Women empowered through wilderness skills

Marie Woertz is a self-described homebody who’s happy to curl up with a good book or spend a couple of hours knitting.

But that side of her personality doesn’t keep her from dropping a kayak into Saguaro Lake, jumping out of trees at a height of 50 feet, or zipping down a cable suspended high above the ground.

In fact, those are the kind of activities Woertz is itching to do more often, thanks to Becoming an Outdoors-Woman, a program conducted three times per year by the Arizona Wildlife Federation. The weekend workshops teach everyday women outdoors skills. The next will be held in August near Prescott.

“BOW has really helped me explore the outdoor woman in me,” says Woertz, a Chandler resident who went camping as a teenager and grew up fishing with her grandfather. “I like to do more outdoor activities than my husband does, and BOW gives me the opportunity to try things that I might not otherwise do.”

Linda Dightmon, director of the program, says a lot of women come to experience activities like archery, fly-fishing and GPS navigation independent of their mates.

“Spouses don’t always make the best teachers; you don’t always want your husband teaching you how to back up a boat,” Dightmon says. “A lot of women come to learn in an environment where they’re not going to get laughed at or judged. It’s very supportive, very positive.”

Some women find they learn far more over the weekend than how to pitch a tent or cook fresh-caught fish on a campfire. Dightmon says one underlying lesson is empowerment.

Rappelling down rocks and swinging from tree to tree on a ropes course helped Woertz, 46, overcome her fear of heights.

“It gave me a huge sense of accomplishment,” she says, “(and showed me) that I can step out of my comfort zone and do things that I never thought I would. My family still can’t believe that I actually did that.”

Participants bunk together in rustic cabins over the weekend, spending downtime sampling game, sipping wine and prickly pear margaritas, and forming friendships around the campfire. Days are spent learning activities of each woman’s choice — things like outdoor photography, rifle marksmanship and birding.

More than 80 BOW workshops are conducted in North America annually, and more than 20,000 women participate each year. The program was founded in 1991 at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

The August workshop in Prescott can accommodate 100 women. Applicants will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants must be 18 or older.

“The oldest participant we’ve had was 86 years old. She was awesome,” says Dightmon.

Becoming an Outdoors-Woman registration

Sign up now for Becoming an Outdoors-Woman, to be held Aug. 15-17 at Friendly Pines Camp in Prescott. The workshop costs $235 to $270. The price includes four courses in outdoor skills, all course materials, meals and lodging. Participants must bring their own bedding and towels. Additional BOW workshops are planned for January, April and August 2009. BOW is open to women 18 and older.

For information and registration materials, call (480) 644-0077; e-mail awf@azwildlife.org; or visit www.azwildlife.org/bow.html.

Look for Mandy Zajac’s report from this summer’s Becoming an Outdoors-Woman workshop in late August.