Erin Crider is passionate about women in the outdoors–not as volunteers, observers, or paid customers, but as leaders, teachers, and confident guides. Out of this desire to see change in the industry, Crider founded Uncharted Outdoorswomen, an organization “creating space for women in the outdoors.”
Crider was raised by her grandmother in Missouri, and learned conventional fishing as a young child, pulling fish out of her aunt’s farm ponds and finding them on her plate at the next meal. She had an interest in the outdoors, and received her degree in Animal Science, but struggled to find people willing to take her along on their hunting and fishing trips and teach her their methods. The hunting she did observe was not ethical or legal, and left her with a distaste for the lack of education in the industry and the stereotypes that brewed.
As life progressed, she ended her career as a financial advisor with a Manhattan firm and settled in Colorado in her 30s. During this time, a fly-fishing friend of hers introduced her to waterfowl hunting and mentored her before moving to Montana.
When her hunting mentor moved on, she found herself trying to get guides to take her out on hunts so that she could continue to pursue her passion but didn’t have any luck with booking them successfully–although they were happy to take her husband. After much frustration, she learned the ways of public land hunting and began inviting friends. She soon obtained her outfitters license, and everything ramped up.
This was the beginning of Uncharted Outdoorswomen, which is believed to be the first fully female owned and operated guiding outfit in North America.
When she started Uncharted Outdoorswomen, Erin thought she would simply be teaching fly fishing classes and taking women and other “unliklies” waterfowl hunting. Yet with only two years in the business, the organization has already spread to operate across four states: Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, and Oregon.
A community of women who have had similar experiences have been drawn to Erin, and many have found their niche under the umbrella of the organization, sharing their unique skills through the community with her backing and support.
Her friend Anh Thai, an expert fly tyer, had tried to get a job at a fly shop teaching fly tying classes but was turned away due to her broken English. She called Erin up and that’s when Uncharted started hiring guides.
Anh now educates women through Uncharted Outdoorswomen and has been a featured fly tyer from Texas to Montana and even starred in the most recent Montana Fishing Film Festival. Many other women have joined the team since Anh, and they each bring their unique backgrounds and knowledge to the team. A vegetarian team member has learned all about animal behavior from her meat pursuing colleagues, and they in turn have become better hunters and trackers by learning from her about the plants their game feeds on. Likewise, she now understands wildlife signs like scat and prints, and can identify rubbings on trees from velvet antlers.
More than just a passion though, Uncharted Outdoorswomen has worked to give women a safe space and a place to build their confidence, all while trying to close the wage gap and make the outdoor industry a viable career. With her background in financial planning, Crider creates income plans and a sense of self-worth for the women and is bringing a change to traditional guiding.
When going on an outing with a guide from Uncharted Outdoorswomen, women can expect they will leave knowing the basics and be able to replicate the experience on their own rather than having to pay someone to lead them every time they want to pursue a hunting or fishing experience.
With Uncharted Outdoorswomen, the focus is not on bagging trophy game. Instead, it’s about learning ecosystems, habitats, conservation, and the fundamentals of respectful hunting and fishing so that it can be enjoyed and passed on to posterity. By helping women unlearn the bad practices they’ve seen, and relearn the importance of hunting and fishing, a new appreciation for the outdoors is emerging. Whether it’s putting meat on the table, creating purses made from rabbit pelts, or just finding healing in the peace of the stream, Uncharted Outdoorswomen is building a new story for women across the United States.
To learn more, visit Uncharted Outdoorswomen.
