Explorer Chicks of Charleston

Set your Walter Mitty playlist to SHUFFLE as you hike, ice climb, ATV bike, and hot-spring-hop through a Viking land with a population smaller than Staten Island! This 7-day, all-inclusive, women’s-only multi-sport adventure to Iceland will slap over-worked fatigue away to make room in your soul for jaw-dropping beauty, badass women, and the most delicious gas station Pylsa you will ever eat. 🌭

Experience the best of Southern Iceland’s Golden Circle as we board our SHE-nanigan Shuttle for a road trip along the coast. We’ll chase waterfalls, trek across glaciers, audibly moan in hot springs, and spend each night searching for the perfect Van Gogh sky. (Northern Lights season, baby!)

We’ll leave the light pollution of Reykjavik behind to stay in traditional Icelandic Guest Houses and Hotels surrounded by total darkness at night.

When the sun’s beamin’, we’ll frolic on the biggest glaciers decked out in crampons and ice axes. You’ll get sendy ice-climbing glacial walls (Yes, you CAN ice climb!). We’ll set off across black sand beaches on ATV searching for the famous plane wreck and zipping through mountain canyons.

Let’s not forget all of those waterfalls! Instagram-worthy moments include Gulfoss, Strokkur’s steamy water geyser, Skógafoss, strolling along the black sands of Diamond Beach, Glacier Lagoon, Reynisdrangar, and Seljalandsfoss.

Do you work for National Geographic now? Probably.

Did we go overboard with three hot springs soaks? After hiking into a river valley, we strip down ducked behind the smallest wall ever in frigid temperatures to take a dip in a natural hot spring in Iceland surrounded by snowy mountains. You’ll soak with locals at the Secret Lagoon and end our epic winter adventure in the new, swanky Sky Lagoon.

Sound exciting? You’ll also be with a local and an Explorer Chick Guide who will be planning your adventure day by day to take advantage of the weather and the daylight. Hey, it’s a road trip where we call the shots! No rigid schedule, but a trip that flexes and flows so you get the best vacation. We’ll be sure to stop at local favorites too for ice cream, shopping, and craft brews!

Are you ready for this?!

ADVENTURE HIGHLIGHTS

• Sensory nirvana––blue glaciers, white waterfalls, black beaches, green landscapes, amber beer
• Hike through hills, canyons and craggy-gorgeous national parks.
• Hunt down Aurora Borealis by simply walking out of the hotel/guesthouse.
• Strap on crampons and a helmet and grab an ice axe to trek across a glacier surrounded by volcanic ash
• Ice Climb on a badass glacier
• Strip down to your skivvies to enjoy the steamy goodness of natural hot springs.
• Soak in the geothermal waters of three of Iceland’s best hot springs including Sky Lagoon
• Explore the famous Golden Circle trifecta of destinations – Þingvellir National Park, Geysir, and Gullfoss.
• Soak in the iconic sights of Iceland’s southern coast including Skógarfoss Waterfall, Dyrhólaey, Glacier Lagoon, and Seljalandsfoss
• Stay in traditional Icelandic accommodation, including a sheep farm!
• Live it up aboard our private transportation as your local and Explorer - Chick guide make unplanned stops and surprises along the way. It’s your trip! We can do what we want!
• Relax with a comprehensive itinerary that makes the logistics, transportation, navigation, meal planning, lodging, and everything in-between easy.
• Geek out with supportive and encouraging Explorer Chicks on a private, women-only, small group adventure tour.

Unreal hoodoos? Check. Slot canyons? Majestic overlooks? Check. All this and more (like heated tents with electricity) await you during our Women’s Hiking and Glamping in Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon weekend adventure!

BRYCE CANYON HIKING AND BEGINNER-FRIENDLY CANYONEERING

Escape to prehistoric Utah where you’ll hike stupid-pretty trails in Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park. Wade through the Virgin River below 1,500′ canyon walls in the Narrows. Spend an entire day exploring Bryce Canyon National Park. Ghost the tourists as you wander deep into orange hoodoos. Explore areas of Zion so remote, they can only be reached by rappelling, scrambling, and down-climbing on a beginner-friendly canyoneering route.

ZION NATIONAL PARK’S SCOUT LOOKOUT

Beastmaster up the West Rim Trail to Scout Lookout and enjoy some of the best views in Zion National Park. You’ll hike through Refrigerator Canyon, and shimmy up all 21 of Walters Wiggles to Scout Lookout with panoramic views of Zion Canyon and Virgin River. Afterward, dry your pits as you descend the trail to an easier hike around the scenic streams of Upper and Lower Emerald Pools.

GLAMPING

Every night you’ll rest your head in Insta-worthy glamping tents bordering Zion National Park. Kick it by the campfire under a diamond sky with goddesses who aren’t afraid to get dirty.

Your salt lamp is trying its best to inspire but sometimes, you need the real thing. Escape into the russet vistas and sublime arches of this 4-day women’s multisport adventure in stunning Moab, Utah.
This is your golden ticket to lace up those hiking boots and leave real life behind as we explore both Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. Marvel at the colossal swoops of sandstone that frame the breathtaking landscapes like a picture. Summon your inner mountain goat as you scramble up slick rock and skip across sand dunes. Escape the crowds to discover an otherworldly quiet no meditation app can inspire.

Slip into a realm that seems plucked from another dimension, brimming with rock dunes, fins, and hidden slot canyons. Suit up, tie in, and prepare to rappel over 100 feet to the secret canyon floor below. Then do it all over again (AND AGAIN) on a beginner-friendly canyoneering adventure. You’ll scramble, downclimb, and maybe even wade through gorgeous, remote slot canyons. End the day with a stunning sunset hike to the most iconic spot in all of Utah.

Show off those sick carpool skills as you climb into the driver’s seat of an off-road vehicle. Let the sand slap your face and the wind tangle your hair as you become one with ancient desert lore. Unearth ancient relics and dinosaur bones while navigating tunnels, ravines, hills, and arches.

We’ll explore the unique town of Moab and check out the funky shops, food truck park, and restaurants all tucked in between two National Parks. Every day is a new adventure followed by the promise of the best night’s sleep of your life.

Your unforgettable Moab Multisport Weekend starts with a breezy rendezvous at an airport hotel in Salt Lake City followed by a 3 night stay in our private Explorer Chick House. Hop in the SHE-nanigan Shuttle and let your guides handle the rest.

Details

Find your bold on this Wilderness Survival Training & Hiking in Virginia weekend workshop for women only! Slay the most iconic summits on the Appalachian Trail—Dragon’s Tooth, Tinker Cliffs, McAfee Knob (known as Virginia’s Triple Crown)—as you earn your survival skills badge in Catawba, Virginia. Between hikes, learn basic hands-on wilderness survival training skills from emergency bug-hunting to fire-building in the rain.

HIKING IN VIRGINIA

First, kick off your adventure on Thursday with arriving to our lodge in the woods in the late afternoon. Your feet won’t be settled for long! Throughout the weekend, you’ll be completing the follow hikes, which all add up to the Triple Crown!

DRAGON’S TOOTH HIKE

Gear up to tick off the first jewel in the crown: Dragon’s Tooth. It’s the shortest of the three hikes, but the most exciting. Scramble up rocks and via ferrata-type ladders to reach the summit and the huge monolith stretching to the sky on the summit. Feel daring? Climb up the monolith for 360 degree views of the valley below and all the bragging rights.

TINKER CLIFFS HIKE

The next morning, embark on your hike with the most elevation gain: Tinker Cliffs. It’s a beautiful hike, taking you across a field where you’ll be able to stare way up to our goal. Trek through the “Green Tunnel” with a gnarly steep section. Then, connect with the Appalachian Trail to reach the summit. Then you get to kick back, break out that sandwich, and bask in the view of the next day’s summit: McAfee Knob.

MCAFEE KNOB HIKE

Saturday evening, we’ll hit a mall walker’s stride as we jump on the trail to catch one of the best sunsets. The hustle up the mountain is totally worth the burning quads as you rest your hiker booty and kick your legs off the edge of the world on McAfee Knob. There’s a reason why it’s one of the most photographed spots on the Appalachian Trail. (And, one of our favorites!)

WILDERNESS SURVIVAL SKILLS TRAINING

On Saturday morning, we’ll take a short hike to our outdoor classroom. Here, we’ll spend the day learning and practicing wilderness survival skills. You’ll want to grab a notebook and a pen to scratch down some notes. Throughout the day, learn a variety of knots, how to construct a few types of wilderness shelters, how to start and feed a fire even in the rain, and which bugs are the tastiest for eating! 🦗 Yes, it is completely hands-on. You will be building fires and shelters all with a supportive group of like-minded, fun women.

BACKCOUNTRY PERSONAL SELF PROTECTION

On your final day in wilderness paradise, learn hands on Backcountry Personal Self Protection. During this hands-on course, gain these necessary survival skills:

• break free from a stranger’s hold
• recognize the signs of threatening behavior
• learn to use objects you carry in your day pack as a weapon

You’ll be able to practice in a supportive environment with a “Red-Man Suit” while learning a proper palm strike, finger fan, knee jab, knee strike, and blocking moves. KA-POW!!! We’ll say goodbye Sunday afternoon, after refueling our bodies during one last delicious lunch at our Mountain Lodge.

BEAUTIFUL MOUNTAIN LODGE IN CATAWBA, VIRGINIA

Each night, rest your head at a beautiful lodge nestled in Catawba, Virginia. It lies at the base of the mountains surrounded by woods without another trace of humanity in sight. Call it home for a few days, with freedom to stretch your legs on the lawn soaking up the sun after hiking, sharing stories around a campfire, or knocking back a few beers in the communal area. And, food! Your dinners and breakfasts will be home-cooked goodness served up on a plate! (Don’t worry! Bugs are optional and not on the menu!)

It’s a wonderfully wild weekend with a small group of women hiking in Virginia along the Appalachian Trail and learning wilderness survival tactics. Over the course of a long weekend you’ll quickly grow close with your posse of Explorer Chicks as you hike the trails and share memories of summits. Join us to experience this small-group women’s only hiking weekend yourself!