You can click on the different pictures, to get and idea how solitary hiking and feminism resembles with each other.
“Virginia Woolf believed women needed a room of their own. May Sharton believed they need time of their own. Me? I think women need a route of their own. Outdoors. Away from the concrete circumscriptions of the city. Between earth and sky. Close to water.”
Abbs, Annabel (2022): WindSwept. Why women walk.
Project summary
- The base of this project is an about 6-day DIY-trail to nearby nature
- DIY-trail, because it’s not a marked official hiking trail, but I created it by my own. The DIY-trail is located near Helsinki, reachable with public transport in 45 minutes from the center.
- The trail is described in a trailguide-booklet. Every hiking day has an extra topic exploring what makes solitary hiking a feminist practice
- Although the focus of the project lies on the empowering benefits of solitary hiking, it also offers possibilities to feel and build up connection and community through hiking alone. This happens for example concretely through offering a combination of a pre-hike workshop & an “alone but together” 6-day group hike & a reflection meeting for women*/flinta*.
- As writing is also an important part of the project the idea of “Letters to my solitary hiking sisters*” explores how the community effect can develop continuously also after the hiking experience. For those who took part in a workhop/hike-combo and for those women*/flinta* who hiked without a workshop.
- Taking part in the project/workshops/hikes/renting gear etc. is free of charge. The idea is that the project will be financed through a solidarity concept. By taking part you can contribute to “trail art”. And if you want to support the project, you can buy “trail art“, what was created through hikes on the DIY-trail, influenced & shaped by it’s hikers.
- Behind: My name is Mia, I’m a nature guide, social worker & experienced solitary hiker. Beside wilderness & hiking skills, feminist & adventure education theories, especially the physical & mental benefits of nearby nature are pillars of my work.
Here you find picture impression from eight different months on the trail
Impression from Workshops/Hikes 2025/2026
A slideshow with impressions from the workshop/hike from summer 2026 surrounded by quotes from the participants of 2025:
“This was one of the most formative experience in my life as a woman, a feminist and a hiker. I experience my strength like never before. I experienced solidarity and connection with women through distance but also with two I did not know very well before this trail. They hiked the same way in solitariness, we were “alone but together”. Feeling the connection with these women made me even more stronger. I faced my fear sleeping alone in a tent, alone in nature. And I loved it. It feels like something started with that hike. This will not be the last hike, the last night alone in a tent.” (project participant 2025)
“I spent the last five days exploring the Finnish nature on my own […] I slept in the forest, by the river on a mountain top and by the sea. I walked 89 kilometres. I faced my fear of sleeping alone outside and I discovered the power of solitary hiking, being immersed in nature, in contact with myself and my curiosity. No wanting, do desires. Being empty and full at the same time. Free. I felt supported by my friends, all along the way. Alone but together. One of the most empowering experiences of my life. A homecoming.” (project participant 2025).
Here you find an overview as well as impressions from former hikes & workshops
How to take part in the project/go hiking on the trail? For whom?
Taking part means, that you will get a printed version of the trailguide. Regardless if you take part in an “Alone but together (ABT)”-group hike or hike the trail alone, through “letters to my solitary hiking sisters*” you can join and get in connection with a small growing feminist solitary hiking trail-community <3.
Workshops/hikes are only for Women*/Flinta*.
Read more about the workshop/hike concepts to get an idea what could be suitable for you, regarding your hiking experience and wishes for shared reflection & support on obstacles like fear of sleeping alone/hiking alone:
About 1-2 times a year, I will offer the Pre-hike workshop + alone but together- 6 day-group-hike for a small group (2 participants) + reflection meeting combination, what means I would be also taking part at the hike.
For whom? Women*/Flinta*, who are beginners OR/AND struggle with obstacles of going hiking alone / sleeping alone in a tent.
In the pre-hike workshop we will not only go through basic-hiking skills, get familiar with the trail and you can rent all the basic hiking gear, but we will prepare also emotionally on hiking alone, reflecting for example on how to deal with the feeling of fear while hiking alone.
The “alone but together”- group hike gives you then the possibility to make first steps in hiking alone in your own pace, knowing that your guide (me) and your fellow hiker is always near to support, if needed (read more below).
In the reflection meeting we go through all trail days, reflecting together with some distance from the experience, what we have learned and take with us in our daily life & our future hikes. What solitary hiking as a feminist practice means for each of us. Base for the reflection are your notes from your hiking diary and from a reflection template you can fill out after the hike. As you will hike with a GPS-device what tracks your hike, we can also analyze the hikes throughout the trail-lines. This doesn’t only explain, why you might have gotten lost one time, show your own type and strength of navigation, but does also mean a lot of fun, as these lines will tell a lot of stories.
Additionally I plan to offer at the beginning of the hiking season a shorter form of the pre-hike workshop and in the end of the season the reflection meeting. Group size: 4-6
In the month in between, hikers could you hiking alone. You would also get the reflection template, what is then the base/structure for our meeting in the end, connecting trail stories & thoughts on solitary hiking as a feminist practice.
For whom? Experienced women*/flinta* hikers, who have their own gear & are curious to become a part of this solitary hiking sisters* community and on hiking on a DIY-trail to nearby nature and/or want to share/reflect on strategies how to deal with obstacles like fear while hiking alone.
The pre-workshop will also include reflections and strategies how to deal with fear while hiking alone. So this could be an opportunity to share former experience, find new ways to deal with that fear you might have felt while hiking alone. Or if fear was until now a reason you didn’t went yet on your solo-adventure, I hope the workshop could enable you to do so.
For 2027 I search for experienced hikers, who want to support the project and test the concept, with only a short 1:1 meeting with me, before and after the hike. You will get the trailguide-booklet and the reflection template etc.. If this interests you, please contact me.]
Workshops/hikes for 2027 will be announced in autumn 2026. Subscribe to the newsletter to be informed immediately. Or contact me directly, if you are an experienced hiker (woman*/flinta*) and want to support the project by testing the concept alone beside a short meeting with me, before and after your hike.
“Alone but together” group-hiking concept & letters to my solitary hiking sisters*
The concept could be a first step into solitary hiking and/or enable a shared hiking experience although you hike mostly on your own.
It’s adjustable to the needs and wishes of the group members and could look like this:
- Hiking the first half day together and then splitting. The first night could be spend next to each other and we could go together through the evening/morning routines. So you can just focus on getting confident with the gear and the routines, without having the sleeping alone experience at the same time.
- After that you could decide to be the next four nights on your own or choose a night together in between, depending on your needs
- Every evening we will share our tent location, a picture of our tent spot and a short update through a chat-group, as well as an update in the morning on how the night was and when we are about to continue
- You might still meet sometimes on the day by coincident. This should offer the possibility to have a small chat if you feel like, but then you can continue in your own rhythm. If it’s more important for you to not meet while hiking, you could decide on different route options and sleeping spots the trailguide-booklet offers.
As I will also hike the trail at the same time & I would be continiously available for support, if needed. From being at first days more present and then letting you make your own experience step by step throughout the hike. From hiking an offtrail part together to setting my tent next to yours, meeting in between for practical or emotional support, having a short call, or get support through messaging. I know the trail by heart and can support from near and far.
Why letters?
The base of this project is an about 6-day long DIY-trail near Helsinki. Each hiking day has its own topic. They deal with the obstacles Flinta* experience when it’s about “hiking alone” as well as the wide spectrum of hiking as a joyful and empowering feminist practice.
I filled these chapters with what I found in my research and my own experience. The idea of the project is to encourage to go hiking alone, but on the other hand it should offer a space to connect with others and share thoughts and experiences on these topics.
As writing is also an essential part of the whole project, I caught fire for the idea of collecting these different experiences as letters. That also those can share their experiences and ideas, who just hiked the trail alone without taking part in a group workshop.
A letter template gives all the letters a common structure, asking questions on the trail experience and on own thoughts about the connected topics. Still the letter concept gives the writers much more freedom in answering these questions through expressing thoughts in a more creative way of writing, than for example listing points in different categories of the website.
As this might sound a bit abstract in “letters to my solitary hiking sister*” you can read in the first letter concrete experiences about the “alone but together”-group hiking concept and how writing is a part of the experience/process. The letter is also available as an audio file.
What else to explore on the homepage?
- If you take part in a workshop/hike, you also have the possibility to rent the basic hiking gear. Here you find a 3-season packing list, what is combined with the gear rent list, so you can check quickly, what you can rent & what you have to bring on your own. As sharing information is a important part of encouraging to go hiking alone, the list also works as little “3-season gear guide”.
- Under the category “Literature” you find reading inspiration regarding solitary hiking as a feminist practice.
- Nearby nature is not only great for 3-Season hiking, but offers also lots of possibilities in winter. For example in February 2025 I organized and held an “alternative winter hiking workshop” and 5 day hike to nearby nature. Under “alternative winter hiking” you can read more about that. At the moment I’m focusing more on offering the 3-season workshops/hikes, but in the future winter hiking will become again part of this project <3
- Under “Behind” you can read about, who is behind this project idea and why the project has the name “riot trails” 🙂 Shortly: My name is Mia and I’m a social worker & nature guide & passionate solitary hiker. Beside wilderness & hiking skills, feminist & adventure education theories, especially the physical & mental benefits of going to nearby nature are pillars of my work.
Subscribe to the newsletter to get updated on coming workshops & hikes as well as the publication of the full trailguide version and new letters from solitary hiking sisters* <3 or follow riot trails on Instagram.
You can also contact me via mail (riot-trails.hiking@outlook.com), for questions or maybe cooperation offers? I am looking forward to hear from you!