RMNP's Hiking Women from Kansas!

Women Hiking Kansas & Beyond members (WHKSAB) in Brownfield's Store, Estes Park, Colorado. Photo: Jamie Palmesano

What began as a few friends who love hiking together in Kansas has now grown into a group of 70+ women who love to hike in Rocky Mountain National Park! How did this community of women come together and what is it they gain by hiking together?

Rocky Mountain Day Hikes asked a few questions to Jeri Brungardt and Cindy Coughenour, the founders of Women Hiking Kansas and Beyond (WHKSAB), to find out how this love of hiking brought scores of women together from the lower elevation undulating terrain of Kansas to the steep and high altitude trails of Rocky Mountain National Park.

RMDH: Where in Kansas is Women Hiking Kansas and Beyond based? ​
Jeri & Cindy: We are based out of Wichita and Salina, Kansas. Cindy lives in Wichita, and I live in Salina. We started the group when both of us lived in Wichita but since we are a Facebook group the specific location we are in is not a big detriment.

RMDH: How did you come up with the idea and what need are you trying to fulfill?
Jeri & Cindy: Cindy and I met through a work experience. We became friends and started hiking with each other and a few other friends. We would post our adventures on Facebook and had so many of our friends asking to go along with us.

We would try to remember who asked to go along with us but then the list got too long. So we brainstormed this idea of having a real hiking group and see how many might really be interested. We truly had no idea how fast and how well the concept would take off and grow.

The need we are trying to fulfill is to provide females with a positive and comfortable hiking experience. We hope they all are, or become, appreciative of the outdoors.

Cindy and Jeri at Cub Lake. RMNP. Photo: Jeri Brungardt

RMDH: How many participants did you start with and how many members do you have currently?
Jeri & Cindy: We had 12 ladies show up for our first hike. Currently we have 10,898 Facebook followers. We started our group in late 1999. The largest hike we have ever had was 175 participants. It was a local in-town hike in Wichita. The average number for most hikes is 50-70 ladies. Our last hike was in October at Pomona State Park in Kansas. We had 70 ladies at that hike.

RMDH: Is this a woman’s only hiking group or are all welcome?
Jeri & Cindy: We are a female only hiking group for ages 12 and up. We have had girls as young as 12 years old and ladies as old as upper 80s. One of our most active hikers is a 77 year old.

Hikers coming back from Emerald Lake. RMNP. Photo: Jeri Brungardt

RMDH: Are your members mostly local folks or do they come from several different Kansas towns? And do you enjoy hiking in all seasons or is winter a no go?
Jeri & Cindy: We have an organized hike each month. Most are "local" as in the Wichita area, but our hikers are mainly from Kansas. We have a few regulars from Oklahoma and Missouri. The specific location within the state of Kansas plays into the number that attend each hike. Since most of our hikers are from the Wichita area the distance from Wichita plays into the number that attend. We do gain quite a few hikers from other areas of the state depending on where the monthly hike will be held. 

We hike 12 months of each year. There are times when we must reschedule our hike if there is bad weather, flooding, icy conditions, etc. 

RMDH: Do you actively promote your hiking group to find new hikers to join?
Jeri & Cindy: Yes, we have an active Facebook page (titled "Women Hiking KS and Beyond"). We have also been involved in many other media interviews. We have been on local TV several times, we have been on podcasts, we have been in newspaper interviews, we spoke at a Wichita agency on aging seminar, we had a large article in "The Active Age" newspaper, we spoke at Wichita State University and Butler Country Community College, and many local newspapers from our state-wide hikes have written stories about our group and interviewed us.

We even had a reporter show up at a hike location two hours away from Wichita with his big camera and followed us into the hike for a couple miles and back to the trailhead. This is the most rugged trail in Kansas with many big ups and downs and some climbing on smaller rocks and through cracks. He did a great job carrying the large camera and not falling down!

Hikers on their way to Flat Top Mountain. Photo: Cindy Coughenour

RMDH: Is the trip to Rocky Mountain National Park an annual trip? Do you always come to Estes Park?
Jeri & Cindy: Yes, we have made it an annual trip in September of each year, and yes, our Colorado trip has always been to Estes Park.

RMDH: How many years have you made this trip to Estes Park and RMNP?
Jeri & Cindy: Five years with the WHKSAB group. Cindy and I traveled to Estes Park and RMNP in prior years dating back to 2015. Each year Cindy and I also do research for our trips and make an additional trip to Estes Park to determine which hikes we will take the ladies on and procure other information about things that are needed for the group trip.

RMDH: How do you manage to get 70+ hikers to Colorado at the same time? Logistics must be complicated!
Jeri & Cindy: To keep it simple for Cindy and myself, every hiker makes their own lodging and transportation arrangements. We assist them finding a roommate or a travel-mate, but they pay for their own lodging and transportation fees.

We utilize Facebook for information distribution. We also have an in-person meeting about six months prior to the group trip to explain the trip details and explain many things to them such as timed entry, national park pass, lodging, hikes, what to take along, etc.

The amount of time planning and answering questions can depend on how many are newcomers to our group and to Estes Park and/or RMNP that will be on the trip.

Hikers at Emerald Lake, RMNP. Photo: Jeri Brungardt

RMDH: Do you stay in a number of hotels/lodges when you’re in Estes or is everyone centrally located? And if you are spread out all over town that must make logistics even harder? 
Jeri & Cindy: We have utilized the YMCA the last three years as our main place for lodging. Everyone is allowed to stay wherever they would like. We use the YMCA as our daily starting/meeting location for our hikes as well as any evening meetings that we hold.

Most of our ladies stay at the YMCA, but a few do stay elsewhere. Prior to the staying at the YMCA three years ago we stayed at a local lodge (hotel) and found the YMCA was closer to the park entrances. The YMCA also has areas for meetings and a place to park extra cars. There are great YMCA trails to utilize also.

RMDH: Do you hike as a single group or do you split up into smaller groups depending on athleticism, conditioning, age?
Jeri & Cindy: Age has no relevance on how or who anyone hikes with, and it is mostly defined by hiking speed and distance any one person would like to hike.

Some ladies have a group they go to Colorado with and that is who they hike with for the most part. We do hike in smaller groups. We will take a big group picture of those hiking on any given day and/or trail and then it just naturally thins out into smaller groups when the hike starts.

Also, many ladies have found their equal athletic ability hikers and stick with that group as much as possible. Some ladies like lakes, some like waterfalls, some want more flat terrain vs a great amount of elevation, so these all play into where someone may hike. We try to find trailheads that have more than one item to see, and they can choose which trail best suits them. We instruct our ladies to never hike alone and always have a hiker buddy.

Hikers on the Sprague Lake loop via Glacier Creek Loop. RMNP. Photo: Jeri Brungardt

RMDH: What do you hope to accomplish with this hiking group? Is it simply to enjoy nature or do you have other benefits/goals in mind for the members?
Jeri & Cindy: We like to offer enjoyment of the outdoors and the beauty of hiking. We like to offer challenging hikes, as well as a couple hikes each year that are flatter and easier for all hikers. Many do hikes they never thought they could. We like to help women get out of their comfort zone.

The camaraderie of fellow women hikers has shown to be a huge positive for so many of our ladies. Some women come to our local hikes and find many new friends. Then the next month they come with their new friends.

We have experienced hikers and women who have never hiked before. We like to show them hiking is something than anyone can do. We do not do rock climbing but will have challenging hikes for those that want to do them. We have shorter and easier hikes on up to longer and more challenging hikes. Overall our hikes include many differences of distance and elevation. 

RMDH: Do you have favorite trails in RMNP you like to hike are do your groups like to explore?
Jeri & Cindy: Yes, we have favorite trails in RMNP, but we like to take our ladies on different trails each year and try not to do the same hike two years in a row. There are so many trails to choose from that this is easy to do.

Cindy and I personally do research and hike all the trails we provide information on for the group. We have knowledge of many of the trails and provide trail experiences for every lady. We did a headlamp hike around Bear Lake this year. This was our second time to do this type of hike. It is an early morning headlamp hike in the dark which then allows the hikers to also watch the sunrise.

Our ladies also like to do things in the Estes Park like the mountain coaster, shopping, eating, jeep tours, Trail Ridge Road, Fall River Road, drive to Grand Lake, etc. They truly enjoy the entire experience of Estes Park and RMNP!

Bear Lake alpine start with headlamps. RMNP. Photo: Jeri Brungardt

RMDH: Since this is Thanksgiving time… what are you most grateful for when it comes to your hiking group and Rocky Mountain National Park? 
Jeri & Cindy:Friends - old and new, hiking, mountains, the smell of mountain air, the views, the autumn colors, the sounds of a waterfall...

We really appreciate all the volunteers and employees that keep the park clean and provide information with a smile. We also love the friendly locals on the trails. They have great suggestions and information for us.

We are grateful for the local businesses, too. We have made many good friends and developed relationships with employees and owners of businesses.

RMDH: What would you like to include that any of our questions haven't covered?
Jeri & Cindy: If any lady reading this information is ever in Kansas look us up on Facebook. We would love to have Estes Park ladies on our hikes with us! We would also love to have Estes Park ladies join us in RMNP and hike with us while we are there. Any woman is welcome to register and join us for our hiking event to Estes Park.

RMDH Closing Note: We know Rocky Mountain National Park attracts hikers from all over the United States and the world. It's heartening to know how the love for RMNP spans all nationalities, ages, cultures, genders, and race.

​RMNP is common ground... where the love of nature and mountains, grand vistas and open space, solitude and friendship can all be found with the knowledge that this land belongs to all of us. During this Thanksgiving season we are grateful for these protected places that create connections with people and the land.