Wilderness Heals creates opportunity and community for women

Upon moving to Boston from Ohio, Vicky Waltz picked up a weekly paper at the supermarket and saw an advertisement in the back for the Wilderness Heals hike. She e-mailed in for information and promptly signed up. Four years later, there is no doubt in her mind that picking up that newspaper changed her life.

"When I first moved to Boston I didn't know many people, I wanted a community. ... I thought it would be a good way to get to know people and to get involved in a cause that I feel very strongly about," said Waltz of her initial decision to sign up for the program.

Wilderness Heals is an all women, annual hiking program that raises money for the Elizabeth Stone House, an organization in Jamaica Plain that supports and houses women escaping violence and abuse. Now in its thirteenth year, this year's Wilderness Heals program will lead 52 women on a variety of three-day hikes through the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Although that magazine ad ultimately led her to the program, Waltz's mother had always actively supported women working to break the cycle of abuse, which in turn inspired Waltz.

"When I was growing up my mother volunteered at a battered women's shelter. Growing up, there were women in my house who were escaping abuse, children stayed with us whose mother was in hiding," said Waltz.

"Growing up I saw what my mother was doing and even when I was eight or nine I thought, that's something I want to do one day."

Wilderness Heals hikers are split up into teams of four to six based on their hiking abilities. A team leader accompanies all teams, but women of all skill levels are encouraged to participate. Women enrolled in the three-day hike are required to participate in at least one training hike, which take place from mid-May until the three-day hike. This year's hike runs from July 18-20th.

"It's a great way to get to know people, it's a great way to assess your capabilities and what your body is ready for, your limitations," said Waltz of the training hikes. Although she did moderate hiking while living in Virginia, Waltz had never done any serious hiking. Her first training hike remains one of her most challenging hikes to this day.

"It was Cannon Mountain, it was the first training hike of the season and there was still a lot of ice and snow," said Waltz. "I had never hiked in ice before and it's very difficult, they put me in snow shoes. I'd never worn them before and essentially I was falling every few feet down a very steep trail and I was panicking. Eventually I took off the snow shoes and eased down the trail on my butt, at least a quarter to a half mile."

Despite the challenge, Waltz didn't give up.

"My team leaders were really surprised when I came back and was just as enthusiastic as ever," she laughed. "I did it and now I wanted to do it again. Nothing has been as difficult as that."

This year, Waltz will be facing Cannon Mountain again and it'll be her first time back since that daunting training hike.

"It still seems like this unconquerable thing and I want to prove to myself that I can do it, and I know that I can," she said.

Although nothing has been as scary as that hike, Waltz faced a lightning storm a few weeks ago as a team leader, and admits that wasn't the easiest experience either.

"We had to stop and do lightning drills and one of the hikers was in a panic. She held herself together very, very well but knowing you're out there in a rainstorm with lighting, it is dangerous... it gets the adrenaline pumping. I wasn't panicked, but I was nervous," she said.

Of course, not all her hiking experiences have been scary.

"My first year was a very magical experience for me, my first time really becoming involved in a community of people," said Waltz. "I had friends in college but I wasn't involved in a true community, it's very different."

Hikers are required to raise a minimum of $1200 in pledges for the hike, and this years fundraising goal is $125,000. Wilderness Heals Event Director Danielle Piscatelli said that goal is more than attainable.

Waltz, whose day job is working for Boston University's Today news website, has relied on her letter writing skills to help her reach her fundraising goal.

"Last year I wasn't sure because my letter got mixed up with graduation announcements and wedding invitations, but this year I've had larger donations, a couple of large checks," said Waltz. "I have a very generous family and friend base, so it's great."

Of course, raising money is one of the main objectives of the program, but Wilderness Heals is just as focused on raising awareness and creating an incredible community for a diverse group of women.

Waltz, an out lesbian, recently split with her partner, with whom she had moved to Boston. The Wilderness Heals women have been a source of support to her as she recovers from the breakup.

"I just feel like this whole community of women is there to help me get through it. They're there if I need to cry or to talk or if I need somebody to be with," she said.

Although the hiking season only runs a few months each year, Waltz is involved year round. She has been on the recruitment committee for the last three seasons and now that she's a team leader, she is involved in training and hiking from the very beginning of the spring.

"I stay pretty involved year round, there really hasn't been any break," she said.

Team leaders receive basic first aid and wilderness training and they learn leadership and problem solving skills. But both Piscatelli and Waltz emphasize that even though each group has a team leader, the women become a unified team.

"The team leader is somebody who is really and truly not a guide, they're part of the team. ... It's very much a give and take, it's about the way the teams are really structured, the way they function is that everybody has a purpose and everybody works together," said Piscatelli.

"It's probably not the best term but it's the best one we can come up with. You're really not leading anybody, it's really a group dynamic," commented Waltz.

As a direct result, participating in Wilderness Heals has taught Waltz a lot about herself and other women.

"I think the best lessons maybe that I've learned is to stop comparing each new hike to previous hikes, because they're all going to be different," she said.

For instance, she recalls her first three-day hike as a magical and challenging experience; the following year, however, an ankle injury prevented her from pushing herself very hard.

"The entire first day I was comparing everything, [I was] frustrated and in a bad mood, I kept saying it's not as good and it's not going to be as good," she said of the second hike.

That year her team climbed Hail Mountain, whose legend is that its topmost rocks are magnetic. Hikers are supposed to leave something there, circle the top three times and think of something to let go.

"After that, I accepted the hike for what it was and I ended up having a wonderful time, just as good as a time as the previous year. ... It wasn't as challenging as the previous year but it was still a tremendous experience and I wouldn't let go of that," Waltz reflects.

Overall, it's clear that Waltz wouldn't trade her Wilderness Heals experiences for anything, and she encourages all women to participate.

"I think this is a really good experience for all sorts of women. You don't have to be a really hardcore mountaineer to be able to do this hike, it caters to women of all abilities," Waltz said. "I think that's what makes the hike so unique, you can be someone who's never put on hiking boots before and you can still do the hike. You can be someone who's hiked all over the world and still do the hike. ... I think it's one of the most fulfilling things."

For more information about Wilderness Heals, visit www.elizabethstonehouse.org or wildernessheals.blogspot.com or call Danielle Piscatelli at 617-427-9801 ext. 415.