Explorer Chicks of Charlotte

Does the idea of going on safari make your heart do little goat kicks? Do you have a lower back tattoo that says “Hakuna Matata?” When you have the rare opportunity to spin a globe, is there ONE continent that you run your fingers over every damn time? We made this trip of a lifetime just for you, Explorer Chick.

This 10-day women-only South African safari is a bucket list adventure with an obscene amount of relaxation and adrenaline. There will be kayaking with penguins. Cage diving with sharks. Multiple wine tastings (including a women-owned vineyard!). Poolside lounging in the bush. Two in-country flights in and out of the Kruger National Park region. THREE FULL SAFARI DAYS to see lions, elephants, and leopards. A scenic hike up and cable ride down Table Mountain. A photo opp stop in Cape Town’s most colorful neighborhood. And a soul-bursting tour of Nelson Mandela’s home turf.

Best of all––you get to see each golden sunrise and fiery sunset with a badass bus of women who love to travel just as much as you. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll never want to leave. Your goosebumps will get goosebumps as every meal, logistic, and pee break is planned by someone who isn’t you.

Order the most cargo pocket-y safari pants and bring your birding binoculars. You’re gonna experience a lifetime of feelings. Because time hits different when you spend it in Africa with your new besties.

Hit your bucket list with all the feels on this women’s guided hiking and backpacking weekend! During your Yosemite Half Dome Hike adventure, tour Yosemite National Park as you climb the famous cables of Half Dome with ladies who do their own stunts. Live out every last one of those John Muir nature quotes in the backcountry of Yosemite National Park. Mountains calling? Check. Between two pines? Check. Walk with nature? Double-check.

GUIDED BACKPACKING IN YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK BACKCOUNTRY
Romp through the backcountry on a demanding, yet epic backpacking trip. Meet your new woman crushes in the Yosemite Valley as the landscape gives way to mountains, waterfalls, and a piney perfume that’ll make Yankee Candle totally jelly. Mother Nature swiped ALL THE WAY right. Leave the phone on airplane mode to immerse yourself in stunning national park backcountry over the course of four epic days. Climb steep, challenging trails to look down upon the Valley with a panoramic view that includes Mt. Starr King, Half Dome, Nevada Falls, Illilouette Falls, and plenty of ant-sized tourists with tiny selfie sticks.

HALF DOME: HIKING TO THE TOP
Fuel up for the real MVP—the famous cables of Half Dome! Blast that hiker booty (and bring plenty of water) while ascending 500 feet up a .5 mile of steps carved into the rock. Then, the real fun begins. It’s a 400-foot gain up the top of Half Dome with some points at 70%+ grades. Pace your footwork on wooden slabs spaced out on the climb as you get the upper body workout of a lifetime. Worth it? HELL YES!

BACKPACKING EQUIPMENT PROVIDED
Don’t have backpacking equipment, but can Beastmaster the stairs? Perfect. Explorer Chick has you covered with:

• a backpack
• sleeping bag
• sleeping pad
• shared tent

All you need to do is show up for this Yosemite Half Dome Hike to backpack like a boss and get that National Parks bucket list checked.

OVERVIEW

Are you into endless views? Old-growth forests? Mist bouncing off a 100-foot waterfall hitting your face? Then spend a long weekend with a small group of women hiking the best trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (including parts of the Appalachian Trail).

Channel your inner goat girl as you stroll through iconic scenery and listen to stories of the women who helped shape the Smokies. Take a brief break from the trail living out your pottery fantasies throwing clay on the wheel and sculpting your very own mug. Then kick back like a queen with nightly glamping near Gatlinburg, TN.

BOOTS = HIKING

Get your blues and greens in on three stunning hikes that don’t even look real. The views from Charlies Bunion and Ramsay Cascades are complete madness. Wind your way through pine trees and over classic creek crossings that make you momentarily consider a coonskin hat. (But not really, because animals ♥️)

ROOTS = HER-STORY

Did you know a woman was the first settler to move to the Smoky Mountains? You didn’t? That’s because Martha Jane Huskey Ogle’s husband called dibs on the fame. Learn about the deliciously woman-heavy history of a wilderness that man tried real hard to claim as his own. Your Explorer Chick guide will drop all the juicy gossip, connecting you to the goosebumpy sisterhood who walked before you.
Deep dive into Appalachian crafts straddling a wheel and molding a coffee mug with your very own hands. Local artists will guide you through the entire pottery process and only help when needed. After 10 weeks of drying, firing, and glazing, your mug will show up at your doorstep. Surprise! Relive the SHE-nanigans of your Smokies trip.

YOU FEELING MAX COMFY WHILE GLAMPING

Put your feet up in total Insta-worthy digs at our adorable glamping site minutes from Gatlinburg. You will sleep in a tent that has been tastefully decorated and luxuriously appointed with WiFi and temperature control – with meals freshly prepared at camp by your Explorer Chick guides. You only have one task after hiking: RELAX.

ADVENTURE HIGHLIGHTS:

• Hike the Appalachian Trail to the sweeping panaromic views from Charlies Bunion
• Get up close and personal with the Smokies tallest waterfall, Ramsey Cascades
• Learn how to work clay on a wheel as you create your one of a kind glazed coffee mug
• Kick back at camp with breakfasts and dinners cooked by your Explorer Chick guides.
• Sleep easy at our Glamping site with canvas tents outfitted with all the creature comforts.
• Relax with a comprehensive itinerary that makes the logistics, transportation, navigation, meal planning, lodging, and everything between easy.
• Geek out with supportive and encouraging Explorer Chicks on a private, women-only, small group adventure tour.

PTO hanging on by a thread like your favorite ugly bra? We blow the roof off of what’s possible to do and see in 4 days with this women-only hiking and hot springs adventure weekend in Yellowstone National Park!

You’ll meet up with the group girlies in Jackson, WY for a caffeinated drive to Old Faithful, which erupts every 90 minutes like the bad bitch she is! Gawk as you walk amongst ONE-QUARTER of the world’s geysers in Yellowstone’s stunning Upper Geyser Basin. Get all the braggy photos of Grand Prismatic’s steaming rainbow that’s way more dramatic than a Beyonce Met Gala look. Hike past giant Hoodoo rock formations and stunning basalt columns that might turn you into a giant geology nerd.

We’ve got sneaky waterfall stops. Choose-your-own adventure hikes. Secret trails… along with Yellowstone classics––like a Hoodoo hike into Mammoth Hot Springs, a friggin wildlife safari in the Lamar Valley, and a canyon walk into Artist’s Point at sunrise. And to top it all off, we’ll slip into a hot spring as the sun sets, letting those adventure muscles soak while you bask in some serious golden-hour goddess vibes.

We could see grey wolves, grizzlies, bison, eagles, and more. We’ll enjoy hearty meals and our own private shuttle that blasts Stevie Nicks. Plus daily free time for introvert recharging and comfy lodge beds to rest our happy bones.

Give us your overworked bodies for one long weekend, and we’ll give you back your feral souls.