Some women might feel nervous or unsure. But travelling on your own can be one of the most freeing and rewarding experiences.
Three women will prove just that on Wednesday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. when they will share their experiences at the Bookshelf for Women In Motion: Women Talk Travel, an evening of women's stories about adventure travel.
All three well-known authors will share tips about their their own travel writing journeys with the hope to entertain, provoke, inform, and inspire those who dream of adventure and how to write about it.
"I think it's empowering for other women to hear these stories. And I think that is part and parcel of just being independent people," said Nicola Ross, best selling author of Waterloo, Wellington & Guelph Hikes: Loops & Lattes.
"I really hope more women will get out and hike or travel solo. I hear a lot of women who say I could never hike or travel by myself. But here we are, three women who did just that."
Women are invited to join the conversation with Marlis Butcher, who has "bagged" all of Canada's national parks; Pamela Mulloy, who muses about train travel; and Ross, who takes readers with her along Ontario's Bruce Trail with her latest book, 40 Days & 40 Hikes: Loving the Bruce Trail One Loop at a Time.
"I thought, this is a fun idea, to get some women together. As women, we are underrepresented in the area of travel writing," Ross said.
Whether it's adventure or writing Ross says the evening will include a bit of both.
For those with an urge to journey and write about it, Women in Motion invites everyone to attend and hear women’s stories about adventure travel.
"For the four of us, part of our connection is a writing retreat that we're all a part of. So, we will bring that writing aspect into this," Ross said.
"But really, it's all just about a love of travel."
Presenter, Marlis Butcher, author of Park Bagger: Adventures in the Canadian National Parks is an environmental conservationist, writer, photographer and wilderness adventurer. Her stories have been published in various publications including Canadian Geographic Magazine, CBC News online, and The Explorers Club’s Far Afield magazine.
Pamela Mulloy, from Kitchener, wrote Off the Tracks: A Meditation on Train Journeys in a Time of No Travel. She is the the author of two novels and is the editor of the New Quarterly and director of the Wild Writers Literary Festival.
And moderator, Susan Scott, is a Waterloo-based writer, arts and culture collaborator, and consulting editor with The New Quarterly (TNQ). Her anthology, Body & Soul, features unorthodox women writers and poets from across Canada.
And Nicola Ross, an avid hiker, cyclist and kayaker from Caledon, is a national magazine award–winning journalist and bestselling author.
"My book, 40 Days & 40 Hikes: Loving the Bruce Trail One Loop at a Time is about my experiences on the Bruce Trail. I grew up in Caledon and I still live there. I hiked the Bruce Trail a lot, but I always wanted to walk it, end to end," Ross said.
"I am a bit of a softy and I didn't really want to carry a big pack pack. And well, the Bruce Trail does not have places to stay. But I figured out this looping route. I could be self sufficient and build on the route. I intended to walk it in 40 days, and I did almost that."
But, Ross says, her book includes much more than just her own experience.
"It's more about the trail. There's a little memoir about it, the founders, and what I found along the way," Ross said.
For more information about Women In Motion: Women Talk Travel or for tickets, visit Women in Motion.
"Come out and be inspired. Feel good and get excited," Ross said.
"We all need some of that in our lives."
