Gila Wilderness Backpack

Ambassador Stephanie has an exciting adventure in store this fall! She will be backpacking through the pristine Gila Wilderness along the Middle and West Forks of the Gila River. Stephanie plans to not only share her journey, in hopes of breaking down barriers of entry to backpacking, but she will also explore the connection between the people, land, and water, highlighting the importance of wild flowing rivers like the Gila River. It is Stephanie’s hope that others will feel inspired to get outside AND will begin to see themselves as stewards of the land. Join us in supporting Stephanie as she hikes (and splashes) her way through the outdoors while fundraising for The Cairn Project.

100% of revenue from this fundraiser will be channeled into The Cairn Project's grants program, offering funding to local groups around the country that are connecting girls and gender expansive youth to opportunities to learn in outdoor spaces. Learn more here.

The Cairn Project acknowledges that we, as settlers past and present, are not the original stewards of the land we occupy and recreate on. Land Acknowledgements are a formal remembrance of the original stewards of the land and sea and their connections to them. They are a simple and meaningful way of showing respect and taking a step toward correcting the stories and practices that continue to erase Indigenous people's history and culture. 

Learn more: An in-depth exploration into Land Acknowledgements and find your local Native or Indigenous people here (https://native-land.ca/), or learn about reframing land acknowledgments from Dr. Len Necefer here (https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/exploration-survival/indigenous-land-acknowledgments/). Written in partnership with Song Seto, a TCP 2022 Ambassador.

Thanks to Bedrock Sandals for supporting Stephanie's campiagn!