ASFs WIM Day Hike, Exclusively For Retired Servicewomen, Set For Next Week

WINDHAM — The Adaptive Sports Foundation (ASF) will be hosting a women’s Warriors in Motion® (WIM) day hike next Tuesday, July 16 at Minnewaska State Park, located just west of New Paltz in Ulster County.

This event will be the second of two WIM day hikes of the season, and it will be the first women’s WIM event the ASF has put on in several years. Six wounded veterans are expected to attend this event, which will be led by ASF volunteer Rosemary Gallagher, a physical therapist who has experience leading group hikes for people with neurological disorders. She will be assisted by a couple of other female volunteers of the ASF. 

U.S. Navy veteran Rhonda Liddell will be attending next week’s hike, and she’s excited for the chance to share some camaraderie with fellow servicewomen. “I think it’s great to have a women-only event like this because, especially here in the Catskills, it’s not necessarily easy to get enough female veterans to get together to do anything,” she explained. “It’ll be nice because some women are more relaxed in that environment, and we want everybody to have their best time.”

The WIM group will meet at Minnewaska State Park at 10 a.m. in the visitor’s center parking lot, with the intention of getting the hike started a half hour later, once everyone is situated and ready to go. The participants will hike the Lake Loop, a trail that is just about two miles long and circles Lake Minnewaska, one of the five sky lakes that were created by glaciers during the last Ice Age.  

The warriors will break for lunch at one of the many picturesque places for a picnic, with lunch provided by the ASF. After the respite, the WIM group will complete the hike and will have the option to go for a swim, depending on the weather. 

“I’m looking forward to the camaraderie,” Liddell said. “Also, this will be a chance for me and others to share information on how to stay active all year long. I’d love to be able to share my knowledge with fellow servicewomen.”

Thanks to grants received and private donations, the ASF is able to provide equipment, water bottles, all meals, hotel rooms, snacks, water, sports drinks, sunscreen, bug spray, ponchos (if necessary) and maps, both digital and paper copies.