Women learn to navigate the great outdoors at Blackwater Falls
Naturalist Chris Barley places Dutch ovens over a fire during the Becoming an Outdoors-Woman program in Davis, W.Va.
Elise Jones/Observer-Reporter
Elise Jones was given a compass and map to find seven water bottles in the woods during the retreat.
Thirty-six women from six states arrived at Blackwater Falls Lodge in Davis, W.Va., to participate in a women’s weekend. But this wouldn’t be a weekend filled with skiing, drinking wine and eating cheese. These women came to learn how to fly fish, shoot shotguns and kayak, among other things. This was the state’s Becoming an Outdoors-Woman program, otherwise known as BOW.
BOW was created by Wisconsin woman Christine Thomas, who wanted to get more involved in male-dominated outdoor activities but was intimidated by the instructors. Thomas came up with a three-day gathering focused on classes for women of all ages and athletic ability, taught by women. Today, the program can be found across the country, and hosts international trips to places like Iceland and Costa Rica.
My friend and I arrived at the lodge around 5:30 p.m. on a recent Friday. We were happily greeted at registration, handed binders filled with schedules, goodies and the ever-important name tags, and checked into the lodge. A “get to know one another” session for participants and instructors was next, followed by our first buffet dinner.
Elise Jones/Observer-Reporter
Elise Jones/Observer-Reporter
Dutch ovens, with coals placed on top of the lids and layered underneath, are used to cook several desserts.
In addition to three scheduled classes Saturday and Sunday, two presentations were included. The first, following dinner, was on the endangered monarch butterfly, which is the state butterfly of West Virginia, where we learned it would take everyone’s support to save this creature. To learn how, visit monarchjointventure.org.
Testing our skills
After a good night’s sleep, we walked to our first class. I felt optimistic, despite the fact that snow lightly covered the area, and the class was about using a map and compass.
Taught by a wildlife diversity biologist and a forester, class started the basics of reading a map, and followed with using a compass. As I attempted to grasp everything I was being told, I felt so-so about things. Then, we were told to grab our things, because we would be going outside to try out our new skills.
That got my attention. I didn’t know if we were ready for this.
We were given a map that had seven locations on it and a starting point. Each location was color-coordinated based on the water bottle we were to find there. To find them, we had to use the compass to map out the location based on distance and our own pace.
After a short drive to a cabin in the woods, we got out and headed to our starting point. As I looked at the map, I decided we should attempt to find the farthest one away first, and then circle back to finish close to the starting point. The problem was, we couldn’t find that bottle. And because we had mapped our other destinations from that first bottle, well, we were kind of lost in the woods.
My friend and I decided to go back to start and see if we could find a bottle that, at least on the map, looked as though it should be just a few steps away. We couldn’t. We only found it after two women from our class helped us out – by pointing toward it. After that, we decided we would become a group of four, instead of two, for better luck. We found the original bottle we had started with, and at that point, time had run out.
Class – 1, me – 0
Dishing out new creations
Our last two classes, canning and Dutch oven desserts, went much better. This was a topic I was at least familiar with – food.
Canning class was held inside a cabin, where a huge pork tenderloin was divided among the five of us. We would be doing a raw pack, meaning the meat would be put in the jar raw, versus a hot pack, where the meat is slightly cooked first.
The process seemed simple enough. We trimmed as much fat off as we wanted, then sliced the meat into small cubes. From there, we put the cubes into the mason jar, packing the meat as tight as possible to avoid air pockets. Once the meat filled the jar, we added less than a teaspoon of salt on top. We then cleaned the rim of the jar with a paper towel and warm water, put the lid on, twisted it tight, and then loosened it just slightly. The process was now in the hands of the pressure cooker. We would receive our final cooked product the next day.
Courtesy of Alison Bigler
Courtesy of Alison Bigler
Biologist Jim Fregonara holds a black rat snake during a presentation on snakes of West Virginia.
After lunch, our second presentation was on snakes of West Virginia. The biologist who conducted the program had brought the snakes with him, including the only venomous ones in the state, a rattlesnake and copperhead. Those who were brave enough were offered the chance to touch the non-venomous snakes.
Dutch oven cooking was our last class of the trip. The snow had mostly melted, but the wind still blew cold air and we were going to be cooking outside over a campfire.
When I read the description of the class, I noticed part of it was that everyone would be leaving with their own Dutch oven. At that point, I didn’t even know what one was, but I was still excited to take a new cooking tool home.
The class started with basic discussion of cast iron. Some had cooked with it and others, like me, had not. Our instructor, a park naturalist, and his wife first showed us how to clean rust off of a cast iron skillet using only a potato and coarse sea salt. Seasoning cast iron was the next topic. Because we had all received brand new Dutch ovens, our instructor helped us season them in class by pouring a generous amount of vegetable oil on the inside and wiping it down. After we had all seasoned our ovens, it was time to dry them over the open fire.
While the pots dried, we began making desserts of varying levels of difficulty, the easiest being a caramel apple cobbler, followed by banana bread and pineapple upside-down cake.
Our instructor asked who had never cooked with a Dutch oven, and my friend and I raised our hands, and so did two new friends from our canning class. We would be taking on the cobbler.
As someone who enjoys baking, I found it strange to not mix everything together, but instead to almost create layers with the ingredients. Other members of the class made the other two recipes, and when they were done, we were ready to put them in the fire. To my surprise, the Dutch ovens did not sit over flames, but rather were cooked by coals in the fire.
Elise Jones/Observer-Reporter
Banana bread, left, and caramel apple cobbler before being put in the fire to cook
It was again a waiting game. All of the desserts needed to be checked regularly, and the oven needed to be turned 90 degrees, turning the lid the opposite 90 degrees, for an even cook.
All of our desserts were successful, and finished just in time for our other BOW classmates to meet us and enjoy our sweet treats.
After eating, it was time to win some door prizes and close the weekend.
BOW was a completely new experience for me. I had never been surrounded by women who wanted to experience the outdoors like I did. While we came from various states and walks of life, we all gathered for the same purpose.
It was a weekend I will never forget.
For more information on the BOW program, visit uwsp.edu and search BOW.
Courtesy of Shayne Darling Meyer
Courtesy of Shayne Darling Meyer
Banana bread, caramel apple cobbler and pineapple upside-down cake were prepared in Dutch ovens.