Blue Ridge Hiking Company partnered with Asheville Habitat to bring you JPD’s Spring Hike Series, a fundraiser for Women Build. The virtual series raised nearly $11,000 to support the construction of a Women Build House to be built in Habitat’s New Heights neighborhood. A big Thank You to everyone who participated!
The Women Build program empowers women to build – and advocate for – affordable housing in their communities. To date, we have built 15 Women Build Houses in Buncombe County.
Hiking helps improve mental and physical health. So does a healthy home. Asheville Habitat homes are Healthy Built, providing homeowners with ongoing comfort and safety. Adults and children who previously experienced respiratory disease due to mold and mildew, illness from lead exposure or toxic heat sources, and psychological disorders due to financial pressures, experience improved mental, physical and emotional health once the conditions of unhealthy, unsafe homes are eliminated.
Jennifer Pharr Davis
Ode to Hiking
Hiking is not Complicated.
Merriam Webster calls it a walk through a natural setting.
You do not have to be a Patagonia Model or Look Outdoorsy to go outdoors. You do not have to live near a mountain.
You do not have to hike fast or far – the trail does not care about these things.
We hike because it reminds us that our bodies are a gift and made to be in motion.
We hike to reclaim the fact that we are not separate from nature, but a part of it.
We hike to know the land and observe our environment so we can enjoy it – and be aware of what is happening to it.
We hike to create time and space for original thought and to hear our inner voice.
We hike because trails bring us together. They are a place where we can all find common ground.
We hike because we need a place to freely grieve and openly struggle. There are so many things you can’t fix. Sometime all you can do is take another step.
Hiking can be as simple or profound as you want it to be. You can refer to it as nature therapy or forest bathing, you can meditate or pray, or you can just put one foot in front of the other. The results are the same – it makes you feel better.
We hike because it takes us away from our sheltered, sedentary, screen filled lives and reveals the truth of who we are – and what we were made to do.
We are ALL hikers.
~ by Jennifer Pharr Davis
RESTORE – ASHEVILLE
