When Janet Taylor joined a Facebook group for women who enjoy hiking, she thought it would be an opportunity to try a new hobby while recovering from a leg surgery that impacted her ability to go on runs.
She didn’t expect that two years later, she would be planning and leading a 35-woman trip to Big Bend National Park.
Taylor is a member of the Hikerbabes DFW chapter. Hikerbabes is a hiking club that aims to unite diverse groups of women through outdoor activities and has chapters on five continents.
Originally a runner, Taylor joined the Hikerbabes group in 2020 after a neighbor told her about the group. Taylor, a Lake Cliff resident, says she had never considered Dallas to be a hiking hub before joining the group.
“(My neighbor) had a hike that was just under the Trinity bridges, and I was like, ‘It’s right by my house. I should not be afraid to be going to this,’” Taylor says. “I’m really shy until I know people, and that’s part of this group, encouraging women to get out and not be afraid to do these things.”
Shortly after joining the Hikerbabes, Taylor took on an ambassador position.
As one of six ambassadors for the DFW chapter, she says the position is nearly a full-time job. She estimates she spends 30 hours a week working on Hikerbabes projects, answering questions for members and planning and leading hikes.
When planning a 35-woman trip to Big Bend, Taylor spent seven months working out logistics and planning an itinerary that included river rafting and hikes of varying skill levels.
“Of course, now everyone’s like, ‘When are we going again?’” Taylor says.
Members of the Hikerbabes come from across North Texas, and range from ages 18 to 76, Taylor says. She estimates that around 2,700 women are members of the Hikerbabes Facebook group, with careers ranging from teachers to military members.
“We are a diverse group of women,” Taylor says. “And because Oak Cliff is so diverse, I’d love to get more out there more and get more Oak Cliff members involved.”
Jenna Wilson has lived in Hampton Hills for nine years and joined the Hikerbabes shortly after Taylor. She says Oak Cliff has “hidden gems” hiking trails that most people don’t know about.
Wilson says she gravitates to trails maintained by the Dallas Off-Road Bicycle Association, or DORBA, because their trails are well-cared-for and hiker-friendly. A “huge asset,” DORBA built the trails at Oak Cliff Nature Preserve that the Hikerbabes frequent.
While Wilson isn’t an ambassador for the group, she says it’s not uncommon for members to make spontaneous hiking plans on days that a formal meetup isn’t planned. Many of the women in the club operate with a “safety in numbers” mindset, she says.
“Anybody is allowed to just throw it out there and have an unofficial meetup, and you know that they’re like-minded sisters who enjoy the outdoors,” Wilson says. “You may or may not have met them at a previous hike, but you know you have friends in common. And so there’s some security in that.”
In addition to the Oak Cliff Nature Preserve, Taylor says the Cedar Ridge Nature Preserve, the Trinity Audubon Center and Coombs Creek offer walkable outdoor opportunities in and around Oak Cliff.
Each location offers a different level of difficulty for hikers, but Taylor says no matter how difficult a hike, any skill level is welcome.
After hearing several members say they didn’t think they would be able to complete a hike because of distance, Taylor organized a trip to the Dallas Zoo. The members walked around for several hours, and Taylor says they were shocked at the end of the event when she announced they had walked the same distance as her upcoming hike.
“No one’s ever left behind, we always make sure,” Taylor says. “That person who’s struggling, we want to encourage them to finish and be happy and want to come back.”
While Wilson joined the group for the hiking, she has benefitted from the social aspect as well, she says. Making friends as an adult is hard, she says, but Hikerbabes has put her in contact with women who she knows will have at least one shared interest with her.
She has also brought other women into the club, who have then met new acquaintances and become close friends.
“It provides a lot of camaraderie and encouragement, but it also provides knowledge,” Wilson says. “There are always hikers who are more experienced than you, whether it’s how many years they’ve been hiking, or they’ve hiked a place that you haven’t hiked yet, or they have maybe some first aid knowledge because they took a class. And so there’s a great sense of just helping each other grow in confidence and ability and experience.”
While Dallas isn’t known for being a pedestrian-friendly city, Wilson says since joining Hikerbabes, she has been more confident in walking while out and about, even when it draws confusion.
While waiting for her car to be fixed at an auto shop, Wilson told the mechanic she planned to walk to Home Depot to pass the time. He was incredulous, she says, insisting the .7-mile route couldn’t be walked.
Wilson’s response: “Watch me.”
Taylor agrees that joining Hikerbabes has instilled her with a sense of “girl power.”
While on the trip to Big Bend, Taylor was one of 10 women who decided to summit Emory Peak. The mountain is one of the tallest in Texas at 7,825 feet.
“I got to the top, and there was this man, and he had a GoPro. He was like, ‘Wow, look at that. There’s a woman,’” Taylor says. “I said, ‘You just wait. There’s nine more behind me.’”
