond what I personally experience at a project--it creates a place for others to go and build their own community.
Though I enjoy hikes where it feels like I am the only one in the woods, knowing that the trail I walk on was built through a great act of community makes me feel even more connected to the area.