Explorer Chicks of Pittsburgh

Get all the cowbell your heart desires in the undulating Alpine valleys and mountain passes of Slovenia. Slo-what-now? Slovenia is the sweet spot between Austria, Italy and Croatia. This week-long women’s hut to hut hiking, rafting, paddle-boarding and e-biking adventure includes all the good stuff. Ancient capital city exploration. Hiking hidden paths in the Triglav National Park. Trekking in the heart of the Julian Alps. Wild foraging and picnicking. And a winery bike tour! All in the company of your new BFFs forever. You’ll sleep in mountain huts and hotels. You’ll eat rich, comforting foods. And you’ll go home wishing your partner could talk dirty to you in Slavic.

HIT THE ANCIENT STREETS OF LJUBLJANA

This capital city is so beautiful and filled with history – that it doesn’t feel real. Wander the older-than-Rome winding paths. Fantasize over which poets strolled along the river banks. Wink at a street busker. Sigh as lovers canoodle by the overlooking castle. Slovenia feels like the place where things happen, and you’re here for 8 magical days to see it all.

HIKE HUT TO HUT IN TRIGLAV NATIONAL PARK AND THE JULIAN ALPS

Clamber through remote mountain passes to the cadence of delightfully foreign moos. You’re seeing the hidden splendor of the Alps on a 3-day hut-to-hut hike! Traverse forest paths, wildflower meadows, and rocky trails. Gawk up at Mt. Triglav, Slovenia’s highest mountain. Sample fresh dairy from farming pastures near Lake Bohinj.

TREK THE SEVEN TRIGLAV LAKES. EXPLORE LAKES BOHINJ AND BLED

Enjoy some mostly downhill walking as you explore the Valley of the Seven Triglav Lakes. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for marmots before journeying to Lake Bohinj, where you’ll stand-up-paddle in the morning sun. Next up, Lake Bled, the ultimate panty-dropper for nature lovers. Take all the photos from the best camera angles, brave a swim, and soak in some history as we explore a scenic drive on a road built by Russian prisoners during WWI.

EXPLORE SOČA VALLEY AND GORISKA BRDA, “SLOVENIAN TUSCANY”

Wander along verdant gorges, hanging bridges and turquoise river pools in the stunning Soča Valley. We’ll meet with a local wildflower expert to forage and prepare a meal of wild edibles. We’ll then hop a rafting boat down the Soča River to enjoy a leisurely float before preparing for WINE COUNTRY. We’ll E-bike, wine and dine in Goriska Brda, weaving through orchards and olive groves, sampling ripe fruit from the tree, and trying the local wine.

ADVENTURE HIGHLIGHTS

• Hike Mountain Hut to Hut in the Julian Alps and Triglav National Park
• Push yourself in a challenging alpine environment with optional summits
• Wake early for a sunrise SUP sesh on Lake Bohinj
• Set your sites on the iconic Lake Bled with a hike above it all
• Go for a swim in Lake Bled while viewing the breathtaking scenery all around you
• Hike along the turquoise waters of Soča River
• Forage wild plants and prepare a picnic with a local wildflower specialist
• Leisurely raft down the Soča River with its beautiful crystal clear alpine waters
• E-Bike the rolling wine hills of “Slovenia Tuscany” with fruit orchards, olive groves, and hilltop villages
• Visit a local lavender and herb farm before winetasting at a local winery
• Sip coffee from the porch of Mountain Huts
• Kick back in 3-4 Star boutique hotels throughout your adventure with fabulous views that pair well with a cocktail
• Relax with a comprehensive itinerary that makes the logistics, transportation, navigation, meal planning, lodging, and everything in-between easy.
• Geek out with encouraging and supportive Explorer Chicks on a private, women-only, small group adventure tour.

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.

Join us on our Great Smoky Mountains Hiking & Glamping Weekend for women only! Enjoy four days of sweeping mountain vistas, a private whiskey tour, forest hikes, and more. 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). Luxuriate with nightly glamping near Gatlinburg, TN.

Your hiking adventure has been carefully (obsessively?) curated by the Explorer Chick team over countless in-field tests. Only our top treks make the itinerary. Prepare to be challenged on the trail and rewarded with the most OMFG-level mountain views and waterfalls.

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS HIKING

Stride through sweet-smelling pine forests to reach sweeping panoramic vistas with a girl gang you’d trust more than Paul Bunyan. Climb to only one of three remaining fire towers in the National Park when you embark on the strenuous trek up Mt. Cammerer. You can take it “easy” on a moderate hike to the park’s highest single-drop waterfall, Rainbow Falls. Then, inch out to a bald rock outcropping on Charlie’s Bunion to get your heart hammered by mountain scenery in every direction. Walk in the foot path of thousands of Appalachian Trail thru hikers that have come before you on two hikes. Your Insta feed won’t know what hit it. Yes, this is real life with WILD women.

WHISKEY TOUR

Of course, what’s a trip to Tennessee without whiskey? You’ll spend a few hours on an exclusive, private tour with our local guide visiting distilleries on the Tennessee Whiskey Trail. Go behind the scenes at a real working still house and see how everything is made start to finish. Learn the history of whiskey throughout the Prohibition era, the state’s romance with whiskey, and why these mountains were such an integral part of moonshine culture.

GLAMPING

Each night, put your feet up in total Pinterest-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.

It’s a wonderfully wild weekend with a small group of women hiking the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Over the course of the long weekend, you’ll quickly grow close with your posse of Explorer Chicks as you hike the trails and share memories of summits.

Experience hiking in Scotland among the unspoiled landscapes of the Scottish Highlands with this unforgettable, women-only tour. Say Fàilte to gorgeous, WILD Scotland! Experience challenging hikes in vast landscapes, rocky coastlines, and secluded mountains with ancient wind in your hair. Our tour of the North-West Highlands (a UNESCO Global GeoPark) is the perfect blend of culture, food, adventure, historic castles, and Mum Nature.

SCENIC TRAIN RIDE THROUGH CAIRNGORMS NATIONAL PARK

First, enjoy a scenic train ride from Edinburgh through Cairngorms National Park to Inverness before taking our private Explorer Chick transport deep into the North-West Highlands. Gasp as you roll past rugged landscapes, sparsely populated villages, imposing peaks that erupt from the ground, and thousands of lochs in every direction. BRING A POPSOCKET FOR YOUR PHONE PHOTO-THON.

DAY HIKES IN THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS

Each day, you’ll embark on hikes to explore everything this secluded paradise has to offer. Tick off your first Munro at 3,218 feet with a bird’s eye view of the Torridon Mountains below. Scramble up remote peaks of the Assynt region passing numerous lochs to gain the summit. Feeling acrach? (That’s Scottish Gaelic for “hungry”.) Picnic on rugged coastline cliffs while savoring pies and sipping on whiskey and gin from a local distillery.

MEDIEVAL VILLAGES, LOCAL PUBS, AND LIVE MUSIC

You won’t just be hiking in Scotland on this trip! Experience some of the history and traditions that keep this country on everyone’s travel bucket list. Sheep and cows will roam around you as you meander through remote villages and 16th century castle ruins, living out all your Brave and Outlander fantasies. (Well—some of those Outlander fantasies we can’t help you out with, Sassenach.) Head out on the town in search of local pubs and live music. All meals are sourced locally following Scottish tradition.

15TH CENTURY CASTLE OVERNIGHT

Each night, we’ll return to cozy, authentic Scottish inns. But we’ve saved the best for last: feasting and sleeping in a 15th century castle luxury hotel—like the Explorer Chick queens we are!