Join outdoor writer, educator, and podcaster Shawnté Salabert, author of Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail: Southern California, for an evening spent exploring the joys of backpacking. We’ll dig into how to morph from day hiker to backpacker, gear systems, planning and preparation, risk management, and how to segue into solo trips and trips with children. Shawnté will share practical advice, offer up trail stories from her thru-hiking experiences, and answer your questions about getting out there!
Shawnté Salabert is a freelance writer interested in human-powered exploits, environmental issues, and outdoor culture. She is the author of Hiking The Pacific Crest Trail: Southern California (Mountaineers Books, 2017) and is currently working on a new book that explores the myriad ways people connect to the world-famous John Muir Trail / Nüümü Poyo (Mountaineers Books, 2027). Her writing has appeared in the anthologies Crossing Paths: A Pacific Crest Trailside Reader and Campfire Stories: Tales from America’s National Parks and Trails. She has been published by Adventure Journal, AFAR, Alpinist, Backpacker, The California Sunday Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, KCET, Los Angeles Magazine, Modern Hiker, Outside, SIERRA, and Vox, among other outlets. Shawnté is also an outdoor educator and is the host of the Gear Abby podcast, an audio advice column that answers people’s burning questions about outdoor people, places, products, and pastimes.
The mission of Ventura Trail Mamas is to support women and families in Ventura County through all stages of motherhood by building a welcoming community that shares in a common appreciation of nature, with the goal of providing a space for personal connection, physical movement, and engagement with our local natural environment. We exist to act as a reminder to mothers to keep doing the things you love!Â
