'Bay Area Galventures' helps women find community while hiking

OAKLAND, Calif. - At Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park, the sound of rustling leaves and birds clears the mind for Monica Carcamo-Binetti.

A South San Francisco resident and self-described "late bloomer" to the outdoors, Carcamo-Binetti did not grow up exploring nature. She spent her youth in dresses and at shopping malls. A native of El Salvador, she moved to the Bay Area when she was six, but never explored the region's redwoods until age 40. She began hiking during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It's never too late

"Never did I have anybody in my life who was like, 'Hey, if you go to the outdoors, it might be good for you,'" Carcamo-Binetti said. Her daughter, Madison Macay, noted the drastic shift, recalling how her mother used to refuse to walk outside her car and wore six-inch heels before the pandemic.

In 2021, Carcamo-Binetti turned her new passion into a community by creating "Bay Area Galventures," an Instagram page dedicated a hiking group for women. The group travels across California, visiting locations such as Redwood National Park and Lassen Volcanic National Park.

‘Leave it in the trees’

For members like Priscilla Roque, the hikes offer a therapeutic practice they call "leaving it in the trees."

"You just come out, you vent to your girls and you vent… and you just leave it in the trees," Roque said. "You get it all out of your system so that when you go back home, you're like, 'Okay, I can handle it.'"

Carcamo-Binetti found that the conversations held on the trail often go deeper than those held over dinner or drinks. This connection to nature has transformed her into a dedicated conservationist. She now serves as a councilwoman for the Save the Redwoods League, a nonprofit focused on protecting redwood forests, and hosts their podcast, "I'll Go, If You Go."

Through her work and the hiking group, she hopes to reach people who, like her younger self, might feel out of their comfort zone in the woods.

"You protect what you love, right?" Carcamo-Binetti said. "And if you are not exposed to them, then how will you know that you love them?"

A growing community

What began as a solo journey has grown to include dozens of women finding their "tribe" on the trails. Carcamo-Binetti wants others to know it's never too late to start.

"It doesn't matter whether you're 6, you're 46, or you're 86," she said. "Age doesn't matter. It just matters your willingness to get out there and do something slightly out of your comfort zone."