Kate Vancouver did not take lightly to her peers in elementary school telling her she shouldn’t be playing certain sports with the guys just because she was a “girl”. Now, the senior studying outdoor recreation is planning to complete one of the longest footpaths in North America, the Appalachian Trail.
“I found that the major itself was, like, really classroom and theory heavy, but I wanted to have a really intense period of time getting technical experience in the woods,” Vancouver said.
Vancouver has been planning on hiking the Appalachian Trail this upcoming spring for quite some time, but after a conversation with some roommates in 2014, her trek had a new added purpose.
“One of my friends got back from her day at work and was complaining and I was like, 'it’s okay man it’s still today', just kind of joking around,” Vancouver said. “And as one does when they’re with their friends they like start taking it too far — and we’re like woah that could mean so much though.”
The idea of being in the present, remembering that “it’s always still today” is the message Vancouver wanted to spread.
“At any given point in time it's still applicable –– like it’s always still today,” Vancouver said.
From that conversation, Vancouver began to spread her "It’s Still Today" message through stickers she began printing and handing out to friends. The connection between It’s Still Today and the 2,190 mile Appalachian expedition only came after hearing about the organization SheJumps, a non-profit with the mission of encouraging the participation of women and girls in outdoor activities.
“I think it’s great. …The outdoor industry is underrepresented by women in general,” Eric Schow, Vancouver’s boyfriend, said. “So getting more women out, knowing that you can live out on your own in the woods, on the ski slope, wherever it might be, I think is a great message and she’s really passionate about it.”
Vancouver began emailing as many founders within SheJumps as she could until she got a response, hoping to partner with them. Once she heard back, everything began to simultaneously fall into place, Vancouver said.
“People had been kind of passively suggesting that I make shirts and sell them and use that to fundraise but I wasn’t really sure, I just felt weird,” Vancouver said.
Feeling uneasy about fundraising solely for the sake of affording her own expedition, Vancouver’s partnership with SheJumps gave her the opportunity to tie in her goal of completing the trail to a bigger cause.
“When I heard about SheJumps, I realized I could like bring all of the things that I wanted to do together and just use them to create one bigger project,” Vancouver said.
Setting her personal fundraising goal at $6,000, Vancouver plans to continue past her personal goal until she reaches $15,000, which will go directly to SheJumps and their mission.
To help get her fundraising off the ground, Vancouver expanded on the It’s Still Today brand from simply stickers with a message, to a line of outdoor themed t-shirts she has been selling since spring 2015.
With a graduation date set after Fall Semester, Vancouver said she is going to use the gap between graduation and her departure date to kick her fundraising into full gear –– selling even more It’s Still Today merchandise, hosting live-printing events and getting to down to the essentials of packing for a five to six month expedition.
Vancouver’s original plan was to make the trip solo. However, the trip has shaped into an adventure she will be making with her boyfriend and another couple.
“This is kind of a transition time in my life and I was certainly inspired by the amount of energy she has for this organization. … I thought it’d be cool to help her out and (I) was just up for a new adventure,” Schow said.
While having company can be beneficial on a trek with the magnitude of the Appalachian Trail, maintaining a sense of individuality throughout parts of the hike is important for personal growth and getting the most out of the trip, Vancouver said.
“We’re not going to like spend every night together, even with our respective boyfriends. We’ll have like a sense of individuality because like, five months is a long time to be with the same people,” Vancouver said.
Understanding that her trip could be lengthened by the possibility of additional travel partners, Vancouver said she is welcoming to the idea of her hike taking longer than expected.
“My goal is to finish the trail in five months, but I also understand with being so open about other people joining me that it’ll probably slow me down, so it might end up taking me like six months or whatever,” Vancouver said.
Vancouver said she is hopeful that through her partnership with SheJumps, other girls will get to experience parts of the trail with her.
“I’m really hoping that along the way, SheJumps will be able to organize times for girls to come and hike with me,” Vancouver said. “Also, (I’m) like really encouraging anyone that I meet to also join me for any period of time that works for them.”
