‘Mother nature doesn’t judge you,’ and neither do the L.A. Hiking Baddies

It started with a lonely hiker.

Danyell Willard, to be specific. She started posting hiking events to a Facebook group she created in 2022 because she wanted some company on the trails.

Two years later, the group, called the “L.A. Hiking Baddies,” has grown exponentially, often leading 40 women on the trails each trek. The Facebook group itself boasts thousands of members.

This group gets together one to five times a month to hike different trails across Southern California. And sometimes beyond.

“The group actually grew to thousands of women, which was really shocking,” Willard said. “So then I started doing other events like local events and trips to national parks and it’s just kind of grown from there.”

Beyond the Southland scope, there are trips to places like Joshua Tree, the Channel Islands, and even Canada. Willard didn’t intend for this group to grow so big and she didn’t realize that it would become a community for women to empower one another and heal. There are women from all backgrounds who have joined this group.

Sophie Inderkummen, from Switzerland, found the L.A. Hiking Baddies about a year ago when she first moved to the area.

“I just wanted to get out with people, meet new people and it seemed to be a good way to do it and it’s always fun. So, I kept coming back,” she said.

Inderkummen said it hasn’t always been easy for her to talk to people, but that’s not the case with this community. She’s been able to make friends and even hang out with people outside of hiking.

Angie Langarica has been hiking with the group since it first started up two years ago. She described the group as “authentic” and said it’s difficult to find a community like this nowadays

“I feel young and I do a lot of crazy stuff still. I have a lot of energy,” Langarica said. “I love spending time with the girls.”

She’s formed friendships with the women of the L.A. Hiking Baddies, a common theme for group members. Some carpool to the hikes, particularly if they’re further out – like in Thousand Oaks. It’s a welcoming space.

“I think I just show up as myself, my silly self and it empowers the other women to show up as themselves,” Willard said. “And I think that’s really how friendships have formed by being yourself and finding someone in the group that meshes with you because not everybody is gonna be best friends, but you’ll find someone that you connect with on some kind of level.”

Claudia Copley echoed this sentiment.

“I think for me, having a sense of community and reminding myself that we’re more alike than we are different is why I come out,” she said.

Copley said the group has helped her get to know people on a different level, which is just one of the reasons why she keeps coming back.“Having a place where it’s just women, it’s pretty spectacular in that sense,” she said.

And even though all women are welcome, there are rules. First, everyone must respect nature. They respect the land and clean up after themselves. Nobody is left behind, which is one of their mantras. So they wait for everybody to show up before starting the hike. They also take frequent breaks so everyone can regroup and stay close to one another.

“We make sure if someone’s slower in the back, let’s take a water break or if someone needs help climbing, help her, you know, so I like those kinds of hikes when we do that kind of stuff,” Willard said.

There are also rules about who’s allowed in the group. Willard works hard to vet each potential member so she can make sure everybody is safe at her hiking events. Information is kept within the group; Facebook is the only place to find hike details.

“We want to make sure this person is a woman, she’s in Los Angeles or surrounding, and it’s an actual person, not a fake profile or a man pretending,” Willard said.

She makes it clear that her group – and the community she created – is intended for women to empower one another.

This is part of the reason Vivian Medrano continues to return.

“When I first started hiking, I started hiking with them, I just needed a safe place to come to,” she said. “It just happened to be that I connected with them and I connected with a lot of the women in this group.”

It’s important to have and protect a space that has a lot of peace and tranquility because everybody’s story is different, Medrano explained.

She said right now it’s essential for women to be in a noncompetitive environment. “As women, we grew up thinking that you’re the competition,” Medrano said.

This group became a safe space when Medrano went through a particularly difficult time in her life and needed to get out of the house for her own mental health.

“Mother nature doesn’t judge you,” Medrano said.

This is true, but there are times when the group hikes into problems. Some members will wear lipstick or mascara on these hikes, but this has drawn the ire of outsiders.

Willard explained “When we go out, there would be men or other people that say ‘Wow, what are you guys here for a bachelorette party?’”

But the group’s experiences are largely positive. Willard works to make new members feel welcomed and comfortable.

Najeeba Syeed went on her first hike with the group at the end of April.

“I was looking for a group of women to hike with and, you know, just to be active with because I feel like so many times when other friends want to meet, they want to do stuff that’s like inactive,” she said.

But why this group? Syeed said she felt this was a “very nonjudgmental noncompetitive group” and it felt like an encouraging community to be a part of.

Her feelings were confirmed immediately when she showed up for her first hike, a 2.8-mile journey to Paradise Falls in Thousand Oaks.

“I just walked into the group and they’re so welcoming and friendly and people are from all over,” Syeed said.

She plans to attend more hikes with the group.

The Paradise Falls hike was short but challenging, with a solid incline.

But what’s that solid climb to Danyell Willard? Considering the heights she’s taken the L.A. Hiking Baddies to from humble beginnings, not many summits seem insurmountable.

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