The ones before us: a tribute to historical women solo travelers
As I've gotten older, started working, and recently became a "titi", I've realized the importance of role models in my life and the life of every woman that aspires to be great.
With all this social media craze, it's easy to think that we should look up to the people with most likes, a huge following, or renowned influencer status. Well, with Women's History Month coming to a close, I wanted to share the stories of some seriously badass women that stepped out of their comfort zone, said yes to exploring their limits alone, and changed the course of history in different industries. These women took giant leaps of faith to pursue a longing they could not ignore and for that they inspire me every day.
Obviously not all inclusive (I mean, there are so many amazing women that did and are doing better things than sharing booty pics & motivational quotes on Instagram), I hope this list of achievements by women not much different than you or I inspires to go out there, find what gives you purpose, and do something great with it. Enjoy!
Probably everyone who reads this will know who Amelia Earhart was and why she deserves to be on this list. She was one of the first female aviators in the world. She accomplished some pretty amazing feats of courage and brains in her short career. She is mostly known for being the first female to fly solo across the Atlantic. She did, however, break many speed and distance records for women pilots using different aircraft, and was the first person to fly across both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. She was a published author and a technical aeronautics consultant at Purdue. She is presumed to have died in a plane crash while she attempted a flight tour around the world (she was almost done at the time of the accident). Amelia's story is a favorite among many women and young girls that look up to women that challenged the structure of male-dominated industries.
It was in the late 1950's, when issues of social justice and inequality were being challenged in the US, that Jane Goodall left England for Tanzania at just 23 years of age, alone and with no specific plan as to what she would do. She had little formal training on scientific research on animal behavior and conservation, but she'd long dreamed of moving to Africa to pursue wildlife studies. She has since then turned out to be one of the most important figures in the fields of animal science and wildlife conservation, impacting the world with both her research and personal wisdom as an advocate for humanitarian practices and preservation of Earth's ecological resources.
I saw Jane speaking live at an event the Biological Sciences department held at my school the year I graduated. To say it was an inspiring experience would not give it justice. I love her and everything she stands up for, and I specifically admire her courage to go after what her heart desired and the way that, to this day, at almost 84 years, she's still trotting around the world delivering the messages she believes are worth spreading.
I'd heard of Laura a few years ago, but was brought back to her story while doing my research for this article. In early 2012, Holland-born Laura, then 16 years old, became the youngest person - male or female - to ever circumnavigate the globe alone. Her story was made famous even before she had departed on the roughly 18-month journey since the Dutch government initially restricted her from doing so. I love Laura's story because she exemplifies life-long devotion to what she says is her calling (hey, I would think so too if I had been born in a boat and gone on my first solo ride at age 6) and extreme maturity handling difficult situations when no one else is there to support her.
Alison was a very experienced and gifted mountaineer as well as a wife and mother to two young children. In 1995, she became the first women to summit Mt. Everest (29,029 ft. amsl) completely solo and without supplemental oxygen (anyone who knows even the tiniest bit of high-altitude trekking can appreciate how amazing that accomplishment is). A few months after that huge success, she lost her life during a severe storm while descending K2, the second highest mountain in the world.
What is interesting about Alison's story is how the English media reacted to both events. When she summited Everest, her children remember it becoming headline news all over England. When she returned home to her family, she was praised for her bravery and thanked for putting her country at the top of the mountaineering scene. However, after the sad news of her passing in Pakistan's K2 made it home, she was criticized for her irresponsibility and selfishness as a wife and mother.
After I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro last year, I came home obsessed with the prospects of summiting higher bigger and tougher mountains, and it's something I hope to get into in the future. As tragic as it ends, I love Alison's story because if reminds me that if I love it, I should keep doing it, and that no matter what stage of life I'm at, I set my own limits as far as what I can accomplish. She was definitely breaking societal stigmas then, and I'm thankful for her legacy.
Of course a fitness model would make it to my list of admirable women, but the real reason she makes this list is because she's so much more than that. Ashley, a Bodybuilding.com and Reebok sponsored athlete, is a successful businesswoman and philanthropist. She travels all over the world performing crazy stunts of extreme physical capacity with the goal of raising funds to sustain her two main non-profit affiliations, Maison Fortune, a children's orphanage in Haiti, and Unbroken Foundation, an organization helping women and children impacted by domestic violence. Some of the challenges she's completed over the past few years include a 300 mile indoor row, a 230 mile run through Haiti, the Rim to Rim to Rim ultramarathon challenge in the Grand Canyon, and more. She's currently training to run 100 miles in Iceland in the following months to say "Fuck You" to cancer. She's also training for climb Mt. Denali to raise funds to support the organizations she leads. She has multiple for-profit businesses and raises a family. So basically, she's Superwoman.
If there's any woman here I would love to follow in their footsteps, it would be Ashley's. Sharing her same love for wellness and service to others, she motivates me to pursue what I love and find a way to give back. In a way, that's exactly what I hope to do with this blog and my skills in the future. I'm already starting my own pursuit of difficult physical achievements.
Happy end of Women's History Month, ladies! If you know of any other inspiring female solo traveler (or just inspiring woman), please share their name and story in the comments or send me an e-mail!