In the wilderness, girls learning life lessons

This year marks the fifth anniversary for Girls in The Bob – a program of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation designed to introduce young women to wilderness and public lands stewardship.

The program was started by the Foundation’s Chair of the Board of Directors, Sara Boilen. The owner and Chief Clinical Psychologist at Sweetgrass Psychological Services, Boilen is well-versed in the psychological benefits of outdoor recreation for women. She wrote her dissertation on the power of rock climbing on the female psyche and has been passionate about wilderness therapy for young people ever since.

“I went on a 10-day trip as a 16-year-old at summer camp that helped foster in me not only an appreciation for the outdoors but this, then novel, experience of myself as competent, capable, and hearty,” Boilen explains. “I know it works from a research standpoint, and I know it works from a personal standpoint. And I knew that combining the adventure of backpacking with the task of stewardship could only be more incredible for a coming-of-age experience.”

Boilen saw an opportunity for this type of project within the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation’s already well-oiled volunteer wilderness stewardship projects. She led the first Girls in The Bob trip in 2015, taking a crew of eight young women to backpack and complete trail work projects in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex.

The Foundation has learned a lot since that first trip, especially in striking the right balance between strenuous hiking and trail work while maintaining a positive wilderness experience. But they’ve enjoyed incredible success in the goal of empowering young women to become more confident leaders and backcountry users.

Boilen said it can be a transformative experience for young women.

“The second year, one gal who joined us had never — despite having grown up in the Flathead Valley — been camping. We got about 300 yards up the trail and she just gave up. The group of girls and women divided up and carried much of her gear to help ease her burden. Several hours and a couple of slips, trips, falls and tears later, she made it to camp. She let me say ‘I told you so,’ grinning with pride and wonder at her accomplishment. She left the wilderness, days later, a changed girl. Of this, I am certain, because her mother called me a couple of weeks later to tell me how she had suddenly decided to get a job to make some money during the summer, initiative her mom had never before witnessed,” Boilen said.

She has since handed the project off to the Foundation’s Stewardship Coordinator, Meg Killen. These days Killen primarily oversees the Foundation’s internship program, but leading Girls in The Bob is one trip that she hasn’t been able to let go of.

“It’s become one of my favorite trips of the summer. I walk away feeling inspired myself, seeing the strength the girls find within themselves,” Killen explains. “It’s always moving to watch the girls let go. Let go of technology, let go of appearances, let go of fear... and the laughter that comes from that is infectious!”

Mya Hendershott volunteered for Girls in The Bob projects in 2018 and 2019.

“I loved the adventure of it all: the grimy, sweaty work; the barbaric feeding sessions; all the games and shenanigans; and the friendships,” she said.

This year’s project will take place from July 5 through 10 and take the girls on a seven-mile hike along the Middle Fork of the Flathead River to camp near Spruce Park. They will work up the Vinegar Mountain Trail No. 260 to clear trees and brush, improve tread and clear drains. The trip is full, but there is a waitlist available.

The Foundation welcomes all women and girls, transgender and cisgender as well as non-binary people who identify with the women’s community, ages 14-18, to experience the adventure, find their strengths and push their limits. Find out more at www.bmwf.org/girls-in-the-bob.