Well+Good: You were an activist long before you started Hike Clerb.
When and how did that calling come for you?
I have been in community work in an official capacity since I was in middle school.
Its something I carried with me once I got to high school.
In college, I was also a chairwoman in the student government.
Serving the community has always been a guiding light in all of this.
Evelynn Escobar is the founder of Hike Clerb, an intersectional womxn’s hike club and social justice movement.
Obviously you reached people in way that was authentic, because Hike Clerb is a success.
I moved out to LA a little over six years ago.
I was also strengthening my own connection to nature.
Thats not the safest thing to do when youre a woman.
And I just remember it catching me so off guard.
I also remember getting curious stares while being out there, which I also just did not expect.
We give away annual national park passes every month to three BIPOC womxn.
Were trying to give everything we can to the community so that it can flourish and grow.
Currently, we are doing virtual events and also in-person events when things are safe.
Evelynn Escobar is the founder of Hike Clerb, an intersectional womxn’s hike club and social justice movement.
What is The Missionary Sex Position?
Everything I do is just based on all the other weird collective experiences that Ive had.
What do you think Hike Clerb means for the women of color whove joined it?
Ive had a lot of people reach out to me about what it has done for them.
So I do have people who reach out and thank me for just inspiring them to get out there.
And it really helped her mental health and just changed her entire perspective about what she was capable of.
Stuff like that is really why Im doing this work, because its obviously so much bigger than me.
Do you see Hike Clerb as a tool for educating white people, too?
Our center or scope for Hike Clerb is centering Black and brown womxn and their experiences in the outdoors.
Where do you want to go next with Hike Clerb?
We have a lot up our sleeve.
I should maybe volunteer with a local shelter or become a foster.
The things that are in you are in you for a reason, and you should use them.
How do activism and wellness connect for you?
That, in turn, feeds me, and I guess it then becomes a form of wellness.
You have to have your own releases and things like that.
But at the end of the day, activism is something that fills my cup and feeds me.
Collective care has been a foundation of my life, and its something that I speak about a lot.
I If its just individualized, thats a disconnect.
Mainstream thought, especially in this country, is just very much individualized.
Were not meant to journey this existence alone.
Is this a new project?
Youre doing so much to evolve the way the BIPOC community engages in nature.
We have to flip the system upside down and rebuild.
…
Got it, you’ve been added to our email list.
