The Outdoor Journal Tour is making its way to Chicagoland on Saturday, Aug 11, with a hike at Arie Crown Forest. (Jamie Butler)

There’s an unspoken knowledge between communities of color that, much like bungee jumping and skydiving, hiking is just one of those things they don’t do.

This lack of diversity in the hiking world is illustrated by a simple Google image search for the word “hiker.” While you can view hundreds of pictures of smiling faces enjoying Mother Nature’s lavishly green outdoors, people of color are largely absent from those visuals.

Wanting to dismantle the concept that diverse communities do not participate in outdoor activities, Atlanta residents Kenya and Michelle Jackson-Saulters started looking for ways to facilitate events that help encourage other women of color to hit the trails.

“Growing up, I didn’t realize what I was doing this whole time was hiking because we never called it that,” said Kenya. “I just thought what we were doing was being outside. I enjoy outside. Later, I realized what I was really doing was hiking.”

While hiking to the top of Georgia’s Stone Mountain Park with friends three years ago, the couple was inspired to create an outdoor safe space for women. After leading their small gathering into a meditation, Kenya and Michelle were surprised to see two other women joining them.

“We were so shocked,” said Michelle. “They wanted to know what meetup group we were and how could they join us too.”

Their curiosity now piqued, the Jackson-Saulters started planning an event to help other women strengthen their sense of purpose through being outside and moving their bodies.

This event became the Outdoor Journal Tour, a traveling outdoor community for women that facilitates personal growth through mindfulness, self-care and the great outdoors. Although the space is for all women, Michelle and Kenya said that the majority of participants have been women of color.

“I think some of the attraction is that since we are people of color ourselves, they can come and connect and heal with people who look like them. There’s a level of comfort and trust that they might have with us that they might not have in a predominately white space,” Kenya said. “I’ve changed in a lot of ways from this experience of movement and mindfulness. I’ve been creating opportunities and moments for women to have that introspection they need, and it has challenged me to do the same. It has helped me with grounding myself and to really walk my talk.”

To help with stimulating and engaging the mind during the Outdoor Journal Tour, the Jackson-Saulters also use meditation and journaling as ways to help people connect with their inner selves during their time outside. Kenya gives the group prompts to focus on while they walk and enjoy nature’s scene. At different points on the hike, the group may stop with their pens and journals to write about a prompt or to start meditating on an idea.

Michelle and Kenya said they stumbled into hiking as a way to connect more deeply with themselves and Mother Nature. For them, hiking is healing.

“I started hiking by myself a lot, and there’s a certain power in that,” Michelle said. “It makes me feel connected to something bigger. It helped me feel more connected with myself. There’s something truly healing about being out in nature.”

The Outdoor Journal Tour is making its way to Chicagoland on Saturday, Aug 11. The experience will begin at 10 a.m. at the Sundown Meadow entrance at Arie Crown Forest (6600 S. La Grange Road, Countryside, Ill.). The group plans to hike moderately for about two miles and spend the majority of the time on discussion, journaling and meditation.

The event is free to attend and sponsored by REI as part of Outdoor Journal Tour’s “Hike, Journal, Meditate” series.

The duo hopes traveling to different places can change the perception of who is out on the hiking trails by being very visible in these different communities. So far, they’ve taken the tour to New Orleans, Charlotte and Virginia.

“A lot of people like to say black people don’t do that and brown people don’t want to do that, but that’s not true,” Michelle said. “Being outside is something we’ve always done. It has been something we’ve passed down from generation to generation. There’s something really beautiful about being outside versus staying in. There are a lot of beautiful places close to where you live, and it’s free to go out and explore.”

Demetria Mosley is a RedEye freelancer.

"Hike, Journal, Meditate" with Outdoor Journal Tour

10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 11

Arie Crown Forest, 6600 S. La Grange Road, Countryside, Ill.