Summer McCreless is a wife and mom who once worked as an Outward Bound instructor. Ashley Baker is a yoga instructor and 13-year practitioner of yoga.
Time in nature has always been important to both women, who were casual friends through yoga, local foods and other events in the Shoals area of northwest Alabama.
One day, Summer realized she had to get outside into the woods again.
As Summer explains it: “I was feeling very fulfilled with my children, my husband, my farm, but this part of me that needs nature was diminishing.”
She called Ashley and said, “Can you go hiking with me tomorrow.”
They set out for the Sipsey Wilderness the next day, in the Bankhead National Forest in north Alabama and that experience led them to develop a program to offer camping and yoga outings for women.
“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit.” Edward AbbeyClick To Tweet
Next Trip
Summer and Ashley have scheduled the next trip, a one-night outing, for April 9-10, 2016 at Cane Creek Canyon Nature Preserve near Tuscumbia. That’s in the Shoals area of Northwest Alabama, just south of the Tennessee River.
If you’re into history and culture, you could plan a longer stay in Florence and visit many of the amazing attractions. I’ll do a separate blog post on that.
You’ll need to register in March, in time to attend the preliminary meet-and-greet in Florence, Alabama where you’ll find out what equipment you need and help plan the meals for this overnight outing.
What to Expect
In the podcast, Ashley and Summer give lots of details about what to expect on their trips, including the April 2016 overnight trip to Cane Creek Canyon. As soon as I have time this weekend, I’ll extend the blog post to provide some of those details in written form. For now, I need to plant tomatoes!
Connect with Summer and Ashley
April 2016 Camping + Yoga Event Page on Facebook
Ashley Baker Yoga
Website: AshleyBakerYoga.com
Facebook Page: Ashley Baker Yoga
Instagram: Ashley Baker Yoga
Summer McCreless / Mothering Herbs
Website: Mothering Herbs (coming soon)
Facebook Public Group: Mothering Herbs
Facebook Page: Mothering Herbs
Instagram: Mothering Herbs
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Interested in yoga AND backpacking for women? Ashley and Summer lead tours. Share the story with your friends.Click To TweetInspirational Nature Quotes with Graphics
I asked Summer McCreless to give me several of her favorite nature quotes. I’ve created a series of graphics using these quotes. Here are a couple and I’ll be adding more in a separate blog post. I hope you’ll share them! Be please don’t remove the Shinecast.tv or Discover Grow Shinecast logo. Photos by Sheree Martin.
Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.
John Muir
Everything that you think was important before you stepped into the woods is no longer important when you’re in this vastness of nature. Ashley Baker
Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit.
Edward Abbey