Photo courtesy of Emily Wang
In April 2024, I will attempt what I call the “Great Divide Loop”— the 5,600-mile empowerment journey for inclusion in the outdoors, hiking the 3,100-mile Continental Divide Trail (CDT) and cycling the 2,500-mile Great Divide Mountain Bike Route as a consecutive trip in a single year. The loop covers more than 14 homelands of indigenous peoples in New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. Along the way, I am committed to following their teaching from time immemorial of caring for the land.
The Great Divide Loop is the second leg of my journey that explores and connects with the two major national scenic trails and bike routes. In 2023, I completed what I call the Great Pacific Loop, hiking the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and cycling the 1,900-mile Pacific Coast Bicycle Route as a consecutive trip in a single year. Through the Great Pacific Loop, I recognized many barriers and opportunities for learning, educating, and role modeling inclusive practices in the outdoor community. I was empowered to continue exploring, and reaffirmed my role and responsibility to make a positive influence in shifting our outdoor culture to be more welcoming.
The Great Divide Loop provides vast opportunities to transcend both internal and external limitations. I plan to share stories, particularly at platforms and venues that support Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, especially women, and other communities that may experience systemic barriers to access outdoor spaces and opportunities.
We are all on a personal life journey. I hope my adventure encourages all of us to live fully–to become more connected with ourselves and our beautiful planet. For me, that involves strengthening my resilience through joy, honesty, empathy, vulnerability, and play. As a result, I will be more grounded and centered to contribute a lasting impact in our collective effort to heal ourselves from societal trauma of colonization in our spirit, our mind, our body, our communities, and our world.
2023: Great Pacific Loop
From May to November 2023, I traveled what I call the Great Pacific Loop — the 4,500-mile journey which covers more than 67 homelands of indigenous peoples in California, Oregon, and Washington. You can read my blog posts from this adventure to learn more.