[foofoofunky]

I'm interested in hooking up with some women to do a 2-3 night backpacking trip in mid-September. I'd want to go up pretty high (5000+) to enjoy the late summer alpine country in the Olympics or Cascades. A moderate to difficult hike (2500-4000 elevation gain), so experience is necessary! I'm 28, live in Seattle. Any takers? Lets chat and see if we'd partner up well. I know it's early in the year, but it's always good to plan ahead!

[foofoofunky]

No takers?

[Quark]

Probably too early to decide. Depends upon the larch season, where folks've already backpacked, etc. I personally don't like to be tied down to a criterium of "all women," or any other type of exclusionary restraints!

[Allison]

"all women" is not a standard I care for either. The one I use is "all cool people"

[Dogman]

That's m'gals. Ruff.

[Quark]

[Dayhike Mike]

Don't feel bad, Foo... I'm guessing that if I let it be known that I was interested in hooking up with some women to do a 2-3 night backpacking trip in mid-September, I'd get no response either. Then again, it'd probably be for an entirely different reason.

[catwoman]

I'm not really one for "all women" intended trips, either.

[Larry]

MichaelB: "No response"....the story of my dating days....hahaha! I'm too old to date now. I just go along with whoever will have me. Michael: How about some more info on your beautiful avatar photo? Nice shot. [edit] Oops. Your avatar changed again. The one I was referring to is the image of the meadow and the tree superimposed against the sharp peak.

[Dayhike Mike]

Larry: Sadly, I've actually never had a girlfriend that actually enjoyed hiking/backpacking. They claim to, but once we start dating all that goes out the window and I'm left to my own devices on my weekend trips. I still have a crush on one of the members of Explorer Search and Rescue that came in to rescue my dad. Saw her again seven weeks later, on the way in to extract a lady at Gem Lake who'd gotten dehydrated or drank some bad water or something, but she didn't recognize me. *sigh* [Edit]: The Avatar image you're referring to is a picture of Dragontail from a hanging valley just above the big waterfall at the top of Aasgard pass. It's a great diversion from the otherwise long and rocky ascent.

[foofoofunky]

Wow, I'm surprised that women wouldn't want that kind of an experience. Welp, to each her own. I am curious though why a woman wouldn't want to do a backcountry trip with an all women group. I'm asking honestly. I think it's a lame excuse that one wouldn't want to be "tied down to a criterium of all women." There's other reasons that should be the deciding factor. Is it because of the fear factor? Confliciting personalities? Wouldn't be fun? My intentions for this weren't to segregate men from women. It is to have the experience of backpacking with a group of women, only. Guys do it all the time (guys only weekends). My husband will be on his 6th year straight of his "dude trip", and I'm not allowed to go. It's a special thing they do, no wives or girlfriends allowed. I decided, hey, something like that would be good for me, too. Unfortunately, I do not know any girls who backpack. Thus the search on this board.

[Quark]

To me, Humanity is genderless. Kindness, humor, freindship, love - it's all genderless in my book. Gender does comes in handy on occasion, though. I have to admit it. There are 2 ways to look at your "all women" criterium: Do you want an all female trip because you'd feel more comfortable because of your marital status, or is it that you have a problem with testosterone? If marital status prompts the same-sex requirements or desires, that's understandable. I don't understand your phrase, "that kind of an experience." WHAT kind of an experience are you talking about? Is an all female backpacking trip more special? I have been on plenty of trips with just girls - 'cause it turned out that way, not because it was planned that way - and I don't notice any greater specialness than those trips which turned out to be with men only (other than me), or a mixed crowd. I don't understand your phrase "fear factor" in relation to someone not wanting to be with women, so I cannot defend that. On any one of the all women trips I have been on, I have never feared of them. I guess if all of us were on the same menstrual cycle and PMS hit all at once, that might be scary. It sounds as if your hubby and his buddies are wanting to get away from "wives and girlfreinds," not "woman." Getting away from "wives are girlfreinds" is a whole different ball of wax. You call it an "all-guys" weekend, but rather it's a "no wives and girlfreinds" weekend. There's nothing wrong with that. It's probably not that you are "not allowed;" on these guys only trips, rather, I think "not allowed" is the phrase used by both of you that relays the communication that needs space, as any marriage would have - and it seems as if you are smart enough to understand that. Why don't I participate in "all women" events? Thus far in life, I haven't had a need to do so. I don't have issues regarding men, and am not intimidated by men. There's a greater risk of running into man bashers at an event advertised as "all women." I don't have the time or the patience to listen to a man-basher. I would respect a married freind's desire to not have men around, however (I just don't happen to know any like that). As stated above, that is a separate issue. You stated that my comment, "I wouldn't want to be "tied down to a criterium of all women" is an excuse, it is not. It's a philosophy, it's part of who I am. It is not an excuse.

[catwoman]

I'm coming from the same place that Quark is coming from.

[Stefan]

I am man. I get out a lot. 95% of the time the trips I go on are always men, and it is very refreshing to have women come along when it happens. Women have different perspectives I find interesting.

[Dayhike Mike]

I'm in the same boat as Stefan... Almost all of my hiking partners have been male, simply because I've had a hard time finding women who enjoy the sport. To me, being able to hike with women is a real breath of fresh air -- different perspectives, different priorities, different conversations, and different is good. On the other hand, I understand Foofoofunky's interest...many of us may not have 'all male' or 'all female' on our list of desired qualities or prerequisites, but I'm sure there are plenty that this would appeal to. That's the benefit of this public forum -- Foo will likely find the people she's looking for and they'll all have a great time together. I'm guessing Quark's first reaction was correct -- it's too early and you'll find more responses coming later in the year. Or my own reaction (via PM) that people might be looking for a little more info and better idea of what they're getting into before they're willing to commit. Don't give up, Foo. Don't let our good natured joking dissuade you.