More women hunt for outdoor activity

HOLDERNESS, N.H. — It was my first time in a canoe, and I couldn’t remember which stroke was which. There I was, paddling along without a clue. My instructor patiently suggested that I do a reverse sweep stroke.

What was that again? I had just learned it. I tried to improvise, but she was on to me.

She was at the back of the boat — or as I had just learned to call it, the stern. I was in the bow — the front — and we had a passenger in between us.

The instructor asked if I wanted to turn around and watch her demonstrate.

Turn around? In this tippy little thing? In the middle of a lake? No way.

Somehow, we made it back to shore — although I’m pretty sure she did most of the work. Was I tired and frustrated after circling around aimlessly for a couple of hours? Yes. Would I do it again? You bet.

I don’t consider myself an outdoors person, but there I was that weekend — canoeing, catching a fish, using a bow and arrow, even shooting a rifle. I was “Becoming an Outdoors-Woman” — just as the program I was attending had promised.

Becoming an Outdoors-Woman was started by Christine Thomas, dean of the College of Natural Resources at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The first workshop was conducted in Wisconsin in 1991 with 100 women. This year, 20,000 women are attending classes in 43 states and five Canadian provinces.

Some participants have never held a fishing pole nor rowed a boat before taking these workshops. For me, growing up in New York City, I spent a lot of my free time in museums, theaters and stores. Many of my summer vacations were spent in other cities.

Even recalling my Girl Scout days, I don’t remember being exposed to many outdoor pursuits. As workshop coordinator Laura Ryder noted, a lot of Girl Scouts “didn’t get to do all the cool things the Boy Scouts got to do.”

In generations past, Miss Ryder added, boys typically went fishing and hunting with their fathers, while girls often stayed home with their mothers. While some sporting goods companies now publish catalogs just for women, Miss Ryder said that women still sometimes feel ignored by sales staff in stores that sell outdoors equipment.

“They talk to the husband; they don’t talk to you,” Miss Ryder said. “Those kinds of things really exist, and they tend to be discouraging for women.”

There’s also an intimidation factor. If you really want to get into a fish-and-game club, there’s often a heavy emphasis on competition, Miss Ryder said. The Outdoors-Woman workshops focus on learning in a noncompetitive, supportive environment.

The courses are open to women 18 and older, and topics vary by location. Arkansas offers “Pioneer Women Skills,” where you learn how to throw a tomahawk and put up a lodge or teepee to spend the night in. In Colorado, participants learn wilderness and survival skills in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Florida has a course on tracking deer. Nebraska has a course that simulates a morning duck hunt. Wisconsin offers “Sewing With Fur.” Warmer climates have scuba diving, while some states offer winter workshops on snowshoeing and ice fishing.

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