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A good ole fashioned sandbag could be the start of it all…

/ bethanygleason / 2 Comments

My body is sore, but it’s that good kind of sore, where even though my joints ache, I want to foam roll every muscle in my body, and all I crave is meat (says the former vegetarian), I know I am getting stronger.

I had the opportunity today to go on a hike with my good friends Rachael and Mike in Boulder. I totally sandbagged them when I said “it’s just going to be a short hike, I think like 3 miles total, enough so we feel like we worked, but it doesn’t take all day.” 6.8 miles and 2,951 feet of round-trip elevation gain later, the trail that Protrails calls “the shortest but most strenuous route to Bear Peak” proved to be just that. I had completely forgotten how difficult the trail was, but it was absolutely worth it.

It was an amazing day and as we were hiking up, we passed this group of three young teenage girls who had obviously just crushed it and were on their descent now. We said hello and asked them how much longer to the top and they cheerfully said, “Only about 30 more minutes and it levels out in just a bit!” Even though the next portion of the hike I was still sucking air, I could not stop smiling for the next 20 minutes. I was so excited to see young girls choosing to spend their Saturday outside and doing something challenging.

I am so inspired by young people who choose to spend their time doing something so positive because Lord knows when I was their age, I definitely was not always making those choices. I’m pretty sure I spent most every Saturday playing volleyball at all day tournaments or overnight tournaments, or doing all of my chores so I could go hang out with my friends. No where on my adolescent radar was the idea that taking a hike with friends could be a great Saturday afternoon activity. I’m also pretty sure that I didn’t even know such thing as a trail existed, let alone in Michigan. It just wasn’t something I was exposed to.

This is why I am so excited to go on this journey. Many kids these days are committed to doing something at a really young age and while I think that things like playing an instrument, playing sports, etc can be really positive experiences, there is also a part of me that wonders if, given the opportunity, would the outdoors have been something that I really connected with at a young age? Who knows.

All I know is that I had a wonderful family who loved and supported me through anything that I was interested in and I am lucky enough now, to have experienced the outdoors in a way that has forever left its mark on me. I hope that on this trail, I can at least give young girls an opportunity to see or do something that maybe was never on their radar and give them exposure to a trail that is right in their backdoor. Maybe one day, one of those girls will sandbag their friends and leave their bodies sore, tired and hungry for more adventure.

A quick update on the Iron Belles Initiative….

My friend Kristina and I have officially partnered together and submitted our paperwork for “Iron Belles” to be a trade name and a registered company! Once that goes through, we will be submitting our paperwork to be an official non-profit organization! We could not be more excited! Here’s our mission:

Iron Belles is an organization devoted to shifting the paradigms around women in contemporary society. Our mission is to challenge traditional gender roles and help each woman push past her perceived limitations. We want to create a positive community of women who empower each other, and we are dedicated to helping individuals create their own stories.

Here’s how you can help! We are going to be starting the process of developing our logo and if you have a creative idea, let me know! (bethany.gleason@gmail.com) You can also start to follow us on our facebook and instagram accounts and start tagging your woman adventures with #ironbelles.

Facebook: “Iron Belles”

Instagram: @ironbelles

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Ooo So Thankful, Ooo So Thankful…

/ bethanygleason / 1 Comment

I was recently introduced to the musical group, “Nahko and Medicine for the People” by my friend Rachael on a trip to Steamboat. And in typical Gleason fashion, I have been incessantly listening to his music for the past 8 days. I have a lot to be grateful for and the song that has been on my mind is one called, “So Thankful.” 

I have always made an effort to practice gratitude. Some days this practice is really difficult and some days it’s very easy. Today is one of those easy days. I feel so grateful for the recent events that have unfolded in connection with this journey.

My last post was about some frustrations I was having with the process of finding sponsorships and the reality of the difficulties of that process. I realized that I needed to go back to the drawing board. I wanted this journey to be meaningful in some way, but I hadn’t yet found the way that I felt would connect with sponsors and others. So I spent some time brainstorming what is important to me and what are the things that I am most passionate about and then how can I connect those with this journey. Through much talk with family and incredibly supportive friends, I have decided to start an initiative called, “Iron Belles” with the goal of getting young women outside connecting with wilderness in order to discover their own strength and capabilities.

My sister and I came up with the name “Iron Belles” because the Iron Belle trail in Michigan is where this initiative will all begin. I also really love the combination of those two words because “Iron” represents strength and “Belle” comes from the French for beau or beautiful. To me, it is the perfect combination of strength and beauty, which are two qualities that all women possess and qualities that I find in myself, but sometimes need a little encouraging and reminding that strength is beauty and beauty is strength.

The goals for Iron Belles and for this trip are to do the following:
– Get at least 3 young women and a Physical Educator from each city or county that the trail passes through to join me for a portion of the hike
– Find the 25 best things to do along the Iron Belle trail
– Find 100 things to do along the trail in honor of the Michigan DNR’s Centennial
– Advertise the brand new trail for the Michigan DNR
– Inspire women young and old to get outside

Eventually, the goal is to take “Iron Belles” to every state in the US by finding a long distance trail in each state that young women can join me on, to encourage young women to get outside and potentially discover a passion for the outdoors and discover their own strength and capabilities.

I feel so grateful for the help along the way in creating this vision. I started a “GoFundMe” page in order to help raise the $8000 it will take to make this trip and initiative happen and have already received some very generous donations from friends who support the vision. This week, I also got my first “sponsorship” through the help of a co-worker, Lisa. Lisa talked to her sister, Linda, who works for Trango and that same day, Linda emailed me to tell me that they would support me with clothing for the journey. So Stonewear Designs, an off-shoot of Trango who creates amazing women’s clothing will be providing me with some clothing for the trip!

If you are interested in helping support the “Iron Belles” initiative, please consider spreading the word and supporting in one of a few ways:

1. Think positive thoughts for me and send well wishes 🙂
2. Follow me on instagram @bethanyglee, twitter @beth_gleason, and this blog
3. Support me monetarily through my go fund me page at the following link:
Donate here!

4. Spread the word to family, friends, co-workers, etc!

So in the adapted words of Nahko, Got to give, got to give, got to give, I’ve got to give you all a little kiss yea! Thank you so much for your continued support of this dream and happy trails!