“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail,” Ralph Waldo Emerson said in the 19th century.

Emerson’s words from two centuries ago are in step with the Lehigh Valley Women of Adventure, whose membership has swelled to over 5,300 members in just over a year, blazing a trail with outdoor adventures, community outreach and buoying women’s self-worth.

“We’re making an amazing impact on women’s lives,” said Jackie Seidman, LVWoA Founder/Impactor.

LVWoA was initially established in August 2022 – by year’s end the group was approximately 400 women strong. On March 1, 2023 the group became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

“Our mission is to increase women’s self-worth, encouragement and acceptance of others, and the ability to prioritize one’s own well-being through meaningful connections and outdoor adventures,” Seidman, of Whitehall, said.

“Our group aims to empower women in the Lehigh Valley area and beyond by helping them to prioritize themselves, including their physical and mental health, by encouraging them to participate in outdoor adventures,” Seidman said of the group’s purpose. “Our member organized walks, hikes, rides, etc. allow our members to share their stories, build relationships and empower one another.”

The group is about “unfamiliar faces coming together having similar interests in their love for the outdoors.”

“You never know who you walk among,” Seidman said.

LVWoA’s 2023 community outreach projects include supporting Pamela Clark, the oldest female hiker to complete the Appalachian Trail, as well as 32 Feet Up, a mother and her 15 children who completed a through-hike of the Appalachian Trail; volunteering at Leo’s Pediatric Funfest, Pediatric Cancer Foundation’s Lehigh Valley 5K, Mom-n-PA’s dental clinic, multiple Earth Day cleanups, and the Clean Your World/Clean Our World Community clean-up event; and supporting Family Promise Lehigh Valley and Women’s Veterans Empowered and Thriving.

A sampling of the group’s activities include a trip to Fustercluck Farm, home of the original goat hike in East Stroudsburg in May 2023; the Emmaus Run Inn event in July 2023; a rail bike adventure in Hawley, Pennsylvania, in September 2023; a hike at Ricketts Glen State Park in Benton, Pennsylvania, in November 2023; a New Year’s Eve hike in 2023 at Leaser Lake, Lynn Township, just outside of New Tripoli; snowshoe and cross-country skiing on the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail) in Laurys Station in January 2024; full snow moon event at Bake Oven Knob in February 2024; and reaching the Beulahland Vista at an elevation of 2,180 feet on the challenging Golden Eagle Trail just north of Cammal in central Pennsylvania in February 2024.

LVWoA gathered for a “Woods to Woodstone Cocktail Party” Nov. 5, 2023 at Woodstone Country Club, Danielsville, to recognize the successes of the newly formed organization.

The cocktail party celebrated LVWoA’s first-year successes, including the hundreds of member-led adventures – including walks, hikes, bike rides, runs and water adventures – that allowed members to log thousands of miles on local paths and trails. The event also shined a light on Destination Adventures to Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine, and Kanab, Utah, that allowed members to expand their adventure horizons.

Seidman noted not every event is a large-scale event – for example, there is a smaller group of members who walk twice weekly on the Saucon Rail Trail, Hellertown. Members visit local wildlife centers such as Lehigh Gap Nature Center along the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D and L Trail) in Slatington, as well as local spots including the Ironton Rail Trail, Appalachian Trail and Jacobsburg State Park, Nazareth.

Seidman said LVWoA has held a few “Infectious Smiles” events for special needs families and friends of members. One such trip was to the Jordan Creek Greenway Trail at Wehr’s Dam in Orefield, “where we did a little stream study.

“It’s an important thing we will continue.”

LVWoA was featured on WFMZ-TV Channel 69 News at Sunrise March 16, with Seidman, Cathy Nelson and Allison Young sharing information on the group.

LVWoA has made such large strides in a short amount of time, but how did it begin?

In February 2022, Seidman was caring for her aging father, as well as her mother, who had Alzehimer’s disease and passed away that month. In this very difficult time in her life, Seidman was chosen as a winner of a women’s adventure hiking weekend in and around Kanab, Utah. While Seidman’s first instinct was to decline going, as it was a few weeks after her mother’s passing, her family encouraged Seidman, who has been an outdoor person all her life, to go.

Seidman went on the adventure, which she described as “the beginning of the healing process.” Two members of LVWoA were selected as winners of the same adventure weekend in subsequent years: Cathy Troyano in 2023 and Lan Ma in 2024.

That 2022 trip inspired Seidman to found LVWoA.

“I wanted to give back,” Seidman said, as she wanted other women to reap the benefits of such an experience.

The most important thing about LVWoA is that it “benefits women physically, emotionally and socially,” Seidman said, just as that initial 2002 trip benefitted her.

Most of LVWoA’s events are “member-created outdoor activities,” Seidman said.

“The group also touches the lives of women who may not be able to get outside, Seidman said, noting women who can’t physically participate very much enjoy seeing the photos of adventures posted on LVWoA’s private Facebook page.

“It’s been surreal,” Seidman said of the group’s founding and how many women have joined together to experience the adventures.

LVWoA’s future plans include launching a new and used equipment trading post for members – with items such as bikes and kayaks – and participating in the “She Nailed It!” event benefiting Habitat for Humanity of the Lehigh Valley on May 6.

Women interested in joining LVWoA must complete admission questions – which are asked largely for security reasons – and once admitted to the group will have access to LVWoA’s private Facebook page. Members range in age from 18-80.

“We have something for just about everyone,” Seidman said.

Emerson would surely smile about the strides this group has made.

For more information contact lvwomenofadventure@gmail.com or visitlvwoa.org/.