Make (and Claim) Space for Yourself: Ava Baptiste, TriState Hikers

Today I’m delighted to be introducing you to Ava Baptiste, the founder of TriState Hikers.

Ava grew up in the Caribbean island nation of St. Vincent and The Grenadines, where being outdoors year round was the status quo. But in adulthood, as a single mom relatively new to NYC, her busy urban existence started sucking her into a darkness that she was finding harder and harder to shake.

When she walked over to a local park one day to try to clear her head and get some fresh air with her young son, Ava realized that that tiny dose of nature therapy had started to let a little light into her again, and she wanted more. And connecting those dots between her mental health and her time spent in Prospect Park was just the beginning.

I don’t want to spoil too much of the story, because listening to Ava is like getting a warm hug and I know you’ll want to hear it all from her.

Suffice to say this is a woman who has built something powerful and important from nothing, all while working 6 days a week and raising her son. Ava’s still working on her official New York guide license, but let me tell you, she can light a fire under entire communities, any one, any time, no matches required.

I hope you’ll follow TriState Hikers on Facebook and Instagram. And I really hope that after the holiday chaos subsides, when you start planning and organizing your trips and adventures for 2022, you’ll clean out your gear closet and dig out all those things you’ve used a few times (but maybe not lately), that have plenty of life left in them, and send them Ava’s way…. along with a big fat check to help her get more kids out hiking this winter.

Contact tristatehikers@gmail.com to arrange donations, or you can PayPal Ava and her TriState Hikers team using that same email.

And check out some of the other great stuff Ava and I talked about:

• Ava Baptiste on Girl Gotta Hike Podcast, hosted by Melissa Goodwin of Girl Gotta Hike
• (You can listen to my episode with Melissa Goodwin here!)
• Where is St. Vincent and The Grenadines?
• #prospectpark
• Cultured Forest
• Prospect Park (Brooklyn)
• Van Cortlandt Park (Bronx)
• Bear Mountain (NY)
• Breakneck Ridge (NY)
• Gear Forward
• NYC Hiking and Backpacking (FB group)
• Black Diamond headlamps

And don't forget to shop and give early and often this holiday season!:
GuidesGoneWild.com/Gifting
GuidesGoneWild.com/Giving